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Ghostwriting

Ghostwriters make you shine.

Many different walks of life have hired us to ghostwrite for them and, in each case, we’ve had varying degrees of involvement. Sometimes we’ve been hired to edit and clean up a rough draft, and other times we’ve done the majority most of the writing ourselves, based often on an outline provided by the author. For some projects, a substantial amount of research was required, like taping and transcribing interviews. One non-fiction project took a full year to research, write, and edit for a client. We’ve also completed projects as short as query letters to agents and acquisitions editors, and press releases for book launches.

Email us at info@cogitatestudios.com: in your message, include a description of your project and its word count, as well as a sample of the writing if you want to attach one. We’ll be in touch about availability, turnaround time, and rates.……………………………………………………………………………………………

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Book Proposals

Well-read book proposals get published.

Sometimes you don’t have to write an entire manuscript before submitting a proposal. In the case of many non-fiction and graphic novel projects, for example, publishers, literary agents, and commissioning editors will ask for more work based simply on a cogent, stellar proposal with sample material.

However, it’s essential to establish some kind of platform to stand on and to follow the correct format to increase your chances of snagging the book deal you’re after. To ensure this, several areas must be addressed. We can help you craft your proposal so that it fits with who you are and what your work represents.

Email us at info@cogitatestudios.com: in your message, include a description of the work and its word count, as well as a sample of the writing if you want to attach one. One of us will be in touch about availability, turnaround time, and rates. We like to start the whole process off by sending you a questionnaire to fill out. Its focus is on all the questions you want to ask yourself about positioning your book (because they’re the same ones agents, editors, marketers, and publicists will be asking). After you return the questionnaire to us, whichever editor you choose (and/or whoever we think would fit best) reads it and, armed with your questionnaire and any notes, is usually able to build and deliver a targeted proposal in 3–4 weeks, though some can take longer, of course. When it’s complete, we send it back to you with an invoice. Net-30 terms with PayPal or check.

Every project is unique, but in the past, it’s taken anywhere from 30–60 hours to build a proposal from scratch. Email us at info@cogitatestudios.com.

And as always, we follow the Editorial Freelancers Association rates.

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Developmental Editing

Developmental editing digs deep.

More radically address the content of your work:

• Main premise
• Plot structure
• Character development
• Overall organization
• Writing style
• Word choice
• Dialogue

This kind of editing, because it requires rewriting and/or reorganization, should be completed before submitting to publishers and agencies, or before self-publishing.

Email us at info@cogitatestudios.com: in your message, include a description of the work and its word count, as well as a sample of the writing if you want to attach one. One of us will be in touch about availability, turnaround time, and rates. Whichever editor you choose (and/or whomever we think would be the best fit) to read your work then marks-up your document using track changes in Word. We ask for a minimum turnaround time of 4–6 weeks for each pass of developmental editing on a full manuscript. When your mark-up is complete, we send it back to you with an invoice. Net-30 terms with PayPal or check.

Our rate for developmental editing is $40–60/hour. As always, we follow the Editorial Freelancers Association rates. 

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Reader Reports

The fastest, least expensive avenue

Whether it’s a short story, inspirational memoir, fictional novel, nonfiction book, old query letter, or new book proposal, we give the material a full review, covering a whole gamut of pertinent editorial issues, including:

• Main idea(s), theme(s), and book positioning
• Plot and character development
• Dialogue and other transitioning
• Macro/micro organization
• Sentence structure and syntax
• Grammar and mechanics
• Fact checking and use of resources
• Overall thoughts and next steps

Email us at info@cogitatestudios.com: In your message include a description of your project and its word count, as well as a sample of the writing if you wish to attach one. One of us will be in touch about availability, turnaround time, and rates. We ask for at least a 3–4 week turnaround time for every report, but manuscripts of monstrous proportions have sometimes taken more than a month. When your report is complete, we send it back to you with an invoice. Net-30 terms with PayPal or check.

In addition to books, we read many of book-related documents, so rates differ accordingly. Please inquire further by emailing us at info@cogitatestudios.com.