3 New Editing Services for 2023
Hey, magic writers! A few months ago, I asked some of my former and potential clients, friends, and colleagues (YOU!) to tell me what was missing from the editing landscape. What did you want and need for your stories that editors just weren’t offering? Boy, did y’all deliver with some awesome feedback and poignant pain points! I took your info and ideas back to my secret gnomish lab under the mountain, tinkered with some gears here, blew up some experiments there . . . and now (insert looooong drum roll) . . .
I am soooo excited to officially announce three new editing services, specifically tailored to YOUR requests.
I know I’ve been teasing these goodies for a while, but I finally got the remaining feedback from my beta clients and have made my last tweaks just this week. I can now say they’re ready for primetime.
So, read on to learn more about each and how they can help you along your publishing journey.
THE FULL EDITING JOURNEY
One thing I heard over and over from your responses was, “I want to hire just one editor for my book. I don’t want to have to spend so much time looking for multiple people for developmental editing, copyediting, and everything in between.”
Hoo boy. I feel you there. It’s hard enough to find just one editor who a.) you like, b.) gets you and your story, c.) is kind, responsive, and professional, and d.) knows their stuff. But two? Or even maybe three? Time-consuming and expensive!
So, my new package, the Full Editing Journey, is a one-stop solution to take your manuscript from draft to done, rough to finished, with one devoted editor to guide you along the entire arc of polishing and publishing your novel.
The Full Editing Journey combines the best parts of my Story Diagnostic service: a short, succinct SWOT assessment (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats—from the ::shudder:: corporate world) of your manuscript at any stage in the writing process and a Style Tune-Up, a thorough line and copyedit of your novel’s language and mechanics.
Plus, because the goodies shouldn’t have to end once your final, FINAL draft is polished, you also get to choose one of my other two new services to add on—a Query Cleanup or Marketing Magic—depending on your publishing goals. (See below for the deets on each of these.)
Here’s the bullet-point list of all the magic you’ll get on a Full Editing Journey:
- A full critique of your manuscript in an 8–12 page editorial letter
- A round of review questions between the Story Diagnostic and Style Tune-Up to help with your revisions
- A polished manuscript with all editing suggestions tracked
- A style sheet of your manuscript’s editing suggestions and important details
- A follow-up 30-minute phone call to answer any remaining questions at the end of the service
A Full Editing Journey is perfect for you if you are:
- A magic writer who wants a concierge editing service without having to spend the time to find and hire multiple editors
- A budget-savvy wordsmith who desires multiple rounds of editing, beginning to end, and wants to save $$ by not paying multiple editors different fees
- An indie author who wants the traditional-publishing editing treatment before you self-publish
As for Your Qs (because I know you have them)
Can I use a Full Editing Journey on a first draft?
Yes! In fact, it’s perfect for manuscripts at any stage.
How long do I have to make revisions between the stages of the Full Editing Journey?
The Journey starts with a Story Diagnostic, a manuscript assessment of your draft, and ends with a Style Tune-Up, a line and copyedit to polish your prose. We’ll work together at the beginning of journey to develop a schedule that will give you enough time to finish drafting and/or incorporate my feedback.
Ready to embark on a Full Editing Journey of your own? Click here to learn more, find pricing, and apply for yours.
MARKETING MAGIC
If you’re planning to self-publish, I’m sure you know there’s a TON of content that goes into marketing your book. Websites, social media, book jackets, author bios—ugh, it’s never-ending, right? Another thing I heard was you wanted your marketing copy, your author brand’s “face” to the world, to look as good as your book. Because who wants a perfect book but a typo on the book jacket? Not you, magic writer.
Here’s a fun fact you might not know about me: I used to write and edit corporate communications copy and design websites for clients like Time Warner and Bass Pro Shops. And that shizz had to be perfect—as multibillion-dollar brands, they had an image to uphold.
My love, you, as an author, also have a brand. Yup! Your author image is important. It tells your readers, “Hey, I’m a serious author, and I’m serious about putting out quality books.” Your marketing introduces a reader to your work. Why not make a great first impression with error-free copy?
Which is why I don’t want to leave you hanging after your book is done. Let’s keep this editing party going! Marketing Magic is just the thing—an eagle-eyed review of all your marketing materials, from your website content to your blog posts to your social media to your bio and blurb.
The sky’s the limit, and YOU get to decide what gets two complete copyediting passes before you launch. I’ll check for grammar, usage, mechanics, spelling, and any other writing trolls that lurk within, returning a document full of mistake-free copy that you can just plug and play into your marketing channels.
As for Your Qs
Can I add Marketing Magic to another editing service?
You betcha. It’s available as a standalone or in addition to a regular edit of your book. Bonus: if you add it to another editing service, you get a discount.
Is this a one-time edit, or an ongoing service?
Either! If you need ongoing editing help, we’ll hash out a plan.
Ready for some Marketing Magic of your own? Click here to learn more, find pricing, and apply for yours.
QUERY CLEANUP
But what if you’re a soldier in the other camp, planning to enter the trenches of querying and agent-finding? The second-most common cry for help in my survey was from authors who want to traditionally publish but need tons of help making their query and synopsis look good to an agent.
Oy. People make six figures from classes and seminars alone on writing query letters. I know, because I’ve taken those classes. Guilty as charged!
And from those classes and seminars and books and so on and so on, I’ve distilled down the top advice into a comprehensive checklist to determine if your query letter and synopsis contains what an agent looks for in a great query.
From that checklist, I compose a diagnostic letter similar to the one you get in a Story Diagnostic that analyzes your query package’s strengths and opportunities for revision. It’ll tell you all the things that might get your query tossed and offer tactics for turning those pitfalls into plums they’ll want to sink their teeth into.
But, that’s not the end: just like a Full Editing Journey, after your revisions, I’ll do a complete line and copyedit on the language of your letter and synopsis.
Because why go to all the trouble of crafting the perfect query just to be snowballed by a typo? Yikes!
As for Your Qs
Can I add a Query Cleanup to another editing service?
Yes! Just like Marketing Magic, it’s available as a standalone or in addition to a regular edit of your book. Bonus: if you add it to another editing service, you get a discount.
Can you still do a Query Cleanup for a book you haven’t read?
Sure! If your book isn’t one I’ve previously read or edited, I charge a one-time reading fee of $150.
Ready to show your query package some love? Click here to learn more, find pricing, and apply for yours.
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And there you have it! A fresh-baked pile of new editing goodies, designed specifically for you, my friend. So, which one are you gonna nibble on first? Right this way to learn more about each new service and apply for yours.
