How The Word Process Works
Writing a book is an intense, personal undertaking, fraught with self-doubt. You may find yourself wondering whether your characters are as interesting to others as they are to you, whether your prose flows smoothly, whether your plot works, or whether you are getting your message out. Since a book is a big investment of time and emotion, it is well worth getting a second opinion.
That’s where The Word Process comes in. We get excited about works-in-progress and love the adventure of figuring out how to make them better. Our manuscript editing services are fast, efficient, affordable, and highly professional. (As former journalists, we are used to meeting deadlines.) And we care. (As published authors, we know what it’s like to take a book from conception to publication.)
Developmental Editing (also known as Content Editing or Book Doctoring)
Developmental editing is looking at the manuscript from above – taking all the material into consideration – and thinking about broad changes that might be made to enhance continuity, clarify the thesis or plot, and create a gradual flow (suspense) that keeps the reader glued to the page.
We read the manuscript through, taking copious notes as we go along. Then we write a very detailed critique of what works, what doesn’t work, what we feel could be done to fix things, and what other little touches we might suggest to make what’s good even better.
Developmental editing varies, of course, depending on whether we are editing novels, or editing nonfiction.
More on developmental editing.
Manuscript Editing
At the Word Process we copy edit but we do more. Copy editing is generally considered to be fixing grammar, spelling and punctuation. We do that. But we also smooth out sentences and remove repetitions to make the product better. We often demonstrate techniques – how to make dialogue less formal, for example, or how cutting out excessive words speeds up the pace of the narrative.
More on manuscript editing.
Book Proposals
A book proposal is a thumbnail sketch of a nonfiction manuscript written in a way that is designed to attract an agent and/or a publisher. The book proposal is an important promotional tool, one that not only tells what the book is about but also why this is the book everyone has been dying to read. Since you can write a book proposal without having completed the manuscript, book proposals also offer shortcuts in “testing the waters” to see if there is interest out there for your idea and can be very helpful in organizing a book. We both write book proposals for clients and “spruce up” already written book proposals (sometimes it’s difficult to brag about your own creation).
Query Letters
A query letter is what writers use to make contact with agents and/or publishers. Query letters are important because they are a writer’s one shot chance to solicit a response. We believe they should be short (no more than one page), they should titillate rather than sate (make the recipient want to know more rather than telling more than he needs to know), and be somewhat cocky. We help clients write them.
FEES
Because the nature of what we do varies dramatically from job to job, we will probably have to talk to you about your project before we can give you an estimated price. We charge by the hour or by the job.