Publishing Your Novel on Amazon

by Jacqueline Ballard

True story: 

Two sisters (twins) came to us through the web site and asked for a quote for proofreading and a sample edit on their children’s book. They knew there were some spelling and grammar issues already. We looked through they novel and provided them with the free sample edit that we offer any prospective client on any novel, dissertation, article marketing, or web content.

After reading through the first few chapters, we got excited. These girls had a genius idea! While their copy needed some overhaul, the concept behind what they had written was so insightful and so poignant that we wanted to get behind their efforts to publish it.

Proofreading & Editing Children's Fiction

Our staff spent the next few weeks going back and forth with queries and comments regarding their content. The sisters stayed on top of the editing, and we happily rewrote areas that needed special attention. By the time we were all done, the finished copy was cleaner and the ideas were clearer. Any inconsistencies in language or inaccuracies in the action of the novel were all cleared up. It was checked once more by the staff, and off it went for publication.

A little over a month later, we received two copies of the published book in the mail with inscriptions, thanking us for the editing job. Seeing their work completed, published, and for sale on Amazon was a proud moment for us because we knew that their message would resonate with mothers and kids everywhere.

This could be you

Available on Amazon
Written by Melissa and Jennifer Sterlin

“Wow! Writing a novel is so easy!”

by Jacqueline Ballard

Said, No one. Ever.       

Day 1: You want to be a great writer. You have an amazing idea for a story!

Day 30: You believe you have it in you to be a remarkable writer.

Day 60: In point of fact, you write every day. Your keyboard is smoking.

Day 90: Before you know it, you have an entire novel completed and formatted.

Day 90 (Later that day): You go back to read what you have written. Your heart sinks. There are spelling and grammar errors that neither you nor Word caught.
Everywhere. Literally, everywhere.

Day 91: You make the mistake of letting a friend read it. She finds places where your verbs switch back and forth from past tense to present tense. She says it is confusing.

Day 101: You let another friend edit it because you really want to keep going and publish. She says it's really good! You read what she gave back to you.

Jaxballard Book Editing Service

Day 102: Now it’s a total mess and all you can do is go back to the first draft—the one with all the errors in it—and try to find them. There are a lot of blue, squiggly lines.
A lot. Is that one word or two?

Day 103: O.k. You’re just going to focus on the red, squiggly lines. They're the ones that really matter.

Day 103 (20 minutes later): You’re a writer, not a Grammar Guru! 

Day 104: Command decision: If you don’t know the rule, no one else will catch the mistake. Just tackle the ones that you're sure about.
"Consider revising" sounds like more of a guideline than a rule.

Day 120: You’ve spent weeks editing and reediting page after page and gotten no closer to publishing. You probably shouldn’t have told your friends you were writing a book.

Day 121: Getting your book published is probably not going to happen.

Let us help you get published

Jaxballard Writing, Editing & Proofreading