Services
Story Coaching
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Defining
Stories = power. Yours is no exception. Define your story, and harness its power. Don't define it, and someone else will. All your life experience, knowledge, wisdom, everything you've ever achieved—all in someone else's hands. We won't let that happen to you. ​
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Structuring
Do you think your story's a list of everything that's ever happened to you? Think again. Your life experience is the marble block—but somewhere in there, there's a really hot guy with great pecs about to take down a giant. Your job is to get him out. Ours is to pass you the chisel.
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Deploying
Take a good sniff. Do you smell something fishy? No. Because this isn't a fish we're offering. It's a rod. ​We want you to master your story so that you can tell it confidently to any audience, in any setting, using any medium. Don't rely on others. Own your story, and trust yourself.
Book Coaching
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Brainstorming
There's no point writing a book unless you know what you want to say. Before you start drafting, let's define the story that you're trying to tell and filter out everything that isn't that story so that what's left will shine.
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Outlining
Now that you know what you want to say, it's time to decide how to say it. Outlining your book now, before you start drafting, will save you crazy amounts of time, energy, and frustration down the line.
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Implementing
It takes discipline to even read a book. Writing one takes something more: accountability. We'll help you build a routine that pushes you to your limits—but not beyond them—and keep you on track to meet your writing goals.
Editorial Support
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Manuscript Analysis
If we haven't helped you with brainstorming and outlining, we'll need to review your manuscript and address some basic questions before we can start editing: What's your book about? How is the story or the message supported by the form? Who's it for? And why now?
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Developmental Editing
Good book coaches will eliminate the need for developmental editing in the brainstorming phase. If you didn't have one, you might end up with plot holes​ (which we'll help you plug), shallow characters (which we'll help you develop), and a jumble of sub-plots and extras (which we'll help you kill).
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Structural Editing
Likewise, if you had a good book coach, the outlining phase should've made structural editing unnecessary. If not, we'll help you expand key sections, condense others, eliminate drag, and rearrange where necessary to keep readers engaged and maximize the impact of each key reveal.
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Line Editing
Your readers want lucid, elegant, powerful prose, free of inconsistencies, narrated authentically. They don't want choppy syntax, blatant logical discrepancies, massive paragraphs, and endless jargon. Let's give the people what they want!
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Copyediting
With style and clarity out of the way, it's time to double-check for typos, duplicated or missing words, citation issues, subtle inconsistencies in spelling and formatting, sneaky homonyms, funky punctuation, and factual errors.
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Proofreading
Almost there. Just a few lingering typos to ferret out, commas to un-splice, and formatting rules to triple-check and finalize. Once we quash those bugs, you'll have a manuscript worthy of readers and ready to read.
Grant, Fellowship, & Residency Applications
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Researching and Building Your List​​​​
We'll generate a custom list of grants, writer's residencies, fellowships, and other opportunities likely to support your work so you can target your applications and stop wasting time on dead ends.
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Crafting Your Application
New to the game? We'll build your application from scratch, highlight, what's special about your work, and show the funders why they should invest in you. You'll have a chance to review it before submitting.
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ReviewingYour Application
If you've already written your application, we'll go over it with a fine-toothed comb to confirm that you've met all the criteria, demonstrated why your work matters, and made your pitch as strong as it can be.
Building an Author Platform
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Building Your Website
Don't have a website? We'll design and build one for you. Have one already? We'll review your site and offer you comprehensive feedback: what's working, what's not, and how it can be improved.
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Defining Your Brand
Anyone can be a flash in the pan, but if you want staying power, you need to show the world who you are, what makes you different, what you stand for, and why. Let's answer those questions and build a brand that stands the test of time.
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Finding Your Audience
"Everyone" is not your target audience. Let's get specific: who's going to read your book? And why? What makes your readers different? What do they want? What do they need? And what are they looking for from you?
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Choosing Your Platform(s)
Based on everything we know about your book, your target audience, your priorities, and your brand, as well as the dynamic social media landscape, we'll help you select the platform(s) where loyal readers are waiting to be found.
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Building Your Content Strategy
Together, we'll make a plan: what you'll post, when, and how often; who you'll connect with and follow; which posts you'll react to, share, and comment on; and more. If you're busy, we'll even manage your account(s) on your behalf!
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Publicity
Training
We'll help you find and prepare for opportunities to share your work through new and traditional media outlets: blogs, podcasts, YouTube channels, magazine write-ups, and radio and television interviews.
Choosing Your Path to Publication
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Consultation
There are many ways to publish a book—and even more ways to get scammed trying. We'll teach you everything you need to know to understand your options and choose the best path for you.
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Submitting to Presses
If you decide to go with a traditional publisher, we'll help you build a list of good presses, create a book proposal, prepare your other submission materials, and liaise with publishers to stimulate interest in your book.
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Self-Publishing
If you self-publish, we'll help you choose a platform, optimize your interior and cover design, create a final product capable of competing with traditionally published titles, and get it stocked wherever books are sold.
Testimonials
Peppur Chambers
Author
Your feedback is spot on and really helpful, and the editing is thoughtful and concise. Nicely done!
Bertrand Frot
C-Level Executive
Dedicated, clever, respecting deadlines, always ready to learn and to improve processes, it was a real pleasure to work with Itto.
Aditi Lele
Biologist & Educator
I can't stress enough how Mekiya has excellent editing skills but also very important is that he is kind hearted but practical and takes the time to understand your work.
Natalie Shear
Educator
Itto is probably the hardest worker that I have ever met. If she doesn't know it, she will figure it out. She is capable of handling many unique and difficult situations with grace. I definitely would recommend working with her, for her or hiring her for any writing job.
Abdelghafour ben Lahbib
Educator
Mekiya's commitment to excellence is evident in every project he undertakes. His dedication to creating spaces for meaningful expression adds a profound layer to his commendable qualities as a writer and editor.
Shalini Rana
Poet
Thank you very much for the helpful edits, especially the stronger verbs! I’m very pleased with the correspondence and feedback you’ve provided.
Contact
For inquiries about services and pricing, please use the subject line "Requesting Services" and include a detailed project description. We keep a full calendar and cannot guarantee timely responses to last-minute requests. For best results, please contact us at least three months in advance of your project's projected commencement date.