Book Development
Developmental Editing
This type of editing addresses the big picture—the overall structure and content of your story. It is the FIRST step of the editing process. If you feel your story has plot holes, lack of character development, incomplete story arcs, or the main topic/genre/theme isn’t clear . . . you may need a developmental edit.
This may involve switching around paragraphs or even entire chapters. Often, major areas need to be deleted and revised or rewritten. If you’ve heard of the phrase, “Kill your darlings,” this is where it comes in! The author and editor work together closely to develop the story from the initial concept, usually during the writing/drafting process, and often studying competing works as well, to create a product that stands out—until the manuscript has the necessary elements to move on.
Content Editing (also called substantive or line editing)
A content edit tackles the overall writing structure. A good content editor will improve your story’s readability by adding depth and quality to your writing, while maintaining the integrity of your story and staying within your voice and style. Here’s where we check for inconsistencies (point-of-view, verb tense, syntax), flow, well-rounded characters, and a complete story arc—inciting moment, conflict, resolution, etc.
Content editing involves making significant changes to your manuscript, usually requiring you to rewrite/revise some sections. This should be done after a developmental edit, and before copy editing.
Copy Editing
This type of editing plunges into correcting spelling, grammar, punctuation, vocabulary, typos, dialogue tags, incorrect word usage, point of view shifts, and double-checking the table of contents. This requires several passes and is very time consuming, as it involves looking for and correcting many types of errors at once.
Copy editing should be completed before the final proofreading step.
Proofreading
This is the final step, after all the editing is complete. Proofreading involves correcting the mechanics of your manuscript (spelling, capitalization, punctuation, double words, grammar, usage, typos, and spacing). The proofreader should be the last pair of eyes on your manuscript before it’s formatted for publishing.
A word of caution, the copy editor and the proofreader should NEVER be the same person (there are few exceptions). Fresh eyes are needed for this last and most crucial step!
*We also provide proofreading in Spanish!
Formatting
We offer manuscript formatting for fiction, non-fiction, and even full color, illustrated children’s books! You will be provided with a beautiful book layout file in pdf for print, and an epub file for ebooks (specifically tailored for Kindle/Amazon, nook, apple iBooks, kobo, Google play, or the online book retailer of your choice).
Your formatted book will have the proper margins, indentations, spacing, paragraphs, chapter headers, correctly-sized interior fonts, and a html-friendly table of contents for ereaders. It will include a copyright page and will be of the same specs as traditionally published books.
Book Trailers
A book trailer is a short marketing video that promotes your book. It also introduces readers to your book in a unique way, other than a traditional book summary or review. Book trailers should be about a minute in length; much more and you risk losing your audience (short attention spans!). Our book trailers are produced by UnConventional Productions. We use elements of your book, story, and cover to capture its essence. Whether you want still images with words, a voice over, or actual characters is up to you! Every video is as unique as your book. We work from scratch, with you, to get the customized video you want.
Click here to go to the UnConventional Productions YouTube channel and view some of our book trailers.
Spanish Translation
We are fully booked out for 2023 on this service, sorry! We can refer you to a Spanish translator if you like.
Book Blurbs and Cover Design
A blurb is the book’s description that goes on the back cover, and on the sales page of any online store. We encourage you to write your own, but if you get stuck we’re here to help you.
Judging a book by its cover is EXACTLY what readers do! Your book’s cover is its calling card and first impression. You want it to be the best it can be! There are many amazingly talented designers, illustrators, and artists for hire, and if you know one—hire them! We don’t create custom images, but we can put a solid cover together with images you provide, or stock photos.
Publishing Services
We believe that YOU, as the author, should own your book rights and 100% of your royalties! We are not a traditional book publisher. We are not a vanity press. We will not take a percentage of your profits. We strongly encourage you to publish your books yourself, under your own name (or pen name).
However, should you not have the time or inclination, we can publish it on your behalf. For more on this, click here.
OUR RATES
Our rates are in line with the industry standards of the Editorial Freelancers Association.
*Final cost is based on word count.
We take payments via Venmo, PayPal, and Zelle, with a 50% deposit.
*We know every author, every story, and every project are unique. Please contact us so we can create your custom quote together, getting you the best rate possible. Email us today at editor@skyebluepress.com.