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Development Edit - Cost: $0.06/word ($250 minimum)

This is the most personalized of Dog Ear Publishing’s editorial services. The primary goal of this edit is to ensure that the needs of prospective readers are fully met. Every manuscript and author has different needs, and our developmental editor works with you to address what your manuscript needs most. In a technical or business book, this includes an overview of complete content, organization of material, presentation of core concepts, and development of supplemental content such as lists, charts, art, and other non-text elements. In a work of fiction or a nonfiction narrative, this includes character and plot development, scene, and overall story arc and progression.

Development editors have been called writing coaches. Our service begins with a thorough review of the genre, target market, and specific topic. The editor creates an outline of the manuscript and reviews the developing work at all levels: paragraph, chapter, and complete manuscript. During the early phase of the manuscript’s creation, the development editor suggests changes to the structure and progression. The author updates the manuscript after considering the editor’s suggestions, and then the editor reviews it and makes further suggestions. The editor reviews the manuscript multiple times, also ultimately providing a copyedit.

Dog Ear recommends a development edit in a variety of situations and for a variety of reasons. Perhaps you have the basic text for a compelling story but want to make it more compelling, or perhaps friends and family who have reviewed your text have suggested that the dialogue is dull or the story is not moving quickly enough. Maybe you want to write a nonfiction book about a topic and know what you want to say but aren’t sure how to structure that information. Did you set out to tell one story but found that the text took on a mind of its own and tells multiple stories, and now you think you could use help splitting it up or trimming it down? A development editor can help with all of these issues and more.

Post-Edit Review - Cost: at least 50% of the original edit cost ($250 minimum)

After you have made or accepted the changes suggested by the editor to your manuscript, you may still have some questions. Maybe you’ve rewritten a chapter or two and want it to receive the same level of professional attention that the rest of your text received. A Dog Ear editor (whenever possible, the editor who reviewed your manuscript the first time) will review the text again. This is not a full edit but instead a check of added or changed text.

NOTE: A proofread, copyedit, literary edit, or development edit must have been applied to your book before we can perform this service.

Ghostwriting - Cost: Estimated upon consultation*

Quite often, an author has an idea for a compelling story but finds it difficult or overwhelming to produce complete content. Autobiographies are often done by ghostwriters. We provide a writer who helps an author fully develop his or her ideas and who provides the "wordsmithing" required to get those ideas on paper. Our writer begins with your outline and combines it with extensive interview time to produce a fully developed first draft of the manuscript. The first draft is then provided to the author for review. This service also includes a copyedit.

Cost: Estimated upon consultation. This is a highly customized service for which cost and timeline must be calculated on an individual basis.

*Cost is estimated upon consultation. An initial writing sample is available for $199 (applied toward cost if purchased).