Your Goals for the Book

People write books for many different reasons. Some authors are writing to establish their professional reputation and gain credibility in their field. Others are writing to create a stream of passive revenue that is ancillary to a consulting, coaching or speaking career. Most authors write because they feel that they have a unique message or story and are compelled to share it with the world because it is important in some way beyond the author's experience.

The Value of a Third-Party Perspective

Writing is an extremely personal activity and sometimes an unbiased third-party can help you frame your message in a way that will broaden its appeal to the rest of the world. If you are not a professional writer, it is sometimes helpful to have a second set of eyes look at the organization of your material and the voice you are using to communicate your ideas. Understanding your market (or your target audience) is key to effective communication and often you can improve the odds that your manuscript will be published if an experienced publisher gives you feedback on the draft.
 
Sometimes when you are writing a book you are so close to the material that you lose your objectivity and it is difficult to know if you are onto an idea or an approach that has merit. People who have considerable expertise in a field can lose perspective on their content and not communicate effectively to a general audience who is new to the material. Authors sometimes forget to share their own stories, in their effort to deliver their message, when often the lessons are best communicated in the context of a personal story.

How a Manuscript Review Will Help You

We have worked in writing partnerships with many high profile business and professional experts who for various reasons (usually incredibly busy schedules caused by their success and celebrity) require a collaborator to help them complete and perfect a book project. Our collective experience has given us a strong sense of what constitutes a well-structured, well-written manuscript and what needs to be reworked to have commercial viability.

When You Have Nailed It:

If we determine that your manuscript has commercial viability we will make suggestions about how to approach a book proposal so that you can capture the attention of a literary agent who will approach publishers on your behalf and seek to obtain a contract for publication of your work. If you are looking to self publish we can give you some guidance on this process or steer you toward a small independent press that you might approach directly.

When You Need to Rewrite:

If we conclude that your manuscript is not ready for prime time, we will tell you what needs to be done to the manuscript to bring it up to the level where it is commercially viable - either an agent will be willing to represent you or the project has enough going for it that self publishing would be a worthwhile investment.

The issues that can cause a manuscript to have problems are all over the map:

• you might have issues with the organization of the material
• you might have inconsistencies in voicing (sometimes you have written in first person, sometimes in third)
• you might have issues with permissions or licensing
• it may not be clear whether the material is a business book or falls in the self help category
• you may need more stories that illustrate the meat of your message
• you may have written in too technical a style or too colloquially for the mainstream market

All of these potential problems are easily corrected and can make or break a manuscript submission.

How to Proceed:

Do you have a manuscript that you would like an experienced publisher look at and give you an indication whether or not you are onto a publishable concept? Paige Wright Books will review your Table of Contents and full or partial manuscript and give you a telephone consultation of what is working and what needs more work before your seek a publisher or literary agent.

When you retain us to review your manuscript, we will ask to see your bio and invite you to write a short essay about why you have written the book and what your objective is for publication.

• Are you writing a retail bookstore bestseller?
• Is your book a marketing vehicle to drive business to your consulting business or professional practice?
• Will your book be sold primarily at your speaking engagements and through an e-commerce application on your own web site?
• Is your book intended for a specific niche market or professional community?
• Have you already published any articles or other material on this topic?

If you would like to discuss our process in more detail, send us 500 words so we have a sense of your work and we will give you a call to explain how we might work with you.