Frequently Asked Questions
What’s different about My Word Publishing?
1. We have no ownership rights at all, period. You are simply hiring us to help you publish your book, and get you through production, publication, and distribution. We want YOU to own your own publishing company, (which we’ll help you do), which is the only way for you to maintain 100% of all your rights. All royalties go straight into your bank account, not through us, and your publishing company logo is on the back of your book and the copyright page, not ours.
2. We don’t do packages. Every single project we work on is custom designed for that author. Some books are longer than others, some have illustrations, some need more editing, some authors have their own illustrator, or their own editor – which makes “packages” a silly concept.
3. We don’t do contracts. We do each sign an Agreement so we both understand exactly what we agreed upon, but either party can break the agreement at any time for any reason.
What do you mean you don’t do contracts?
What are the different kinds of editing?
First round: The first round of editing is called the Development edit. That’s when the editor is looking at the manuscript for overall storyline, make sure the plot and characters are developed and that there are no redundancies or holes in the storyline.
Second round: The second round is called the copy line edit and is generally with the same editor as the development round. In the copy line edit the editor is looking at paragraph structure, sentence structure, and word choice.
Third round: The last editing round is the proof edit. This is for grammar and punctuation only. This edit usually goes to a new editor with a fresh pair of eyes, and one that specializes in proof editing, working with Chicago Manual of Style.
My friend is a proof editor, is that good enough?
Can I get a ghostwriter?
PS: Then you go into editing. The ghostwriter is not your editor, although there’s a good chance you wouldn’t need the development round of editing.
How long does it take to publish my book?
How much will this cost?
When do I come to you for help?
1. Let’s say you have an idea for a book but have no idea where to start. We could find you a good writing coach to help you through the outline and writing, or point you in the direction of writing classes.
2. Many writers come to us with the first draft of their manuscript ready to go into editing. In that case our first move would be to get it to a few editors to see what kind of shape it’s in and what work it will need. You make the final choice of your editor.
3. Even if you’ve started your manuscript and get stuck, please let us help you get to the right coach or editor to help you bring it home.
Do you do children’s books?
What genres do you do?
Do you have packages?
Can you help me find a publisher?
But having said that, IF getting a traditional publisher is your goal then we do have a couple of contacts that can help you give it a shot.
Can you market my book?
1. We have some colleagues that can help you with some of the marketing tasks
2. We do have a 2-hour book marketing consultation that comes with a 131-page book marketing plan. It’s $249.
What states and regions do you service?
Do you serve authors from other countries?
What if I don’t have time and I want you to everything?
What if I’m not a writer?
What if I have my own (editor? Cover designer? Etc.)
What if I don’t want all your services, but rather, just a few?
1. Spot Coaching: Spot Coaching is 10 questions over the course of a year. Each question is meant to be about 5 minutes, but they keep you right on task. These are questions, to be clear, not tasks.
Here’s more about our Spot Coaching program
2. Hourly: We also do hourly consultations. We dump as much information as we can on you in one hour, but then you go do all the leg work.
Schedule a 1-hour consultation
3. A la carte services: We also offer any tasks through a project that you’d like to pass on to us. That could include creating your copyright page, opening your KDP account, opening your Ingram Spark account, getting your CIP data, writing your back blurb, etc.
Here is our a la carte menu and prices
Do I keep all my copyrights?
Do I need an ISBN?
Can you just do something simple like upload my book to Amazon?
I just need some advice; can I pick your brain?
Oh you bet. Part of our mission at My Word Publishing is to make sure you stay on track without making very bad, very expensive mistakes, so even if you don’t hire us to manage the entire project, then you could hire us three other ways:
1. You can hire us by the hour. For one hour we pile information onto you regarding your next steps, and you go do all the leg work. It keeps it affordable for you. That is $150 for the hour.
Book an hour with us here.
2. We also have what is called Spot Coaching. That is 10 questions over the course of a year. It’s meant to keep you on track.
Learn more about Spot Coaching here.
3. We could also do certain tasks for you: upload your book onto Amazon, optimize your account, put your copyright page together, etc.
Here’s a menu of our a la carte services.
What if my book is crap? Will you help me anyway?
IF the editors look at your book and it’s going to take more work than you want to put toward it, then you can make that decision. But no, we are not a gatekeeper.