Book rewrite & revision services:
Rewriting a manuscript is a specialty!

You sent off your completed book manuscript in hopes of hearing shouts of joy. Instead, you were told it needs a rewrite. Your heart sank, but don’t fret. Ghostwriters Central is here to help. Call us toll-free at 888-743-9939 10am to 6pm Pacific Time. Or text us anytime to 818-636-4173. We can provide you with a cost estimate and approximate turnaround time.

By- Michael McKown

“When asked about rewriting, Ernest Hemingway said that he rewrote the ending to A Farewell to Arms 39 times before he was satisfied. Vladimir Nabokov wrote that spontaneous eloquence seemed like a miracle and that he rewrote every word he ever published, and often several times. And Mark Strand, former poet laureate, says that each of his poems sometimes goes through 40 to 50 drafts before it is finished.”
–Susan M. Tiberghien, One Year to a Writing Life: Twelve Lessons to Deepen Every Writer’s Art and Craft.

The lesson here is: Don’t expect to get it right on the first try. You may need 40 rewrites. Or maybe only one.

When do you know your book manuscript needs a rewrite?

• You aren’t happy with it. Something’s wrong. It just doesn’t flow the way you’d like.
• Friends and family find the story disjointed, boring or confusing.
• Your publisher says it needs a rewrite.
• Your agent says it needs a rewrite.
• You send your red-penciled draft to us, we’ll look it over, provide you with our thoughts, which could indicate, yes, it needs a rewrite.

Of course, we will be happy to sign a non-disclosure agreement to protect you.

The one who performs the rewrite needs to have the skill of a renowned writer and the critical judgment of a crusty, ruthless editor. We will consult with you to get your thoughts on the story, where you think the problems are, and the end results you seek. And then we will perform our own analysis, which will include noting where the problems are, and then restructure the text as necessary to solve the problems.

We will discuss our recommendations with you, and when we have your approval, then we’ll proceed to rewrite the manuscript.

Oftentimes, a fresh pair of eyes are needed to improve the work. This is because those eyes are not emotionally invested in your draft. What is the overarching story? How does each element plug into that story? Will deleting some element improve the story or its flow? Will an element need to be rephrased?

The one doing the rewrite needs to keep sharp eyes on the prize. The goal is to improve the overall story, bring it to a high polish, keep it entertaining, and make it flow effortlessly. Are there dead spots? You do not want to bore the reader. The right person will assure the individual elements are subordinate to the story and contribute to the story in a useful way.

Usually, we describe a rewrite as a sentence-by-sentence restructuring. But not every sentence, or paragraph, or page, needs to be touched. But we will examine every single sentence for suitability. It’s part of the analysis and thus part of the service.

Writer Justine Larbalestier points out there are two kinds of rewriting:

“…structural and sentence level. Most beginner writers get caught up in sentence level changes. They go over their manuscripts deleting and switching words around (what’s called line editing in the biz). They do this before they’ve learned how to fix the structure. The result is lots of shifting around of deck chairs while the Titanic sinks.”

If structural issues persist after moving words around, they will quickly be pointed out by the first professional to read the draft. If what was kicked back by your agent or publisher is covered in furious handwritten comments followed by big question marks and a half-dozen exclamation points, and you’re not sure what to do next, that’s when you call a professional. We can help. And you’ll be happy with the end result.

You will find the pricing information on our ghostwriting rates page.