Our Services

Midwest Book Doctors
Making Good Writing Better

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How We Help You and What We Charge to Do It

Level I Critique. A reading of the entire book, which results in an assessment of a book's potential, reflected in a short report. This report may be transmitted electronically. If you're not sure your book is ready for submission, checking it out with an experienced editor can keep you from sending your book too soon and burning your publishing bridges.

Level II Analysis. A careful reading of the entire manuscript, which results in on-page notes and a chapter-by-chapter report on the book's style, flow, pacing, readability, accuracy, word choices, and other topics. This service has helped authors from submitting books with embarrassing errors.

Full Service. An exhaustive edit of each line of the manuscript, with suggestions for cutting, moving, consolidating, or otherwise strengthening sections of the text. This process may take several drafts and considerable time.

Ghostwriting. Creating the manuscript with the author serving as consultant and subject matter expert. The author may choose whether to grant the writer jacket credit. This is a useful service if you are an expert with a story to tell but no time to write it.

Proofreading. A clean-up service that involves looking for typos, misspellings, grammatical and diction errors, punctuation problems, and other text issues that can keep editors and agents from taking you seriously. It's that last set of eyes every author needs.

Proposals and Query Letters. We assist with these important adjuncts to your book, but we do not write them for you.

In almost every case, we work only on complete manuscripts. It is difficult to provide meaningful service on a partial manuscript.

Rates

Midwest Book Doctors provides professional services for writers who are working toward publication.

We charge flat rates for some of our services. Rates quoted are for average-sized manuscripts of approximately 300 pages. If a book is considerably shorter or longer, the rate structure will be adjusted.

Level I Critique
$1,500.00

Level II Analysis
$3,500.00

Full Service
Negotiated by project

Ghostwriting
Negotiated by project; price may be reduced if jacket credit is offered.

Proofreading
$.01-$.03 per word, depending on the difficulty of the project and the extent of references and notes. Proofreading does not include correction of the manuscript or editorial suggestions.

If other services have been contracted for prior to full service, those fees will be subtracted from the full service fee. Generally, half the fee is paid upon signing the letter of agreement, and terms are negotiated for the second half of the fee.

However, don't hesitate to speak with us about payment arrangements. We offer a variety of options, and we often work with authors on individual payment plans.

What Others Say

A Love for Learning: Motivation and the Gifted Child, by Carol Strip Whitney and Gretchen Hirsch, has been named a Best Book by the Arizona Book Publishing Association and also given an Indie Award of Excellence, which recognizes achievement by independent publishers and small presses. It has also received an Iparenting Award of Merit. The first book by the author team, Helping Gifted Children Soar: A Practical Guide for Parents and Teachers, also received a Best Book Award from the Arizona Book Publishing Association.