Editing and Coaching Services

Dianne Jacob Coaching • Editing • Writing

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Coaching and Editing Services

Coaching
You want to write a non-fiction book
You’ve already written something and you’d like feedback on it
You need an edit

Coaching

When you have a coach, you’re not alone anymore, wondering how to get your writing done and whether it's any good. Instead, we work together, and you will feel encouraged, confident and energized by your progress.

Working with me means your chance of success increases. That’s because as an editor, I have been on the receiving end of writing submissions for decades. I know what other editors want to see when they look at your work. And based on years of working with writers, I will use my skills to help you crystalize and focus your idea, including figuring out what makes it saleable. While other kinds of editors concentrate on crafting sentences and fixing grammar, my specialty is understanding the big picture of how your article or book will succeed in the publishing world.

My success depends entirely on yours. Helping you get published is my goal.

You want to write a non-fiction book

Most of the people I work with want to write their own non-fiction books. If this is true for you, you must write a book proposal first. A book proposal is like a sales pitch. It tells the agent or publisher why they should be interested in your book, and sells the idea.

You and I will work together on focusing your book, ensuring that the idea is exciting and sellable. You will write each part of the proposal with my guidance. I provide ideas, resources and additional information as appropriate. Once you have written a draft of a section, I'll edit it and give you suggestions on how to improve it. It might take a few passes until we get it right. Eventually I will make direct edits to your work, specifically to improving your writing, structure and focus.

When the proposal is complete, I will edit it again, ensuring it is consistent, flows properly and is exciting enough to send to an agent or publisher. I will help you find the right ones, and show you how to approach them for maximum success. Typicallly the writers I work with want to find agents. I have connections to agents, and can make introductions.

You’ve already written something and you’d like feedback on it

As a veteran editor, I can review your book idea, sample chapters or writing you’ve done so far. I will look at the pieces as a whole and make general comments, and I will also make specific comments right on the page. Then together, we will review my comments, talk about how to move forward, and discuss how to position your book for maximum success.

"I hired Dianne to help me find a traditional publisher for my self-published books. She gave me excellent suggestions to make my query letter stand out. She also researched a list of literary agents who would have the most interest in my subject. I felt more confident immediately."

-- Patricia Noel Drain Author and Speaker, Phoenix, AZ

You need an edit

You’ve written a manuscript or proposal and would like an edit before you send it out.

As a veteran editor, I can untangle sentences, check spelling and grammar, move paragraphs around, and do other line edits.

"Dianne is a pleasure to work with - quick, perceptive, sensitive and invariably right. As a new fiction author, I particularly appreciated the objective and honest critique, and her encouragement and suggestions for a better story."

-Jack Russ, Alamo, CA

Next step

Now that you have an idea of how we might work together, either call me for a free consultation, or send an e-mail describing your book idea or the type of help you'd like. For contact information, please click here

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