Last week, I introduced developmental editing and gave an overview of what it is. This week, I’m describing what it’s not. As developmental editing is its own animal, it doesn’t deal with any of the following: Copy editing. This type of editing focuses on word choice, punctuation, capitalization, style, typographical errors, and grammar. Copy editors…
Read MoreYou’ve completed a first draft of your manuscript. Congratulations! Now you need it checked by a developmental editor. Developmental editing is the process where the editor critically examines the manuscript and addresses all the major issues, including style issues, sentence phrasing, and pacing. The key word is critically because the work can result in substantially…
Read MoreYou have an idea for a book that you’re sure will be a big hit and reach a wide audience. You also have decided that, for whatever reason, you can’t write it yourself. So, you hire a ghostwriter. Unfortunately, the book you got was pure drek: typos galore, inconsistent style, questionable organizational choices, and words…
Read MoreJust because you want to use ghostwriting services doesn’t mean the ghostwriter will want to partner with you. Like many creative types, ghostwriters want to work with people who have stories to tell that excite, motivate and inspire them. Ghostwriters like helping people tell their stories that move people to action and that which they…
Read MoreAnother important aspect to ghostwriting is the ability to step into someone else’s shoes and tell that person’s story in their words, voice and tone. The worst thing a ghostwriter can do is submit the writing and have the person say, “That doesn’t sound like me at all. That sounds like you.” It makes sense,…
Read MoreAre you sure that person whose book you’re reading really wrote it? Chances are they didn’t, or at the very least, they got help. And I don’t mean the kind of help that an editor gives to every manuscript. I’m talking about the actual writing. Chances are, the author used a ghostwriter. Simply put, a…
Read MoreBack in 2002, the independent publishing services firm The Jenkins Group released a survey that said 81% of Americans feel they have a book in them. To which noted writer and editor Joseph Epstein wrote that he has little faith in Americans’ abilities to do so. In fact, most people never get that book out…
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