Welcome to Strong Tower Publishi

copyediting, proofing, manuscript evaluation

STrong Tower PUblishing Editing pAGES

What Authors Are Saying About Our Services...

"I just have to compliment you again on what a wonderful job you did on the rewrite of Chapter 4. Your work is the best I've ever seen! You would be the first one I point people toward. I highly recommend you to anyone who wants editing. I thank God for using you and your gifts for His glory."

Emily Edwards

Ready and Waiting: A Biblical Approach to Dating

"Heidi was extremely professional and exacting in her work. We collaborated well and I felt as if she worked with me in such a way that my message was appropriately communicated and she did not approach the material with an agenda of her own. She was extremely easy to work with and I look forward to working with her on future projects."

Steve Villanueva

We Have Been Lied To: The Problem With Christian Belief and Unbelief

"I am unable to find the words to express my profound gratitude to you for your hard work and dedication to my project. I only hope this small token expresses my felling better than I ever could. Take care and I look forward to working with you on other projects."

Douglas Edwards, Ph.D.

The Power of the Cross

"I can't thank you enough for your help. Your review was very insightful and brutally honest, which was exactly what I was looking for. Your insights and suggestions were invaluable. I appreciate that you took the time to evaluate the manuscript even though you were in your busy season of the year."

Jeffrey Horton

The Day of His Coming

"I can wholeheartedly recommend H. L.s writing services, especially her developmental and editing services. She is a professional author herself and knows what publishers expect. She probably caused my book to be chosen by the publisher, who responded one week after submission rather than the usual eight or nine weeks. The bonus was that she has good spiritual insight as a seasoned follower of Christ, becoming my friend in the process."

Brother Larry Silver Spiritual Identity

"My first thought after reading my book after it had been edited by H. L. Nigro was, "Wow! I did not know I could write so well!" She helped my book say what I wanted it to say, but now it says it better. She pruned and shaped it so it can now bring forth more fruit for God's glory."

William Frederick

The Coming Epiphany

"Working with Heidi has been an invaluable experience to enable me to expand my knowledge and improve my presentation. Her knowledge has been a blessing and she has made me an improved communicator."

Michael Schall

Seven Seals: The Flow of Prophetic Events

(Second Ed.)

"It has been a pleasure working with you over the last five years. I thank you for your patience, honest feedback, thoroughness, and professionalism. Your work always takes my manuscript and turns it into a masterpiece. I am a satisfied customer who will use your services again and again."

Jewell Powell

Marriage 101

Marriage 101 Workbook

"I'm deeply grateful for my editor, Ms. Heidi Nigro, for her insightful comments and edits. Her attention to detail, to facts, and to the theme of my writing made a remarkable contribution to the book. I'll be recommending her editing skills, as well as her Christ-centered perspective, to any prospective author."

Elias Yamane

Mephibosheth: A Covenant of Love

In addition to offering its own, carefully selected titles, Strong Tower Publishing helps authors through the confusing process of self-publishing by offering a variety of pre-publishing services, such as manuscript evaluation, copy editing, and proofing, as well as rewriting, developmental editing, and mentoring. Services are offered for both theological and non-theological topics.

Before deciding on which service to use - especially for first-time authors - we recommend reading our short article, "Self-Publishing First Steps: What Should I Do First?" For authors who feel that their manuscripts are ready for professional editing and analysis, however, we offer the following services:

Manuscript Evaluation

Strong Tower Publishing offers two levels of evaluations:

Top-level evaluations: Strong Tower Publishing will skim your manuscript and provide an overall evaluation of organization, readability, and appropriateness for the publishing marketplace. Up to 200 typed, double-spaced pages, $59. For manuscripts 200 - 400 typed, double-spaced pages, $89. For manuscripts larger than 400 pages, $109.

This step is highly recommended for new authors before submitting manuscripts for copy editing. An evaluation of this type will let you know if there are major structural or content issues with your manuscript upfront, before you spend the money for copy editing or start sending manuscripts to publishers.

Top-level evaluations do not guarantee a read of every page of your manuscript (although sometimes we do), but enough of the manuscript to get an overall feel of the issues outlined above. For authors looking for a more detailed analysis of content and writing style, Strong Tower Publishing will read every page of your manuscript in the detailed evaluation (below).

Detailed evaluation: A detailed evaluation will provide you with both the top-level analysis and a page-by-page discussion of more granular issues at the paragraph and sentence level. If a sentence doesn't make sense, we'll mark it. If your argument isn't flowing or a transition is awkward, we'll let you know. Where appropriate, we'll provide suggestions so that you, as the author, can go back and address these issues yourself.

This both helps authors learn the craft of writing and helps them to avoid greater costs, since you may be able to make many of the changes yourself, rather than paying an editor a rewriting or developmental editing fee to do it for you..

For authors submitting hard copy manuscripts, comments will be made in the margins. For authors submitting electronic manuscripts, comments will be made in Word Tracking mode or in red text within the document itself.

For hard copy, cost is $2.00 per 250-word page, plus postage (if you want the manuscript returned). For electronic files, cost is $2.00 per 250-word page, plus $10 for consumables (we print all manuscripts and read them in hard copy).

While nonfiction manuscripts can be evaluated on screen, fiction requires the author to mail a hard copy print-out for evaluation by our fiction editor. Our editor is a Ph.D. in English literature and can do either top-level evaluations or in-depth critiques (including plot and character), which like the nonfiction manuscripts, are priced at $2.00 per 250-word page.

Proofing

Proofing services are $2 per page, formatted to 250 words per page. Proofing includes reading and correcting the manuscript for gross errors at the sentence level, limited to typos, errors in spelling, occasional punctuation, capitalization, and grammar (for example, subject-verb agreement). No alterations or suggestions relating to author's content or formatting will be made.

Proofing is intended as a final step for authors whose manuscripts are either previously edited or are professionally written. It is not intended to replace a copy edit or to fix systemic errors (for example, it covers fixing occasional punctuation errors, not re-punctuating an entire document).

Pricing can be determined by dividing the word count by 250 to determine the number of 250-word pages, then applying the appropriate fee schedule.

Changes are made on hard copy or in the electronic document, whichever the author prefers. If the complexity of the document or the initial condition of the manuscript requires more than two reads (i.e. extensive grammatical errors, poor sentence structure, and so forth), additional reads may be recommended for an additional fee.

Free five-page sample provided.

All theological manuscripts must adhere to the basic Strong Tower Publishing statement of faith: that God exists in three Persons known as the Trinity- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who are separate persons and yet are all equally One God; that scripture is the final authority in the life and practice of the believer; and that salvation is found only through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, through faith, by God's unmerited grace. Theological manuscripts adhering to any other doctrine will not be accepted.

Copyediting

Many authors contact Strong Tower Publishing, asking for copy editing quotes, before their manuscripts are really ready for the copy editing process. For first-time authors, we recommend that you read our short article, "What Should I Do First?" before you proceed to the next step.

Copy editing is $4 per page. Copy editing includes corrections for punctuation, spelling, grammar, capitalization, and formatting, plus minor corrections at the sentence level to maintain clarity of the manuscript, such as making suggestions for wording in awkward or unclear phrases. May also include minor corrections to the formatting to achieve textual consistency (adding paragraph breaks, correcting or adding subheads, and so on). Especially for new authors, this can dramatically improve the professionalism of the manuscript. If manuscripts are provided in electronic form, no special formatting is required.

Copy editing is not a rewriting process and will not turn a poorly written manuscript into a well-written manuscript. If authors are looking to lift the level of their writing, they may want to consider developmental editing (below).

Pricing for copy editing can be determined by dividing the word count by 250 to determine the number of 250-word pages, then applying the appropriate fee schedule.

Changes are made on hard copy or in the electronic document, whichever the author prefers. If the complexity of the document or the initial condition of the manuscript requires more than two reads (i.e. extensive grammatical errors, poor sentence structure, and so forth), additional reads may be recommended for an additional fee.

Free five-page sample provided.

All theological manuscripts must adhere to the basic Strong Tower Publishing statement of faith: that God exists in three Persons known as the Trinity- the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, who are separate persons and yet are all equally One God; that scripture is the final authority in the life and practice of the believer; and that salvation is found only through the atoning blood of Jesus Christ, through faith, by God's unmerited grace. Theological manuscripts adhering to any other doctrine will not be accepted.

Developmental / Substantive Editing & Rewriting

Copy editing is an important step to finalizing a manuscript and making it as professional as it can be, but it won't guarantee that a manuscript will read like any other professionally written book. The quality of an author's writing, whether professional or unprofessional, will still shine through.

To help authors turn incomplete or draft versions of manuscripts into polished books, Strong Tower Publishing offers developmental/substantive editing and rewriting services. These services include light rewriting for transitions, smoothness, clarity, and style, as well as development of themes, addition of scriptural depth, improvements in organization and flow, and so on. These services are priced at an hourly rate of $40.

Strong Tower Publishing cannot give estimates on developmental or rewriting work without having first completed at least one chapter at the established rate. Based on the time required to complete the test chapter, we can then create an estimate for the rest of the book. These estimates are subject to change, based on issues that arise during the editing process.

Mentoring

For some authors, mentoring is a better choice than developmental or copy editing. In the mentoring process ($40 per hour), we will do an in-depth analysis of the manuscript, provide feedback, suggestions, and work with you on a back-and-forth basis to bring your manuscript to the best level of which you are capable. Mentoring is a great process for authors who want to learn the craft of authoring, rather than having someone do all of the work for them.

Contact Strong Tower Publishing about author services:

strongtowerpubs@aol.com