What is the recommended order of services with KLS?

At Kat’s Literary Services, we offer a variety of services to support an author from the early stages of writing to clicking Publish. There are many steps in the process of writing and publishing a book, so let’s review the recommended order of services we provide at KLS.

Alpha Reading

The definition of Alpha Reading and its place in the writing process can vary from person to person. Our Alpha Reading service provides you with honest, clear feedback on your work-in-progress, covering plot, pace, characters, and more. Feedback is delivered through in-line comments and/or chapter summaries within the manuscript. It can be completed on one or more sections of your book, or on the full manuscript.

Developmental Editing (optional Blurb and Bio writing)

Developmental Editing (also known as Content Editing) is a deeper examination of the “big picture” elements of your book, including, but not limited to, plot, characters and their development arcs, themes, pace, structure, relationship arcs, and tone. The editor analyzes your book’s strengths and weaknesses and provides feedback and thoughtful, actionable suggestions through in-line comments in the manuscript and a detailed Developmental Editing Notes report. This is a crucial step in the editing process to ensure the content and structure of your story are in place before moving on to the other phases of editing. Our Developmental Editor can also help you write your author bio and blurb.

The Essentials (Copy and Line Editing)

Once you have refined your story and structure, Copy and Line Editing come into play. While we offer Line Editing and Copyediting as standalone services, we recommend combining these two levels of editing. The editor will complete two passes of your manuscript to evaluate and rework sentence structure, word choice, flow, tone, and voice, and to check for basic inconsistencies, grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors, as well as missing, incorrect, or duplicated words. This is one of our most popular services.

The Release Sheet

With the Release Sheet, we pull ready-to-use information from your book for promotional marketing. With this service, you will receive a list of possible tropes and selling points, up to 10 jumping-off points, 8–10 major teaser quotes, and a list of short and long quotes/excerpts to use for ads and teasers. All quotes are taken directly from your book and include a page reference to the Word doc file of your edited manuscript. We offer this service as an add-on to our editing services, or you can take it as a standalone service. It is typically taken with Copy and Line Editing.

Proofreading

This will give your book a final check to ensure it is polished and that any remaining errors are corrected. The proofreader checks for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors, as well as missing, incorrect, or duplicated words. They complete two passes of your manuscript to ensure everything is in great shape.

(The Essentials editing package + Proofreading = The Fundamentals editing package)

(Developmental Editing + The Fundamentals editing package = The Comprehensive editing package)

Internal Formatting

With Internal Formatting, we will create the fully formatted interior of your book for print and ebook versions and ensure everything is consistent and polished throughout. The formatted files we deliver are ready to upload to retail sites.

(The Comprehensive editing package + Internal Formatting = The Deluxe Comprehensive editing package)

Promotional Graphics

KLS offers a range of graphic packages to suit your needs. You provide guidance on fonts, themes, items that represent your book, branding, and any quotes or tropes you want included. We will create stunning graphics sized for the social media platforms you use to promote your book. We also offer audio graphics to market your audiobook.

(The Release Sheet + The Social Media Graphics package = The Marketing Toolkit)

Release Coaching

Our author coach is an experienced romance author. She will meet with you via video call to discuss release strategies, how to navigate KDP, Book Funnel, Story Origin, Wattpad, and Patreon, how to gain traction with readers and reviewers, how to ensure your website and newsletter attract readers, how to manage your social media, give strategies to build your platform, and so much more.

While all our services can be taken individually, we offer multiple packages at discounted rates to fit your needs. Our biggest package is The Ultimate and includes: Blurb Writing, Developmental Editing, Copy and Line Editing, The Release Sheet, Proofreading, Internal Formatting, and the Social Media Graphics package. Check out the Services page on our website to see the full list of our packages.

Let KLS be your one-stop shop for getting your project ready for release, from your first draft to your final formatted files.