Editing Services

Editing & Design

Editing services are available to authors who sign under the Best or Pro levels.

The main goal of the editing phase of production of your book is to polish it and make your message as clear as possible for readers. Our book editor will approach your manuscript with a fresh perspective and a keen eye for detail. There are several types of editors:

Editor – The editor looks at the overall content of the book and works to improve the flow of the text while correcting any grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors. The main goal of the editor is to improve the readability of the manuscript by adding transitions, tightening writing, or rewriting sentences to enhance what the author has written.

Copyeditor – The copyeditor handles all the fact checking and verifying references for accuracy. The copyeditor also corrects any grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors that the editor missed.

Proofreader – The proofreader is responsible for reading the manuscript and looking for any grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors after the book has been typeset.

TEACH Services handles editing and copyediting during the initial editing phase. The author is responsible for secondary copyediting (verifying sources other than the Bible and Spirit of Prophecy and looking for grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors) after the editing phase and is also responsible for proofreading after typesetting is complete.

The role of our editor is to make your manuscript shine and help you put your best foot forward as you prepare to share your work with the world. Our editors will do the following:

Correct grammatical, spelling, capitalization, and punctuation errors
Ensure that your writing follows The Chicago Manual of Style* and publishing industry styles and standards, including using gender neutral language
Ensure that the writing and organization of the book is cohesive and consistent throughout, enhancing it where necessary
Check all Bible texts and Spirit of Prophecy references to ensure their accuracy
Check other facts that need to be verified
Delete repetition that detracts from the book and its message
Remove unnecessary words or weak phrases
Ensure that proper transitions are used to guide the reader through the book

Our editor will utilize the tracked changes feature in Microsoft Word so that you can review and approve all of the changes that are made to your manuscript. Upon completion of the editing process, you will receive a PDF of your manuscript. At that time, you will review the changes and work with the editor to make any further corrections to your manuscript before it is sent to typesetting.

If your manuscript includes remarks about an individual or organization that could come across as unflattering, please check out the following web site for information about libel (defamation of character in written form): http://www.personal-injury-info.net/libel-definition.htm.

*Please note: The Chicago Manual of Style does not capitalize pronouns such as He, Him, His when referring to God, but TEACH Services does. Also, Chicago capitalizes major religious events such as the crucifixion, the ascension, the incarnation, but TEACH Services lowercases these events. See our Guidelines (PDF) for details.

Layout

What is the first thing that catches your eye when you are at a bookstore filled with thousands of books? Of course, the cover! People are attracted to well-designed covers that are clean, sleek, and present the main idea of the book in a visual format. All of our publishing levels benefit from the front cover design service built by our graphics department.

And once they open the cover, you will continue to hold their interest if the interior text is layed out in an organized and professional manner with consistent headings, chapter titles, easy-to-read typefaces, appropriate spacing, and other design features. (Cover layout and design services are available to authors who sign under the Better, Best, and Pro levels.)

The role of a design editor is to make your inside text pages look their best. Our designer will do the following:

Update any web-links to forwarded web-links
Select fonts and font sizes
Place pictures, graphics, and tables
Place Table of Contents and cross link
Insert Foot or End notes and cross link
Create Pull Quotes
Select proper margins
Build chapter layout

At TEACH Services, our typesetter and graphic designer work closely together to create a beautiful, professionally designed book that will grab people's attention. This design includes the back cover, which will include a description of your book, the ISBN barcode, and a short biography and/or photograph if you desire and if there is enough space (any jewelry for adornment will be edited out). If artwork is desired, we have many artists and styles you can choose from. Click here for some samples you can view (PDF file).

Children's or Graphic Books

If you have or are writing a children’s book, we normally follow the following proceedure to build and create your book. Click here to view our procedure. Please NOTE: Children books are normally produced in a “fixed format” in color and therefore may only be made available for iPad, Nook Color, and Kindle Fire.

Getting Your Book Coded Properly

The publishing industry uses the ISBN (International Standard Book Number) to trace your title back to your publisher. In addition to our design services, TEACH Services handles obtaining the ISBN for your title and registering your title with R. R. Bowker, a bibliographic tool for libraries, booksellers, and publishers. We will also obtain a LOC (Library of Congress) catalog number for your book, and assign a BISAC (Book Industry Standards and Communications) topical code.