Book Editing
YOUR BOOK IS YOUR MASTERPIECE.
I TREAT IT LIKE ONE.
I am a book coach, editor and proofreader who helps you bring out your book in its best form, so that it connects impactfully with your audience. As a published author (read about my book here), content marketing writer and journalist, I know what it takes to make something a compelling read.
Apart from my skills and experience, I consider my ability to empathize with you, the author, as my greatest asset. When we work together, your book is as much my baby as it is yours. My working style is intuitive, professional, focused, collaborative and informal. You can expect a relationship that rises above the transactional aspects of work. I am open to brainstorming about any aspect of your book; I’m just a text message or email away.
I specialize in nonfiction (memoirs, personal essays, biographies, business/management books, self-help books). However, I also take on works of fiction (short stories, micro fiction, novels, novellas) and poetry. I work with authors across the world: corporate leaders, coaches, speakers, consultants, entrepreneurs, independent professionals and others. I am as happy to work with first-time authors as I am with seasoned ones. My clients say that my approach puts them at ease.
This is what you can expect when you work with me:
- Empathy, and a sensitive approach
- A first-hand knowledge of impactful writing and various narrative styles
- A strong grasp of English grammar and style-related matters
- Attention to detail
- Every effort to make your personality, thoughts and voice shine through in the book
- An open-hearted approach
- Responsiveness and a sense of collaboration
- Ownership of my work
- Fun!
- And finally, an impactful, engaging, publishing-ready book
Scroll down a bit to read what my clients say about me.
Services offered
Book Coaching
Finding it difficult to get started with writing your book? Not sure how to structure it best or what chapters should be included? Need someone to be your sounding board, cheerleader, mentor and accountability buddy as you write the book? I could be that person for you.
As a book coach, I walk with you every step of the way, from validating your book idea to completing the manuscript. I help you outline and structure the book. I guide you in writing the chapters. And, as the chapters take shape, I give you constructive feedback on how each one. Audience understanding, techniques to improve your writing, navigating roadblocks along the way, aspects of publishing — I’m happy to discuss all this and more with you.
If you are serious about writing the book, and are willing to trust the process and set aside the necessary time, you will benefit a lot from having me as a coach. I stay with you until the draft of your manuscript is completed to our mutual joy.
Manuscript evaluation
Want a professional to comment on your manuscript without editing it in depth? Confident that you can improve the manuscript yourself with the help of directional comments? Then this service is just what you need. In this, I tell you (through a 2- or 3-page report):
- What the high points of the manuscript are.
- Which aspects of the manuscript need to be improved.
- How good the narrative flow, pacing, structure, character development and plot development are.
- Aspects that need to be added/deleted/tweaked/overhauled
- How good your grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc. are, if any of these should be improved, and how.
In addition, I can answer any specific questions you have about the manuscript. This service takes less time and costs less than detailed structural editing.
Developmental or Structural editing
If you want a deeper look at all the structural elements of your manuscript so as to improve it in every way under professional guidance, you could opt for this service. This is akin to my taking a helicopter view of the manuscript. I review the following aspects:
- Is the writing lucid and the message clear?
- Are the chapters and sections in the right sequence?
- Have all the relevant aspects of the book’s topic been covered?
- Have all these aspects been given the necessary weightage? Have all nuances been captured properly?
- Are there disjointed, incomplete or redundant parts anywhere?
- Does the treatment of the topic come through as balanced and with a firm basis?
- Does the manuscript have that ‘X’ factor that will set it apart from other books in this genre or domain?
I usually work with MS Word. I will mark my comments in the manuscript and send it back to you. You can incorporate the comments you agree with; we can discuss those about which you have a doubt or alternative point of view.
Once you revise the manuscript in accordance with my comments, it will be ready to be copyedited.
Copyediting
In this phase, I run a fine-toothed comb through every sentence of the manuscript, looking at the finer details of language, style and grammar. In the main, these include:
- Sentence length and structure: they can’t be convoluted, too long or too short/abrupt. Smooth and easy-flowing sentences are essential for a great reading experience.
- Punctuation
- Usage of pronouns and tense
- The voice (first person/second person/third person)
- Casing
- Choice of words
- Consistency in the way numbers, organisations, designations of people, events, places, etc. are written.
- Chapter titles and sub-heads, and more.
If you’d like me to follow a particular style guide, I can do so; otherwise, we can evolve one for your book. Working in MS Word, I mark my changes in “track” mode, so that you know what I have done. Once you accept the changes, you have a tight, impactful, publishing-ready manuscript!
Proofreading
This is the last mile check of the manuscript, just before it is printed. This entails a glance over every sentence to weed out last-minute errors in spacing, punctuation, spelling or style-related matters that may have crept in when the manuscript was typeset and paginated.
Beta reading
I’ll be happy to beta-read the first draft of your manuscript (as your typical target reader, and not as an editor). I will read your book much like a typical reader, and tell you whether it is compelling enough. If there are big loopholes anywhere or areas that have to be strengthened, I’d point them out.
Beta reading is getting a draft of your manuscript read by someone from your target audience before you finalise it; giving them a preview of the book and asking them what they think about it. This will tell you whether the book ticks off all the boxes it should and if it will appeal to readers, post-launch. This is apt when you seek an intuitive response to the book from a reader, not an editor. It is best to get your manuscript beta-read before you seek out an editor, so that you can incorporate the beta reader’s feedback into the manuscript before the editing stage.
Book proposal
Need help putting together a book proposal? Or evaluating one you have prepared? I’ll be happy to help you with this. A great book proposal can make all the difference when you want a publisher to pick up your book. In a scenario where publishers are inundated by book proposals, a well written proposal piques their interest and makes them want to know more. It gives you a foot in their door.
Co-writing
I will be happy to co-write books with you, should you so wish. We can discuss specifics and evolve the best approach.
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No matter which service you choose, I am keen to chat with you right at the outset to understand you, your intention and your book better, and clarify any questions you may have about working with me. This helps us see if we are aligned well with each other, and set expectations.
We can discuss and agree on the scope of work that’d be best for your manuscript. If you have blogs or articles that have to be edited, I will be happy to do that, too.
Write to me at thewholehog@gmail.com or DM me on LinkedIn or Facebook.
What my clients say about me
Ganesh worked on copy- and developmental editing of my book, Bring out that Red Lipstick, in March 2020. He did it with an eye for detail, and gave me a couple of interesting inputs to bring out the essence of the book while maintaining my narrative as original as possible. I would highly recommend Ganesh for his expertise and his involvement with working on the detailed book-editing sincerely!
Ganesh edited my fourth book, and I loved the experience. By virtue of being an entrepreneur/writer and an editor, he shared ideas and suggestions for the book; all towards making it complete with a structural flow. Ganesh followed through the edit with two long phone calls to ensure that the message reached through. I recommend Ganesh for your editing, writing and creative-bounce needs.
I engaged Ganesh for the book-editing services of my recently launched book, Setback Leadership. He is awesome. It was a breeze working with him; I loved every bit of it. He is really good at making things simple yet effective. He helped me with grammar, sentence and spelling corrections, along with structural corrections. He also helped me structure the book effectively, so that the reader outcomes from my book became even better. He is quite fast in his work…and it was because of him that the book came out on time. The best part is, he is chilled out, doesn’t stress you out. In fact, he reduces the stress of an author. I would highly recommend him when you are looking for an efficient book editor.
I signed up with Ganesh for editing my first fiction novel on artificial intelligence. He helped me in identifying a target audience, plot/storyline enhancement and overall suggestions on the structure of the book. He is very knowledgeable in his field, brings various dimensions into play and is very articulate in conveying his thoughts. I would surely recommend him to anyone looking for a good, professional book editor.
Ganesh helped with the editing of my work. He is very perceptive, and is able to keep the bigger picture in mind. In the case of my work, he suggested plugs for gaps, which helped complete the circle, and resulted in a more impactful and crisper outcome!
Mr. Ganesh has helped me with editing my first book, Certified Safe. Since it’s my first book, I took time to get used to the process of editing and reviewing. Mr. Ganesh showed the same level of conscientiousness throughout the process. This being a technical book, demanded that he read up on the subject matter to do rigorous editing, and whenever I had gone to him with new changes, he showed the same levels of alacrity. Whenever we had opposing views on certain points, he was prepared to listen to all my arguments and build consensus. Even now as I am typing, I feel a watchful eye of him reviewing each word silently. I look forward to working with him in the future, and will be more than ready to recommend him to anyone who may seek an editor for their content.
I engaged Ganesh’s services as an editor in Jan-Feb 2020 for my book on Organisational Agility. This business book is aimed at practitioners of Agile, software/IT professionals and business leaders. Ganesh subjected the book to a thorough editing process, spanning developmental editing and copy-editing. He offered valuable recommendations to improve the book’s structure, flow and messaging. Also, he tightened the narrative and simplified it for an enhanced reading experience. My colleagues and I were very happy with the outcome of his effort. In addition, I found him to be prompt, flexible and easy to work with. I strongly recommend Ganesh as an editor, especially for books that deal with business/professional topics. His combined experience as a business consultant, writer and editor will add a lot of value to your book.
Being a first-time author, it was very important for me to find an editor who could help me put my thoughts and stories in a way that could create an everlasting impact on readers. Ganesh has a great ability to understand the author’s view and also the reader’s view. It was indeed a great experience working with him and he helped me to build a framework that was a great takeaway in the book. He also enhanced the structure of the book that helped the flow of content. Thank you Ganesh for the high-quality editing of the book, and helping me bring out my thoughts and experiences in a meaningful way. I would strongly recommend him to authors who are looking for editing.
Ganesh is a detail oriented and a process driven editor that helped us at IFA Galaxy, put out our book in good time. Ganesh gave us the framework, explained patiently the multiple process as also was always at hand to clarify any doubts we had. His editing helped immensely in creating a great book #Stayhungrystaybullish. We would happily recommend his work to other authors, if they are looking at good editors that are reliable.
I had the experience of working with Ganesh for the launch of a book “Stay Hungry Stay Bullish”, that had multiple authors. Ganesh as an editor and guide, was very systematic in his approach and brought lot of clarity to the table. Right from providing us a purpose at the beginning, a structure during the phase of writing and ending up with multiple rounds of editing, I could see lot of value in his work. This vastly improved the quality of our book that is being appreciated by the readers widely. I would recommend Ganesh Vancheeswaran for every aspiring writer to come up successfully with a book launch.
I have collaborated with Ganesh on two book projects which I have co-authored. “Shifting gears” a collective book project by the members of Professional Speakers’ Association of India and “Stay Hungry, Stay Bullish” – crowdsourced book project by IFA Galaxy (an association of Mutual fund distributors). Ganesh, as a Book coach and Editor did a splendid job in liasoning with the co-authors, took time to understand our perspectives and ensured everyone’s thoughts are in alignment with the overall book’s theme.His sense of commitment towards timely completion has really helped us to launch both the books on time. Kudos to you, Ganesh.
Ganesh is my guide and mentor but also a dear friend who only has the greatest good in mind when he connects and works with others. I have been honored to have him be a part of our team, to birth forth our book, Becoming You: Stories of Courage & Vulnerability. I continue to feel a deep sense of knowing that everything is alright with his leadership, dedication, heart-led value and his willingness to go the extra mile to make sure that what we bring to others enables them to also access courage, heart and genuineness. Thank you, Ganesh (G) 🙂 for ALWAYS BE-ing grounded, faithful and intentional, I appreciate you very much.
Getting a book published is a dream for any writer. Ganesh’s coaching on the subject covers everything a novice needs to know. He comes across as an informal friend-coach who is reachable and approachable for any query. I have attended 2 training sessions by him – ‘That First Book’ & ‘Personal Branding Unpacked’. Both courses were fantastic in content, subject coverage and quality.