Editorial Services

Svetlana Pironko

Testimonials

I have worked with Svetlana Pironko on several publishing projects – from the preparation of manuscripts for book publication to the teaching of fiction writing workshops – and I have found her to be an editor with a solid “big picture” sense of what good books require as well as a mastery of the page-to-page editorial mechanics that bring discipline and precision to a writer’s work.” Kevin Stevens, author of Reach the Shining River

 

Svetlana has been an instrumental editor for my crime novels. Her insight to genre and literary fiction has been an invaluable resource to me.” Charlie Stella, author of Rough Riders 

 

When it comes to editing fiction, Svetlana operates with laser precision. She has a way of going straight to the heart of what is right or wrong with a novel; more important she knows exactly what needs to be done to fix the problem. On several occasions I have baulked at her suggestions, only to look back at the result a year down the line and ask myself how I ever thought it could have been any other way.” – Donald Finnaeus Mayo, author of Francesca

 

Svetlana has an instinctive feel for what does and doesn’t work, and her insights into structure and character development lifted my novel to a much higher level. Simply put, she's the finest editor I've encountered, and I consider it an ongoing privilege to be working with her.”   David Hogan, author of The Last Island

 

“This highly enjoyable course immerses you in every aspect of making the novel, from character and plot to editing and publishing. You will emerge a more confident, motivated and inspired writer.”  – Liz H.

 

“You can wait for thirty years for all the pieces of your novel to fall into place, or you can take this course and finish your book within a year, or, like me, you can do both.”   Tom C.

 


 

Whether you are self-publishing or seeking traditional publication, this service can help.

It provides the following editorial services to fiction writers:

 

MANUSCRIPT EVALUATION

We read your completed manuscript and provide a written summary on its strengths and weaknesses, including structure, plot, pace, dialogue, character development, and on its commercial viability. We would also answer up to three specific questions, if you have any.

Price:

Manuscripts under 25,000 words, €200;

manuscripts 25,001-50,000 words, €300;

40,001-70,000 words, €400;

70,001-100,000 words, €500;

more than 100,000 words: contact us.

An additional phone or Skype consultation can be scheduled for an extra fee, starting at €40 for 30 minutes or €65 per hour.

 

CONTENT OR DEVELOPMENTAL EDITING

If you need help with structure, plot, pace, dialogue, character development, we’ll advise you on how to make your manuscript stronger. Content editing is an interactive process: we’ll make comments directly on the electronic file and then go back and forth, by email or via Skype, if you have questions or need further assistance with the revision.

This does not include copyediting or proofreading.

Price: €60 per hour, with an estimate and a binding agreement on the total cost after we read, free of charge, the first chapter or the first 20 pages of your manuscript.

 

COACHING

If you have an idea for a book but don’t know where to start, if you are in the process of writing a book and aren’t sure where it’s going, if you have questions about the publishing business (both traditional and self-publishing) and your writing career, we can help.

We can work via email, phone or Skype (face-to-face Skype sessions are more interactive and productive). We’ll answer your questions and offer directions, based on our experience in all aspects of publishing: editorial, legal (contracts, copyright), marketing, translation rights, etc.

Coaching necessarily implies your manuscript evaluation (including work in progress) but doesn’t include copywriting or proofreading.

Price: €90 per hour for coaching sessions plus the following reading fee.

Manuscripts under 25,000 words, €60;

manuscripts 25,001-50,000 words, €100;

40,001-70,000 words, €130;

70,001-100,000 words, €200;

more than 100,000 words: contact us.

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Please note that 50 percent of the agreed price must be paid upon signing of the agreement that establishes the terms of our relationship and the nature of services provided.

After you have signed the agreement and paid the advance, we will return a counter-signed copy to you.

 


 

About Svetlana Pironko

IMAG0174_BURST003-2An experienced international agent with a deep knowledge of selling rights all over the world, with personal contacts with the English-speaking publishing world. She has direct experience of working with creative writers, publishers, editors and agents in many international markets and languages. She speaks fluent English, French, Russian, and has working knowledge of Italian. Before creating Author Rights Agency Ltd. in Dublin in 2006, she was a director of Lora Fountain & Associates Literary Agency in Paris.

Email address: writing@authorrightsagency.com

Our Services and Who We Are:

Our founder, Laurence O'Bryan, had three novels published by HarperCollins and is self published. He lectures about paid advertising for books at writers’ conferences around the world, including the London Book Fair, Southern California Writers’ Conference, ALLi conferences, at the Writers’ Digest Annual Conference in 2020 and the U.S. Non-Fiction Author’s Association in 2021, where he delivered a Masterclass in Amazon Advertising for Books. He has also taught on the craft of writing at various events.
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As well as helping authors, BGS hosts a thriving interactive community of authors and readers. We publish an online magazine featuring member books and editorial reviews.
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We also run the highly regarded annual International Dublin Writer’s Festival and offer professional web-based courses on marketing, social media, and online advertising for books.
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90% of the 9,500+ authors we have helped are from the U.S., where our promotions mainly take place.
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BGS’s personal service empowers authors. Our aim is to help you achieve success. Books can change the world. They deserve to be seen.
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See our membership options here.

 

How a good Social Media campaign coupled with PR services helped my book become an Amazon Best Seller

Coach Kevin Collins

030906-N-2383B-039 Newport News, Va. (Aug. 26, 2003) -- President George H.W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush share applause with Adm. Vern Clark, Chief of Naval Operations (CNO), as they watch the Navy's parachute team "The Leapfrogs" perform during a keel laying ceremony honoring the building of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George H.W. Bush (CVN 77). This will be the 10th and final Nimitz-class aircraft carrier as it undergoes the first of four ceremonial traditions that will happen throughout the life of the warship. U.S. Navy photo by Chief Photographer's Mate Johnny Bivera. (RELEASED).

The Dirty Locked Away History of the Democrat Party was a title I put hundreds of hours of sweat and research into. Although I sold a few hundred copies as a self-published book, years ago, with a different title and slightly different content, I decided I would re-launch it to really tap its potential. That´s when I decided to get a publicist. It proved a good decision.

Bill McIntosh of Ocasomedia is unlike other PR types I know. Although he has a US phone number, he actually lives in Peru so he charges a pittance compared to many other public relations firms in the US. I have heard of PR people scalping clients to the tune of $5-$6000 for a month and giving little back in return. Bill charged a lot less and did a PR campaign to thousands of media contacts which resulted in a nice bunch of interviews and we reached hundreds of thousands of potential readers thanks to the help of Laurence O´Brien of Books Go Social. Bill also created a Book Review service to get some early reviews-a key task and even took care of publishing the book on Amazon itself and did the promo write up!

with-cover-kaine-2-sensible-colors-book-meme-ecce-copiaMy book was pretty shamelessly political and so, not surprisingly, we conducted a campaign that was just as shameless. Bill created funny, tongue in cheek memes for heavy use on FaceBook, Google Groups and Twitter and email lists. To the media we sent PR pieces that were slightly off the wall (see below lest you think otherwise). We figured, why be boring? So we decided we would stand out. Our launch coincided serendipitously with the 75th anniversary of the famous V for Victory campaign that Churchill made famous so we made use of it in our first press release. When Trump went to Mexico-so did our meme; when President George HW Bush endorsed Clinton we created a meme to go along and when Clinton´s running mate interrupted Trump´s 70 times we had fun with that too-see attached.

We also followed Laurence O´Bryan´s excellent advice to bring the price down to .99 for a while and, thanks to this suggestion and the interviews that Bill set up, we sold a lot of copies and started to go up in our Amazon ranking dramatically. Let me say that some authors have an unfortunate zero sum game outlook on this issue and think they have to recoup their investment so a price cut is out of the question. If you are only selling a few books per month then stop kidding yourself, swallow your pride if that is what is holding you back and listen to Laurence O´Bryan and drop your pricing. You are investing real money in creating your author brand so don’t be cheap.

proof-beating-hillary-living-historyThe results prove what I say. See attached screen shot when our book bested Dreams From My Father by President Barack Obama and even reached #12 on Amazon in its category of Political Biographies Notable People/Kindle.  We also beat two titles by Hillary Clinton-Hard Choices & Living History with her in a huge media campaign to win the White House with all the expected publicity windfall to benefit her book sales.

Let me tell you something else. Lest you think you simply must spend thousands on

everything from a website, book trailer, editorial services, pagination software, promo campaign, book launch and for an artistic book cover you are completely wrong. We did this on a shoe string and with aesthetic standards and methods that a thousand priggish authors would have rolled their eyes over and refused to consider for an instant.

If you´re going to promote a book at all-promote it right and get some help in the process from qualified pros who can help you and have some fun in the process.

Good luck!

Coach Kevin Collins

P.S. You can get your copy here!

 

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Using NetGalley for Reviews

blogging 336375 1920 1We live in an age of referrals and recommendations – Trip Adviser, Trusted Trader, you name it – and books are no exception. Mainstream publishers know this and have the reviewing business pretty much sown up. They have established media links and well-used channels for getting their authors reviewed and written-up in newspapers, magazines, radio and TV. We indies don’t have those, so we must work harder.

So how do you get reviews?

Well, family and friends are obvious, and it’s silly not to use them. I find some of my most enthusiastic supporters are among this group! However, it’s important to be careful; they’ll be biased. Of course they will, they wouldn’t be your friends if they weren’t! Amazon carefully polices  reviews, and if it suspects a reviewer has a family connection to the author they may block their account.

Fellow authors are a good bet. We’re all in the same boat and sympathetic to fellow strugglers, but ‘I’ll give you a nice review if you give me one’ doesn’t work. There’s a good chance people will see through it, it damages the validity of genuine reviews, and worst of all nobody learns anything from it. Because isn’t the point of a review not only to encourage sales but to get an objective opinion on the merits of your writing, what works and what doesn’t? In my last blog I mentioned the BooksGoSocial Book Review Club on Facebook. Members submit their books for review, other members review them, and in turn they offer their own books for review. This is a cracking concept, because it means you get reviews from people who know what they’re talking about and the reviews are impartial.

kindle 381242 640It’s important to have some reviews in place before publication, both to use in publicity and to get some snappy quotes for the cover. There are several sources for what is sometimes called an ‘editorial review’. This is a report (usually 250 to 500 words) by someone active and experienced in the world of books – an academic, journalist, editor, teacher, top selling author. Kirkus is one of the best known and is well respected but there are others. You’ll get intelligent, illuminating feedback, but the downside is that it will cost you (Kirkus is $450 plus!) and it takes a long time (usually at least 2 months, although you can pay even more and get it quicker). Now I don’t know about you, but I would have to sell a cartload of copies to cover such a cost.

Which leaves NetGalley. You lodge with NetGally either the finished work or, if its not been published yet, a pre-production copy (usually known as an ARC or ‘advance reading copy’). NetGalley will announce it and It’s then up to members to download it and post a review. Some certainly will, and the reviews will be honest (sometimes brutally so!) because that’s what NetGalley reviewers are committed to. You pay for the time your book is on NetGalley, so the whole exercise is time limited. I tend to use it myself for new writing, and in short bursts, and I strongly recommend it. To get a 33% discount on any of the NetGalley+ services provided by BooksGoSocial you can use coupon code: pf33 at the checkout point on this page.

Paradise Girl coverfront Mar19Phill Featherstone is an indie author published by Opitus Books. His first two novels, Paradise Girl (mybook.to/ParadiseGirl) and Aftershocks (mybook.to/Aftershocks) have won several awards, and his new novel, The God Jar will be published in September. You can reach Phill through his Goodreads Author Page (https://tinyurl.com/y7frtrtp) or his own website (www.phillfeatherstone.net).

Want more readers? Start podcasting: Part 1 – Content and promotion

A.G. Billig

podcast-banner

Pokemon-mania and Facebook Live may be the summer craze; but podcasting is here to stay as one of the best tools to build reputation and following. In April 2016, 21% of the Americans listened to a podcast.

This percentage keeps growing. And so does the number of podcasts. Everybody can make one nowadays. There are hundreds of thousands of podcasts on iTunes covering everything from cooking to politics. But only a few are successful.  Those are professionally made, interesting and well promoted.

Follow the guidelines presented in this article and you will be able to create a compelling podcast, which will reflect in the number of your readers and book sales.

 

To podcast or not to podcast?

podcasting-toolsThere are other benefits to podcasting besides getting more readers.

Podcast can help non-fiction authors establish and strengthen their expert positioning, increase awareness and grow their business.

Podcasts are also a great way to expand a professional network, if you choose to interview other people. Guests may also promote your podcast to their followers and you can get new followers.

.If you write fiction, you can use podcasts to bond with your readers. You can read excerpts from your books or use the podcast as a teaser for your upcoming novels.

You could impersonate one of your main characters, take questions from your fans, or talk about the major themes of your book, as Elizabeth Gilbert does.

With a bit of creativity, a podcast can be a great addition to your marketing tool kit. Please only podcast if you enjoy speaking and telling stories out loud.

 

Ok, I want to podcast. What next?

 Decide on a topic. It should be something you are passionate about. If you are a non-fiction author, decide which area of expertise you want to associate yourself with and build your podcast around this topic.

 Focusing on a niche market is a good idea. For instance, love is a broad topic, relationships narrower, young adult relationships even more niche and relationship problems for young adults a very tight niche.

 If you write fiction, pay attention to things your readers may also be interested in. You could find ideas in the comments and messages you see online. Think about what will be of interest to current and potential readers.

Either way, social media and discussion sites such as Reddit or Quora are a great place for spotting trending topics.

Know your audience. Identify your average listener’s interests, likes, dislikes and create an avatar. Try to be as specific as possible. You can use Google Analytics, a free tool that you need to integrate into your website. The “Demographics” tab helps you to examine your audience makeup. If you have a Facebook Page, check the insights tool for demographic information about your fans.

 Choose your format. You can have a magazine type podcast with different features, parts of the podcast, or you can have it as a one conversation, a monologue. You could interview other people or you could interview yourself.

 Make an editorial plan. Plan ahead for a series of episodes. Launch the podcast when you have the first three ready. You could decide to release a new episode every week, although two episodes a month is enough for a beginner.

 Make a list of potential guests to interview (if you decide on this format). They should be relevant to your audience and the industry you are in. Don't aim to interview Tony Robins, if you are in the self-development industry. Start with less known experts, who are in a growth phase, as you are.

They will be thankful and willing to offer their support when you need it.

 Make a promotional plan. All your efforts will be wasted if you don’t promote your podcast.

 Have a schedule of episode release dates and promote each of them. Use your social media channels and even consider advertising with BooksGoSocial. A survey conducted by Clammr Social Audio Discover, revealed that social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter generate 81% of podcast listener growth.

 Prepare your artwork, the podcast descriptions (really important – test them first), your logo, your short bio and your head shot. Please ensure you get a short bio and official picture of your guests as well.

 Record and produce.  If you don't have the habit of speaking into the microphone, rehearse in advance. Nobody says you have to be a professional radio host, yet your voice should be loud and clear, your words and phrases easy to understand. Use short sentences and apply one of the golden secret rules in radio: smile when you talk. Your voice will sound different.

We will run you through the technical aspects a bit later in the next post.

 

A checklist of things to get right:

  • After your podcast is recorded, edit it before you upload it online, as you would do for a book.
  • Make sure it sounds professional. Make sure the volume is correct during the duration of the episode.
  • Make sure your are positive about your guests.
  • The recommended duration of a podcast is between 10 and 30 minutes. There are longer podcasts out there but it is hard to provide a one hour high quality content. Our attention span these days, as you know, is low.

Need some help to get started?

12705553_10153990084008982_1030494073006319981_n A.G. Billig, a best-selling author, teaches you create your podcast from scratch. She has +6 year experience as a radio host and producer. She is also the co-host and producer of booksgosocial.com podcast, The Seducative Writers' Diary – 21st Century Digital Marketing Techniques For Bestselling Authors

 Don't miss out on our third low-cost & high-value online course – A Master Class in Creating Podcasts That Sell Books – is now available at a low launch price with an 84% discount! To see the details click here.

A.G. Billig is also offering one-to-one coaching for audio podcasts creation and promotion, as well as audio podcasting production services. For a personalized offer, please contact her on e-mail, at contact@agbillig.com.

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