Book and Content Editing, Coaching, & Consulting Services

Beta reading, sensitivity reading, content audits, content strategy, story and book coaching, consulting, and developmental editing

So, you’ve just finished writing a great blog, thinking of a new sitewide landing page campaign, debut book manuscript (Congrats!), or just a stellar first chapter (Another congrats! We all start somewhere.). But now, you have to do one more thing: edit. Or maybe you’re still in more of a developmental phase or stage and need to have your work QA’d with some fact-checking or general feedback or some help before you even start.

Great, you’ve now opened up a large can of worms in the form of all things editing and strategizing. If you’ve been researching (kind of like how you ended up here), you’ve more than likely come across all kinds of terms: developmental editing, line editing, proofreading, copyediting, beta reading, content strategy, consulting, and more. Let’s break down some of those editing service, reading service, and consulting service terms to set you in the right direction.

Proofreading Services

Proofreading is the process of checking a piece of content for grammatical, spelling, punctuation, typographical, formatting, and in the case of some nonfiction, style guide, errors. It is also usually the final step in the editorial cycle before publication.

Looking deeper into the “proof” aspect of proofreading gives even more clues into another huge element of a proofreading service that most of the general public don’t know about: comparing the proofs of content. This process entails the proofreader looking over the printed versions of the manuscript or content (a.k.a. the proof) that have all of the formatting, page numbers, headers, etc. that will be included in the final, published form. They then compare it with, or spot the last, undetected or uncorrected errors in comparison to the last-edited copy to make sure that no new errors have popped up in the formatting or printing or hadn’t yet been resolved.

Think of proofreading as the final aesthetic touches like the perfect haircut or set of shoes to complete a look; in this case, the look is your content. (Because remember: Unfortunately, in the world of content, sometimes a book is judged by its cover…and the words inside of it.)

Research/Fact-Checking Services

Ask any college professor: Work needs research. Just like your college thesis or high school history papers, bringing the facts is key. If you have nonfiction or any work with historical or factual information, such as a historical fiction novel, blog about a medical condition you’re reviewing, or even a fiction piece in which your characters live in a real-life town and are engaged in its sights and sounds, you’ll need to be sure you’re accurate in what you’re writing.

A researcher/fact-checker can help confirm and spot data, statistical, geographical, historical, and trivia-based information in articles, pull quote and stat callouts, nonfiction, stories, and the like for accuracy or correction. In the world of marketing, customers and readers trust a brand or company more when they are being as transparent and knowledgeable as possible.

But psst. Here’s another secret: Your book readers care about facts as well. Even if you’re writing something like a magical realism or sci-fi piece, they still want to see some sensible, scientifically-aligned elements. Remember: You want to make the world and happenstance feel real, feel right, feel true. That’s when fantasy becomes the most magical.

Transcription Services

Transcribers and transcription services take content in one type of format, such as video or audio, and transform it into another medium or format, such as writing. Transcription comes in handy when you want to possibly deliver a message or piece of content into various forms across various channels to reach your readers and audience in the widest range of ways. For example: If you have a product review that you captured on video for TikTok and YouTube and now you want to pair it with an interview structure for those who want to read it either right on the video screen (for greater accessibility standards and enhanced UX) or on a webpage such as a blog. Having the content available in those different ways means more digital touchpoints, more ways to reach your customer and grow your digital footprint.

Beta Reading Services

Think of beta reading services as like your cheat code, toe dip, and soft launch or quiet sneak peek of your fiction and nonfiction. Beta readers are known as test readers who review your unreleased work of literature or other writing before it is published then give feedback from the point of view of a reader. Their insights can be invaluable for writers after they’ve been through the editing circuit (and have lived to see another day) and want just one more review (and one more slice of humble pie) for certainty that their work is ready for their audience. Beta readers’ possible critiques and questions about any element of the book helps writers know the potential negative reactions they could expect and fix what isn’t working in their content.

But remember: beta readers come in at the end, not the beginning (hence, beta rather than alpha) of the content writing journey, just before publication. So, you’ll want to reach out to one when you are just a step away from the finish line. (And hopefully, cross your fingers that you won’t have to take one more humble lap before the true victory lap.)

If your returned beta read uncovers elements that need much revision or if you feel that you’re not quite ready for a beta reader at all and need more advanced assistance, there is another editing service to consider…

Coaching and Consulting Services

Story coaching, book coaching, and author coaching services help one make their writing more effective or provide creative insights. Typically, this process is done through private, one-on-one consultations.

Whether you’re trying to polish your work or need help in even knowing where to start before catching consumers’, agents’, or publishers’ eyes, you need some direct, interactive opinions and strategies on a first chapter or paragraph before even a first full draft, or you’re looking for your niche in the content marketing or publishing world, writing coaches and consultants provide those insights.

Within the realm of marketing content, content consultations can aid in content strategy, which can include content audits, content briefs and optimizations, customer journey mapping, persona research, and so on, even including some assistance with creating such content. Consultants are there to help discover and bring out a vision or goal.

How Can I Get Consulting and Editing Services Near Me?

Editors and their editorial services can be found in various places on the internet. A great place to start is looking into editorial and directories and databases. There are many indie editorial and publishing companies and freelancers offering coaching and editing services.

However, having a list of editors, coaches, and consultants isn’t quite the same as having ones specifically tailored to the special areas of your content. You’ll want to be sure that whatever core areas you’re looking to get insights on, whether a specific demographic for a new marketing initiative or a main character in your story, are the same areas that your consultant or editor of choice focuses on as areas of expertise.

Some Consulting and Editing Services’ Areas of Expertise

AF.FORD MEDIA (having strategized and edited nonfiction content for sports and publishing media brands such as Curated and Dotdash, performed content strategy for Fortune 500 companies, and written stories that received Stage 32, Outfest, and WeScreenplay nods) and its content strategy, consulting, and editing services cover the following areas of expertise:

– LGBTQ+: Androgyny, gender questioning, questioning sexuality, lesbian, bisexuality
-African-American/Black
-Mental illness: Depression, social anxiety, social avoidance, avoidant personality disorder, agoraphobia
-Trauma: Bullying, ostracism, abuse survivor
-Abusive romantic and platonic relationships: Mental, psychological, emotional
-Physical therapy: Back, ankle, and knee sprains/injuries/ailments
-Women’s/All-girls high school
-Being a minority in a predominantly non-minority educational institution and workplace
-Vegetarian/vegan lifestyle
-Lifestyle
-E-commerce/Retail
-Outdoors/Sports
–Video scripts and screenplays and video editing services (For social media, blogs, webpages, corporate and branding videos)
-Edutech
-SaaS
-Finance
-D2C/Direct-to-consumer
-B2B/Business-to-business
-B2C/Business-to-consumer
-Content audits, website audits, and social media audits
-Business, sales, and marketing content briefs/content outlines
-Keyword research and topic research | Content planning and content calendars
-Content/Digital/SEO Marketing
-Social Media Management
-Book Publishing, Book Design, and Book Formatting
-Advertising (PPC, Google Ads, Facebook Ads)
–Product Descriptions, Taglines, Social Media Posts, and Other Short-Form Copy
–Infographics
–Blogs (Strategizing and Editing)
-UX/UI copywriting
-Visual journey mapping
-Customer/Buyer Personas
-Customer Journey Mapping
-Transcriptions
-Promotional collateral (Album artwork, event displays, book or content blurbs, etc.)
-User testing
-Beta reading and sensitivity reading
-Proofreading
-On-page SEO and other content webpage updates
-Content coaching and story coaching
-Fact-checking
-Tools: Mural, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Premiere, Adobe Illustrator, Canva, MarketMuse, WordPress, Semrush, Magento, HubSpot, Ubersuggest, ahrefs, Content Harmony

AF.FORD MEDIA’s sensitivity reader and beta reader services handle the following genres and categories:

Screenplays, creative nonfiction (memoirs; cookbooks; marketing/business/sales short-form social posts; content optimizations; textual and video advertisements; infographics; email subject lines and body copy/messaging; UX/user experience and UI/user interface copy for apps and landing pages; web page and landing page ads; video scripts; blogs and long-form articles), promotional artwork and content (book blurbs, CDs, digital album, EP, mixtape, and song covers, event displays, etc.), magical realism/low fantasy, speculative/sci-fi, mysteries, psychological thrillers, romance, romcom, drama, coming-of-age

How Much Do Consulting and Editing Services Cost?

Editors’ quotes and pricing can vary based on the type of edit and one’s personal standards, time, and effort based on that edit.

AF.FORD MEDIA’s coaching/consulting, transcription, research/fact-checking, proofreading, and beta reader services match just around the editorial freelancer industry rates standards at an hourly rate based on page count per hour. More “unconventional” or short-run types of edits like general storyline or content angle questions, book and social blurb copy and metadata feedback and insights, and first chapter concerns are also editing services that exist.

To get a custom idea based on your particular content and particular edit selection, fill out this quick form below describing the type of edit you’re most interested in, along with your particular piece of content’s concept, its number of pages, and its number of words. If your content is still in beginning development or you need help determining your writing and content aims, mention it. You’ll be contacted soon thereafter.* It’s always great hearing from new creators!
*Please Note: If a request made in the form below is declined, it holds no bearing on the quality of your work. In those instances, a current max. quota of clients/requests have reached out at that particular time, or your piece of content might be outside of the aforementioned areas of expertise that are most comfortable at this time.

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