We can help you shape your story. We can trim fat, build muscle and recommend vitamins. Remember, your first one-hour consultation is free. Check all our services below:
Manuscript Review and Recommendations (Fiction and Nonfiction)
BODY ASSESSMENT
So, you’ve finished writing your book. Now what? It’s time for a reality check. Let our experienced editors review your work and give you an honest evaluation of the state of the manuscript. We won’t put a mark on your manuscript. This is a written evaluation only – not editing. Our report will include the good, the bad and the ugly:
- Evaluation of the technical state of the manuscript, including grammar, spelling, punctuation, and other mechanics
- Evaluation of the editorial state of the manuscript, including (depending on the genre) style, organization, transitions, clarity, use of evidence, movement, characters, story arc, resolution, and other characteristics
- Recommendations on additional research
- Recommendations on finding the right audience
- Recommendations on marketing
- Possibilities for publishing
Price for manuscript review and recommendations: $500 for manuscripts up to 100,000 words.
The additional fee for longer manuscripts is $0.005 per word over 100,000. This fee includes a meeting to go over the report.Typical schedule: One week
Kick-Starting Your Book (Nonfiction Only)
BASIC FITNESS PLAN
You have this great idea for a nonfiction book. Maybe it’s your ten keys to business success, the history of your family, or a memoir of your year in Fiji. But you just can’t seem to get started on it. We can help. Over a series of personal interviews and through our questionnaire, we will help you develop a customized roadmap for writing your book.
- We’ll discuss your ideas for the book at length.
- We’ll talk about the practical and logistical considerations of writing the book.
- We’ll discuss the need for research.
- We’ll go over possible audiences and other applications for your book.
- We’ll talk about marketing.
- In the end, you will walk away with a road map: a detailed outline of your book and a recommended plan for working on it. You will have made it over the first hurdle.
Price for kick-starting your book: $2,000
Typical schedule: Three weeks
COACH. TRAINER. NAG.
Maybe what you really need is a professional nag. You know, someone to check in with you on a regular basis to see how you are doing and to act as a sounding board for your latest best ideas. We offer that service, too.
Price for nagging: $75 per hour via phone or skype
If you’d like to meet in person, then the hourly rate is the same, but will include travel costs.
Typical schedule: As long as you need us
Ghostwriting (Nonfiction Only)
CAN'T DO IT YOURSELF? CREATE AN AVATAR.
Okay, you’ve got this fabulous idea for a book, but you simply can’t imagine sitting in front of a computer day after day and actually writing it. You can talk it through from beginning to end, but you just can’t convert talk to text. It sounds as though you need a ghostwriter.
We need to meet. Let’s talk about your book and your dreams for it. Let’s see if we are like-minded enough to work together for three to nine months. Let’s discuss the state of your research, the sections you might have started, and your approach. Then NLEA will give you a proposal for ghostwriting your book. And we are true ghosts. This is strictly a work-for-hire and you will own all the rights. We will never reveal that you have been a client.
Price for ghostwriting: In most cases, $10,000-60,000, depending on the book’s length and complexity, the amount of research required, how the tasks and schedules of author and ghostwrite are structured, and other factors, all of which will be spelled out in the proposal.
Typical schedule: Three to nine months
Comprehensive Editing (Fiction and Nonfiction)
MUD BATH AND MASSAGE
A comprehensive edit of your draft manuscript starts with our manuscript review and recommendations (see above). This kind of an edit includes comments on stylistic elements such as organization, word choice, tone, characterization and how your work fits into the genre. We might suggest changes in sentence structure, or rephrasing for better transitions and clarity. The comprehensive edit also includes a thorough proofreading.
Unlike some of our competition, we see this as a cooperative effort. We will be in touch by phone and email during the editing process and we will get together when the manuscript is done for a debriefing meeting.
Price for comprehensive editing: We start with the basic fee for the manuscript review and recommendations (minimum $500, see above), then add $0.02-0.05 per word, depending on the state of the manuscript. Our proposal will spell out the fee in detail because nobody likes surprises when it comes to money.
For example, for a 75,000-word manuscript, the fee would range from $2000 to $4250.Typical schedule: One to two weeks, depending on the length and state of the manuscript
Proofreading (Fiction and Nonfiction)
DERMABRASION
Proofreading covers grammar, spelling, punctuation and mechanical consistency ONLY. We make no comments or suggestions on the actual content. Keeping our mouths closed may require duct tape, but we see that as a professional risk that we are willing to take.
Price for proofreading: $0.009 per word
Typical schedule: One to two weeks, depending on the length and state of the manuscript
Research (Fiction and Nonfiction)
AND HERE THE METAPHOR FAILS.
At some point in our long careers, it seems as though we have researched almost everything: 3D filmmaking, growing tomatoes, basic physics, statistics on moms and their shopping habits, cowboys on television, religious response to the bomb, family histories, the circus, German cinematography, the making of The Empire Strikes Back, and the list goes on.
We can do internet research, library research, personal interviews, and more, to help you fill out the information in your book. If you’re planning to cite sources, we’ll keep track of all the information you will need to do that.
Basic price for research: $75 per hour plus expenses
Typical schedule: Depends on the need
Our Clients
Since 1990, our writing, editing, and research clients have included the following movers and shakers:
Anaheim Muzeo
ObieCo Entertainment
The Rich Partners
BRJ & Associates
AOL/Time Warner
Metavision
Urban Land Institute
Imax Corp.
White Oak Associates
Rochester Museum and Science Center
Showscan Entertainment
Iwerks Entertainment
WQED West
Mitroff MediaMakers
Saban Entertainment
BRC Imagination Arts
Harris Enterprises and Realty Company
Entech Creative Industries
Esgate and Assoc.
Harmonix Music Systems Inc.
MCA Planning and Development - The Wakayama Project