Wouldn’t it be great to know exactly what your next best step is for getting your manuscript published?
Better yet, wouldn’t it be great if you could just hand it over and, without a whole lot of fuss on your part, end up with a professionally published book?
After all the time you’ve spent writing and rewriting, imagine seeing the finished product in your hands.
When your clients ask you for resources or reading suggestions to get a better handle on your message and the tools and tips you share, you can quickly point them to your book. And those that love your message will recommend your book and your services to others.
Right now, that may sound like a dream because you aren’t sure what your next step is.
You have spent so much time writing your book, you know that those who read it will be helped in some way, and you don’t want to let any more time to go by before getting your message out there, which would be the case if you were to go the traditional publishing route. No, instead you want to take the bull by the horns and publish your book independently.
You may have done a bit of research around self-publishing, purchased a few books on the subject, you may have even taken a course or two. If so, did these resources leave you feeling frustrated and overwhelmed?
Because you’re serving your clients each day, and the writing process already consumed much of your available time, you may not want to learn all the intricacies of self-publishing—and that’s okay. That’s what I’m trained to do.
Book championing is about helping you get your book published in a way that is confusion and stress free for you.
You don’t need to feel overwhelmed by the details of the independent publishing process. You remain in the driver’s seat on this journey, and I’m your GPS helping you navigate the process. My goal as the navigator is to ensure you enjoy the process and that you are thrilled when you see your finished book.
How the Book Champion service works.
We start with the editing process. Editing is usually done twice, since it’s nearly impossible to catch everything during the first edit. The first edit is more of a big picture process to ensure the content flows in a logical manner and to fix any weak construction—the structural and line editing processes. As a certified ghostwriter, I can assure you that any rewriting I do on your behalf will be kept in your voice. But, chances are, I will ask you to write additional content after the first edit, particularly if I felt there were gaps in information or if a particular passage was unclear, so this makes the second editing pass a necessity.
The second edit is a close-up view with the emphasis on copy editing.
Once the manuscript has been edited twice, and all changes have been finalized, I print it out and read it aloud. This is the proofreading process that fixes any misplaced punctuation or awkward-to-the-ear sentence structure.
Here is a brief outline of the different levels of editing:
Substantive (or Structural) Editing: This is big picture editing and involves revising and/or reorganizing the structure both as a whole and paragraph by paragraph so that it reads in a logical, linear fashion.
Line Editing: Converting passive and static voice to active prose where feasible. Correcting awkward phrasings and weak constructions and dealing with the issues of non-sentences and fragments.
Copy Editing: Correcting mechanics and manuscript’s logistics: grammar, spelling, syntax, punctuation and formatting and consistency.
Proofreading: Searching for typographical errors as the final process prior to submission of manuscript. Usually compared against a marked up manuscript to ensure changes have been incorporated correctly.
Proofing the Design: This is a process of checking first and last of each paragraph to ensure the text flowed properly when it was copied into the design program.
Pitfalls of Self-Editing: “While you can edit your work to a point, the only way to be sure you are communicating with anyone other than yourself is for someone else to read it. Preferably, that means a “cold” reader; i.e., someone not connected to you or your work in any way.” Claudia Suzanne, ghostwriting expert and author of This Business of Books plus over 100 ghostwritten titles.
Book Design
Designing your book follows the completed editing and proofreading processes. There are new, cost effective options, or you can choose to hire a book designer. I’m happy to discuss these options with you. And, I’m happy to work directly with a designer if you choose this option.
NOTE: If you have quoted other people, you MUST get permissions in place in order to publish them in your book. Few authors know this. Securing permissions is something I can do on your behalf.
If you want to undertake this journey alone, click here to download a what-needs-to-be-taken-care-of checklist to ensure you have a professionally published book. Many of these items can be taken care of while your manuscript is being edited. And, you will notice that editing is not on the checklist for the simple reason that self-editing is not recommended.
Why work with a Publishing Specialist?
Author’s assistants have been around for well over 100 years. Successful authors have always relied on assistants to handle all the administrative and professional duties that the author doesn’t have time for. Today, authors can have part-time assistance by partnering with a Publishing Specialist.
Here are three reasons authors find author’s assistants invaluable:
- There is just too much work for one person. You likely work in your area of expertise, whether that’s seeing clients, public speaking, or advocating on behalf of others and chances are you don’t have the time to do all the tasks of the author, too.
- An author’s assistant has special expertise. As a trained and experienced author’s assistant, I know what needs to be done to ensure your book looks professional and can be marketed everywhere. I understand the industry, the technology and have established resources and connections.
- The cost is greater when you do it yourself. There’s a high learning curve for anyone who has never made the publishing journey. Working with me will give you the freedom to concentrate on those things only you can do, especially writing the best book you can.
P.S. I specialize in inspirational, spiritual and self-empowerment manuscripts but I’m comfortable working with any non-fiction genre.
