Real Truth Publications is a full-service publishing house. The following are the writing and editing services RTP offers (see explanations below). Fees provided upon request.

Editorial Services
  1. Critique
  2. Proofreading
  3. Content Editing/Substantive Editing
  4. Copyediting/Line-by-Line Editing
  5. Developmental Editing

(Please Note: Some services may be best performed contemporaneously)

Writing Services
  1. Rewriting (aka, Book Doctoring)
  2. Ghostwriting/Coauthoring
  3. Author Mentoring/Coaching
Audiobook Narration/Production/Publishing
  1. Narration
  2. Complete Audiobook Production (narration, editing, mastering, etc.)
  3. Complete Audiobook Publishing — Digital Download format on all major distribution sites (Audible, iTunes, etc.) and/or production of physical CD-sets
Related Services

(These may be managed by RTP and contracted out to other service providers)

  1. Transcription
  2. Data entry
  3. Indexing
  4. Translation
  5. Research

EXPLANATION OF EDITORIAL SERVICES

Critique

A broad, overall assessment of a manuscript to render a professional editorial opinion with respect to “publishability” as a self-published publication, and/or its potential for acceptance by a literary agent and/or a royalty-paying publisher, as well as its strengths and weaknesses, and whether or not the current version could be improved to a publishable status through professional editing.

Proofreading

This is a detailed reading of script/galleys looking for and annotating:

  • Typographical errors;
  • Formatting errors/inconsistencies;
  • Chapter, section, paragraph architecture, and sentence syntax;
  • Misspelled/missing/misused words (including incorrect word usage);
  • Grammatical problems (including verb tenses and syntax);
  • Punctuation errors (including hyphenation, em-dashes, en-dashes, and quotation marks);
  • Emphasis (bold, italics, underline, upper-case) and titling (italics, title-case) errors;
  • Abbreviations, acronyms, and capitalization errors;
  • Errors of numbers, dates, times;
  • Character/line spacing errors;
  • Verfication of special terms, names, location references, et al.;
  • Numerical and alphabetical sequencing errors/inconsistencies;
  • Reference errors/inconsistencies (Scriptures, quotes, illustrations, tables, notes, etc.);
  • Revision proofing – to verify all editorial changes by author(s) and editor(s) have been properly made;
  • Galley proofing — to verify galleys reflect all edits;
Content Editing (aka, Substantive Editing)

Focuses on:

  • Overall conceptual and topical clarity, authenticity, logic, and tone;
  • Factual accuracy and consistency;
  • Content readability, flow, structure, and organization;
  • Paragraph structure and sentence syntax with respect to readability;
  • Usage of appropriate/needed explanations, anecdotes, analogies, and illustrations;
  • Potential marketing/PR considerations.
Copyediting (aka, Line Editing) — Line-by-line editing

 The copyeditor annotates errors/issues in the script for the editor’s and author’s review and action. RTP offers three levels of copyediting:

Light (Basic) Copyedit — analyzes and annotates script for:

  • Logicalness and understandability;
  • Continuity;
  • Appropriate citations and attributions for sources and quotations;
  • Factual inaccuracies and inconsistencies.

Medium (Moderate) Copyedit — analyzes content for all facets of the Light Copyedit plus:

  • Redundancies and duplications;
  • Sentence clarity;
  • Word usage/choice;
  • Proper maintenance of tone/voice.

Heavy (In-depth) Copyedit — analyzes content for all facets of the Medium Copyedit plus:

  • Consistency of style and mood or presentation of content;
  • Perspective or point of view appropriateness for each scene (fiction);
  • Character proofing (fiction) — a character-by-character galley proofing to verify consistency of each character throughout the storyline.
  • Verification of references, quotations, figures, tables, equations, etc. (nonfiction);
  • Copyright issues.
Developmental Editing (aka, Project Coaching)

— involves working with the author in the development of every phase and aspect of the publishing project from the initial concept, outline, or draft through each subsequent draft or version regarding content, organization, and presentation, based on comparisons of similar existing publications, reviewer, market, and other analysis. The developmental editor reviews the manuscript for revisions needed in the following aspects:

  • Content organization to achieve proper text flow with respect to sentence, paragraph, and chapter structure;
  • Content clarity, readability, and effectiveness with respect to use of transitional and sequencing mechanisms, pace, progression, and over presentation.

EXPLANATION OF WRITING SERVICES

 

Rewriting

involves rewriting portions of existing text, notes, and/or transcriptions submitted by the author with the aim of achieving substantial and needed improvement to the finished manuscript.

Ghostwriting/Coauthoring

involves the writing of a manuscript by a surrogate writer (ghostwriter) in collaboration with the author/coauthor, based on text, notes, outlines, research, knowledge, and/or transcriptions provided by the author, as well as any additional information obtained through additional research. Ownership of the copyright is retained by the author, and royalties are apportioned according to a legal agreement between the author and writer. Typically the client (author/co-author) pays the writer a non-refundable retainer (advance) consisting of 50% of the projected (if based on a per page fee) or actual (if based on an preset project fee) total project fee prior to commencement of work, followed by two additional payments, at the 75% completion juncture and the final payment prior to delivery of the final portion. CLICK HERE to read more indepth explanation of Ghostwriting.

Mentoring/Coaching

 An editorial mentor/coach functions as a writing coach to assist the author in the development of writing, self-editing, and project developmental skills and expertise, book proposal preparation, and literary agent and publisher search. The mentor/coach may also perform any number of the functions of a developmental editor/book doctor, typically assisting the author throughout much of the author’s writing career on a multiple project basis as opposed to a single project.

EXPLANATION OF RELATED SERVICES (May be subcontracted)

Transcription

recorded messages are transcribed to a computer document. Service provider is responsible for accurate transcription of oral presentation to the written script, however, no editing is included, but generally basic proofreading, at the minimum is needed and recommended.

Data Entry

Text printed or typed on paper is entered into a computer document. No editorial services other than basic page proofing are included.

Indexing

An alphabetical listing of references to important terms and concepts in the book, usually performed from the final galleys.

Translation

Content in one language is converted to another language, with extreme attention given to ensuring that words, terms, and idioms accurately reflect the intended meaning of the original.

Research

 Research is performed to find reliable and authoritative sources to further corroborate, authenticate, or verify the author’s posits or assertions, providing all appropriate attribution or documentation for all sourced material, and securing required permissions in accordance with copyright law and best practices. In a fiction project, a researcher may also ensure that all words, names, actions, and items mentioned in the storyline are time, place, and character appropriate.

EDITING MODES — There are three basic editing modes:

Hard-copy

For books that have already been published or manuscripts that have been “set” into galleys form by the publisher, editing will be done manually directly to a hard or printed copy of the book or galleys.

Electronic

The preferred method for non-published manuscripts and galleys is the electronic method using special editing features built into MsWord that allows for inline tracking of editing changes/suggestions to an electronic copy of the actual manuscript in the state it is submitted by the author to the editor.

Extracted

This method is primarily used for websites, wherein the copy is extracted (copied) from a website.

AUTHORITY SOURCES

For books/manuscripts, editing is performed in accordance with The Chicago Manual of Style and Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary is the authority on word usage and spelling. The Associated Press Stylebook and Webster’s New World College Dictionary are used for published articles.

  

 

AUDIOBOOK NARRATION:

We can also oversee the production of audiobooks of your existing book, and make the arrangements for it to be distributed/marketed via Amazon, ITunes, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo. Here’s a sample using one of our in-house narrators, but we can make the arrangements for other professional narrators to narrate your book as well: CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO SAMPLE AUDIOBOOK.

NO MARKETING SERVICES

RTP offers publishing-related services ONLY. We create/host a dedicated page on our website for each title for which we provide publishing services, as well as list it on our main catalog page with link to the dedicated page, at no additional charge. We do NOT offer any book marketing services other than that. Upon request, we can direct authors for whom we provide publishing services to the marketing programs we know about, concerning which we make no warranties, claims, or guarantees respecting their effectiveness or success. Authors would need to make arrangements directly with those companies for marketing services they provide.

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SUBMISSIONS

As you can see, Real Truth Publications can provide all the writing, editing, and publishing services you need to get your book produced and distributed…FAST!

CLICK HERE to submit information for a book project inquiry.