Book Development & Self-Publishing Support Services

Your partner & midwife in birthing your new book brainchild

Are you ready to write?

If you're in the planning phases before writing, or if you are ready and motivated to write your book — then I'm here to help you do that! See my Writing & Author Services page for details on services for people who haven't finished their writing project yet.

You have a manuscript

Now you need a guide through the publishing process

You can be ready to write or publish, and still confused about what the next step is. Don't languish and lose your motivation. Let's get that book out there into the world!

Writing & publishing only seems complicated because you've never done it before! Don't let that stop you when someone can help you. I save people countless hours of confusion and procrastination in the writing and publishing process.

Do or Delegate?

I'll help you improve your writing style and stay motivated while you write, and all the things you can't do -- like creating a cover or formatting the interior of your book -- you can delegate to me. I'll make it so that you never get stuck in the process. You'll keep moving forward until your book project is finished.

Your book WILL be born soon

Books, like children, are best brought into the world by a tribe, by a group of supportive citizens and helpful assistants who will take care of you and your project while you're growing and giving birth to your brainchild. You take care of the content and growing that baby, and I'll help manage the tribe.

You are now a writer -- become an Author!

Once your manuscript is done, there are still many steps in the book production process — and I can help you with all of them. Publishing (or self-publishing) a book takes more than just writing skills. If you don't have the experience with design, desktop publishing (i.e. formatting), artwork creation, paper sizes and standards, etc. — I do.

Here's what I can do to help you out:

Image Editing

Your images and photos may need adjusting or clean-up, and you may need original diagrams, illustrations and graphics if your book calls for them to make your book pop.

Re-writing and copywriting (ghostwriting)

Sometimes you don't have the time or patience to keep on polishing your own written work. Or perhaps English isn't your first language, and you know that your document needs more than just editing — it needs re-writing. You might have the information, but no time to tease it into prose. That's where re-writing or copywriting come in. more

I ghostwrite, re-write or copywrite for: back-cover blurbs, blog posts, short articles, marketing copy, website copy, white-papers, product inserts & manuals, short reports and other short works of non-fiction. I won't re-write or ghostwrite full-length manuscripts.

Developmental editing

You can't create and critique at the same time. A developmental editor monitors consistency, the order of presentation of ideas, whether ideas are grouped in a logical fashion, and other details. They're the "continuity director" of a written project. It's the developmental editor's job to catch that you said you have 4 kids on page 1 but then said 3 kids on page 200. more

A developmental editor passes a critical eye over an entire project and makes certain that ideas are presented in a logical, consistent and orderly fashion. This is a flat-rate service that is only available from Eclectic Tech for shorter works or non-fiction. While a developmental editor may tweak some obvious mistakes in the manuscript, their job is to look at it from a much higher level than the sentence-editing level. Your developmental editor should not also be your line-editor!

Editing & proofreading ("Line-editing")

No matter how good at writing you are, errors will always find their way into your manuscript. If you don't think you make mistakes, then gremlins come in while you're sleeping and add in 2 spaces between words, misplace quotes and commas, and make it look like you were sleeping during grammar lessons in elementary school. Trust me, there's no shame in this: you need an editor. more

This is one of the final steps in the writing process. I offer to serve as your fresh set of eyes to scrutinize and locate the errors and omissions that elude you. I offer editing services for shorter works like reports, whitepapers and short stories, including full-length non-fiction books and cookbooks. If you have a full-length fiction manuscript, I can recommend someone to you. Your line-editor should not also be your developmental editor!

Book interior formatting & Document layout

Your book needs to be presented to the reader in a clean and un-cluttered visual manner. The style of pages and fonts should not become a distraction to the content, and everything throughout the work should be consistent so that the design doesn't get in the way of the message. The order of front matter and back matter materials in a book should be consistent with other books in the genre, and the table of contents or links (if an ebook) should be set up to help the reader navigate the book. more

Genre often dictates a range of possible book and ebook interior options, just like white-papers, product inserts, reports, and manuals all have their own style. With over 20 years in design and desktop publishing, I can craft your document so that it's professional and suited to its purpose — whether it's a 20-page report or a 400-page novel.

Indexing and citations

Have you ever flipped to the back of a book to look at the index before purchasing the book? A proper index in a non-fiction book shows a level of sophistication and care to the reader. It implies that your book is a reference work -- not just a discardable message. Increase the shelf-life of your books with an index. Citations are a necessity in any work that uses the ideas, research, data, thoughts, etc. of someone other than the author — the references must be included. more

As part of the book formatting process, I provide proper cross-references ("see page XX"), indexing, footnotes, citations and properly list reference materials. You should have an idea of the level of detail you need in an index before beginning the indexing process. I've indexed shorter works through full books and cookbooks.

Cover design

Obviously books are often judged on their cover, no matter what people tell you. But a cover can also be an important part of other projects like whitepapers and reports. There needs to be some thought, care and attention put into the cover for your project. more

A professional cover can make some projects. If you have photographs, illustrations, or original artwork for your cover, I can assemble it with the title, subtitle, by-line, spine & spine text if possible, and back cover art, blurb, author bio and author photo. This service is important for reports, whitepapers, books & ebooks, maybe more.

Self-publishing assistance

It's a jungle out there. There are so many options for self-publishing, how do you know when you're getting a good deal, or good distribution for your book? Do you know how to handle the steps in self-publishing? This is a broad topic area and I can help you get through it. more

Individual consulting regarding the best options for your book, including researching the vendors you are looking at and comparing them to the standard vendors such as Createspace, Lulu, etc.

Proof Review

You've selected your publishing company, uploaded the cover and interior files, and ordered proofs to see what it looks like before you publish. I can help you scrub over the printed material that you've already written and re-written, edited and worked over several times. I can be the fresh set of eyes you need to go over your proof copy (or "galley") with you.

Document & marketing material design & printing services.

Whether you're self-published, or published traditionally, you still need to market yourself and your books & services. Some business cards, bookmarks, or a brochure with all your books or services can help people remember you. more

I operate in my local area as a print broker and offer design and printing services. You can see my printing services here. From simple printing campaigns to every-door-direct-mail to help you promote your book.

Marketing Brainstorming

Like all the traditional publishing routes, nowadays authors have to market their own books. However you don't have to come up with your marketing ideas and strategy alone. We will brainstorm about venues, messages, opportunities, how to utilize your platform, scheduling marketing into your calendar, and whatever other assistance and accountability you need.

Testimonials

Criss Ittermann designed and created my wonderful cover. Her talent and creativity made it look so beautiful. —Bette Lee Meci, Ground-breaking Choices & Courage: How could I send my 6 year-old son to India? Acknowledgements, Middletown, NY (I also helped Bette name her book, and with post-book social media & blog support.)

Books I've Helped Birth

(These links are Amazon affiliate links. Every few months I get a modest check for affiliate sales from Amazon. This is not how I make a living, and it doesn't affect how much you pay.)

Getting Started

No matter which step in the book-creation & sales process you're at, I can help you out. Please contact me below and let me know where you're at in the process and we can talk about how I can help you.

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