Book Revision: Some Options

By Tom Gnagey

Are you long on great story ideas but a bit short on the technical skills necessary to produce an acceptable, well written, story or book? You are not alone. It is why so many rewriting and book revision services are able to continue offering their services. What can you expect when you engage that kind of help?

When all you have is an idea – a plot, some characters, and a setting, perhaps, you will need the services of a ghostwriter. He will have you submit to him everything you can about the story idea. From there, he will write it for you. You will be given full credit in the end. Ghostwriting is the most extensive form of rewriting or book revision and is therefore the most expensive.

When your manuscript is complete but you understand it needs lots of polishing, you need to engage a rewriting service. This level of book revision involves a sentence by sentence evaluation and rewrite to correct grammar, sentence structure, paragraphing, vocabulary selection, and other fundamentals. It typically shortens the manuscript since non-professional writers tend to say too much too often. The cost can vary widely depending both on the amount of work that must be done and the basic fee structure of the person doing the rewriting. Shop around and read samples of their work.

Copy editing may be all you need if you have mastered most of the basic writing skills. This level of rewriting is sometimes called ´finishing´ or ´polishing´. It catches those kinds of errors that it is so easy to overlook in your own piece (spelling, homonym substitution, run-on sentences and the like). One of the best pieces of advice I received about writing was never to try doing the final proofing of my own material. Why? As the author you know what it is ´supposed´ to say so when you reread it you tend to read it as you intended it to have written it – missing the errors. Final proofing of a short story is difficult; doing it for ones own book length manuscript can become an excruciating, hair pulling, throwing the computer out the window, experience. (I jest – well, sort of!)

Some people believe it is a personal put down to need book revision or rewriting services. That´s foolishness. If you enjoy writing and creating story lines then write and create. Let somebody else sweat out the details for you. With training most anyone can learn the essentials of writing (if that becomes their goal), but no amount of training can produce a creative mind. If you have one, treasure it and find ways to make it work for you.

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About The Author
Tom Gnagey is a successful, long time, writer with more than 100 original books and 350 stories in his personally published bibliography (seven pen names). He has rewritten dozens manuscripts for others. His education includes degrees in psychology, education, and philosophy. Tom is a nationally known speaker and creative writing teacher. For FREE SAMPLES of his stories and information about his Writing Rx services go to www.TomsBookNook.com now.