Services

An editorial assessment offers authors crucial guidance to advance their manuscripts. This service is particularly popular among writers who are in the early stages of revision or those looking for a more affordable alternative to a full developmental edit.

In an editorial assessment, the editor will read through the entire manuscript and provide:

• A comprehensive letter with in-depth feedback on key elements such as plot, characterization, structure, consistency, and style.
• Suggested next steps for revision and editing.

Unlike other editorial services, this service does not include direct editing or annotations on the manuscript.

Developmental editing is a comprehensive service that focuses on the ‘big picture’ aspects of your manuscript. This process involves refining your project's concept, restructuring its material, and addressing key elements of writing craft, including plot, characterization, and pacing.

This service is ideal for authors who have already revised their manuscripts independently and are ready for professional guidance to take their work to the next level.

A developmental edit prepares you to substantially rewrite and revise your manuscript with a renewed focus and clarity. It also includes guidance on targeting your audience and understanding industry standards and expectations for your genre.

In a developmental edit, we will:

• Prepare a detailed report by providing in-depth feedback on plot, characterization, structure, consistency, and style.
• Review your manuscript with comments and suggested edits using track changes.
• Provide clear recommendations for further revision and editing.

Choose developmental editing to transform your manuscript, ensuring it meets professional standards and resonates with your target audience.

Copy editing takes place once a project’s structure has been finalized. This service focuses on sentence-level edits to improve readability. A professional copy editor ensures that the language is clear, correct, and precisely communicates the author’s intentions.

In addition to addressing spelling errors and grammatical mistakes, a professional copy editor ensures that a manuscript’s tone and style remain consistent throughout.

For a copy edit, we will:

• Provide a returned copy of the manuscript with all edits recorded using track changes.
• Include a style sheet which is a document explaining tricky editorial decisions and providing a glossary of terms for proofreaders to standardize spelling and capitalization.

In some circles, ‘line editing’ emphasizes word choice and writing style, while ‘copy editing’ focuses solely on grammar and spelling. At the Department of Gibberish, both fall under the ‘copy editing’ umbrella, with editors expected to improve both the style and accuracy of a manuscript unless otherwise specified.

Copy editing should only take place after the structure of a book is locked in. If the manuscript is likely to change substantively, authors should hold off on copy editing. However, if you’re ready to polish your prose for the next stage, a copy editor will ensure your writing reads seamlessly.

Proofreading is the ultimate safeguard, allowing authors to publish confidently, knowing their books are free from spelling mistakes, punctuation errors, and other technical issues that could detract from a reader's enjoyment.

Typically, proofreading is the final stage of the editing process, after which the manuscript is ready for formatting and publishing. It’s important to note that proofreaders often review typeset pages to ensure no new errors were introduced during formatting. In traditional publishing, it's common to have two rounds of proofreading to catch every last mistake.

Proofreading demands a meticulous eye for detail and a systematic approach to identifying even the subtlest errors.

Our proofreading services include:

• A returned copy of the manuscript with all spelling, punctuation, and formatting errors identified and corrected using track changes.
• A short, detailed report detailing the suggested changes.

In traditional publishing, the publisher will provide an editorial team, including a proofreader. Your manuscript will likely undergo significant changes before it hits the shelves, so it's usually not necessary to proofread before querying. Literary agents do not expect flawless manuscripts from authors at the submission stage.

However, many first-time authors find it beneficial to work with developmental and copy editors before querying to refine their manuscripts.

Note: For proofreading, it’s advisable to hire a different editor from your copyeditor. A fresh set of eyes can catch overlooked errors and typos, ensuring your manuscript is as polished as possible.

Query Letter Review

We also offer services that are designed to help authors enhance their query letters, increasing their chances of capturing an agent's or editor’s interest. This service involves a thorough review of the author’s query letter, providing detailed recommendations on structure, tone, and content.

For fiction and children’s book authors, it is recommended that your manuscript is complete before seeking a query letter review.

For non-fiction authors, only a book proposal is needed before querying.

A query letter review aims to help authors:

• Strengthen their hook.
• Craft a compelling and concise synopsis.
• Select suitable comparable titles.
• Highlight relevant personal details to bolster their chances of success.

Each of our editors has a unique approach to query letter reviews. Depending on the request, this service may include:

• Detailed suggestions and edits where the editor will provide feedback and make edits to the author’s query letter using track changes.
• Sample pages review which are optional and where the editor may also review and edit the book’s sample pages, typically ranging from 10 to 50 pages.

This service helps authors refine their query letters, making them more appealing and effective in capturing the attention of agents and editors.

If you have a compelling story but lack the writing skills or time to bring it to life, a ghostwriter can transform your idea into a marketable, well-written manuscript. A ghostwriter’s job is to capture your unique voice and create a book that feels authentically yours.

Every ghostwriting project is unique, but generally, you can expect:

• A Clear Plan: Your ghostwriter will develop a timeline for your collaboration and determine the best way to generate material, whether through phone calls, video chats, your written notes, independent research, or a combination of these methods.
• Feedback Opportunities: You'll have the chance to review early drafts to ensure alignment on style and language before the project progresses too far.
• A Finished Manuscript: Our ghostwriters are seasoned professionals who can deliver polished manuscripts that typically require no further editing.

Ghostwriters are rarely credited as the official “author” of the book, though they may sometimes be acknowledged as a “co-author.” Some prefer the term "collaborator" to reflect the partnership with the author. Often, confidentiality clauses prevent ghostwriters from revealing the books they have worked on. Rest assured, we thoroughly vet our ghostwriters to ensure their experience and discretion.

Book proposals are comprehensive packages authors use to pitch their non-fiction books to publishers and agents. These proposals contain everything a prospective publisher needs to know about the book, including its contents, target market, promotional strategy, and commercial potential. In traditional publishing, proposals are almost always submitted before the book is fully written.

A ghostwriter can help you create a persuasive proposal that captures the interest of agents and publishers.

A typical book proposal features:

• Synopsis: A brief overview of the book’s content and objectives.
• Chapter Headings: A list of all chapter titles.
• Chapter Content Details: Descriptions of the material covered in each chapter.
• Competing Books: A list of 3-5 similar books with strong sales.
• Sample Chapter: An excerpt from the book to showcase the writing style and content.
• Author Biography: Information about the author’s background and qualifications.
• Marketing and Promotion Plan: Strategies for promoting the book.
• Endorsements: A list of experts or celebrities willing to provide blurbs or endorsements.

A well-crafted proposal not only outlines the content of your book but also demonstrates its commercial viability. A ghostwriter can assist with any or all sections of the book proposal. Whether you need help expanding a sample chapter or creating the entire proposal from scratch, they’ll ensure your submission highlights the demand for your book, what sets it apart from the competition, and how you can support the publisher’s PR efforts.

In addition to transforming your blog into a long-form book, ghostwriters can assist with any short-form content you may need, ensuring it's written to perfection. This includes:

• Blog posts
• Social media posts
• Speeches

Ghostwriting for blogs is one of the most common types of short-form ghostwriting, even if it’s not always labelled as such. Many bloggers and business owners outsource their posts to freelance writers, often considering it uncredited guest blogging rather than traditional ghostwriting.

Whether you’re crafting an op-ed or preparing a wedding speech, a ghostwriter can lend their expertise. The key skill of any ghostwriter is adaptability. If you have a story that needs telling or a message that requires precise articulation, don't hesitate to leverage this invaluable service and elevate your writing to new heights.