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CALLING THE BOOK DOCTOR

You’ve written a book-length manuscript. You suspect it needs work. You’ve written and revised each chapter so many times that you can’t stand to read it again. Your common sense and logic tell you to run all of your hard work past someone before sending it to publishers or agents. Who do you turn to?

The book doctor, of course: That person whose expertise in writing, editing and shaping stories offers you the final touch to your manuscript. Like everything else in the service sector, book doctors are fairly plentiful in number—but significantly less numerous in quality.

The book doctor takes your manuscript at whatever stage you wish to start the doctoring process—first three chapters, one-half of the book, or the entire book. Most doctors will read a chapter and get back to you with a quick evaluation; they may also say "you need to work more on this" or "this isn’t what I read." This is not a rejection; this is a question of preference. You control the timing of the work; if you’re on a tight deadline with your agent or a publisher, and the book doctor has agreed to work with you, he/she must honor your deadline.

What do you look for when seeking out a book doctor? We have some suggestions:

•  1) Find someone who is both an editor and a published author, and has a great command of the English language      and some familiarity with your subject.
•  2) Find someone with whom you’re comfortable speaking and sharing intimate details through your work. Also,      the book doctor needs to be ideologically compatible with you to the extent that he/she will not change your      work to reflect his/her beliefs.
•  3) Find someone who observes strict confidentiality and honors the originality of your work.
•  4) Find someone who is versed in the genre in which you’re writing.
•  5) Find someone who is punctual. Nothing worse than missing a deadline because the book doctor was late!
•  6) Find someone who offers both general comments on your voice, style, story structure and other literary points AND gives incisive editing to your work.

Book doctors range in price from $3.50 to $5 per double-spaced manuscript page; some are higher. They all have different payment arrangements. Everyone listed in the Word Journeys directory falls within this price range, and is an expert book doctor who excels in all six criteria listed above.

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