The Word Process is a partnership of two writers, editors, and published novelists who have been helping authors write books for almost two decades. We offer a wide range of services – ghostwriting, book proposal writing, and editing of all genres of fiction and nonfiction. Our specialty is developmental editing – figuring out how to make a manuscript better.
Manuscript Editing
We will streamline sentences – cut unnecessary phrases and words – because it is an effective way to speed the pace, therefore creating a more pleasant reading experience. Reorder paragraphs when it makes a narrative more logical. Analyze the mechanics of dialogue.
Developmental Editing
As professional editors, we know how to take it from where it is to where it can be. Our suggestions are not arbitrary, rather they are based on decades of experience working with authors like yourself. Authors find the process to be energizing and often spurs them on to come up with some new ideas.
Book Proposals
We write book proposals for clients, edit those they write themselves, and/or guide them in the writing.
Novel Editing
We hold novel writing and editing close to our hearts. We understand how easy it is to lose yourself in the world of fiction and how your characters often become more real than those in your everyday world. We preserve the excitement in your head and assist in translating to the written page.
Nonfiction Editing
Good works of fiction are often described as “page-turners.” Nonfiction writing – whether it is a memoir, a book proposal, a “how-to” self-help book, a medical journal, a financial study, or a political thesis – should be able to catch the reader’s interest and keep them turning the pages. Our goal in editing nonfiction is to help writers do just that.
Query Letters
A query letter is what writers use to make contact with agents and/or publishers. We believe they should be short (no more than one page), 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.