Book Coach

SWENSON BOOK DEVELOPMENT LLC can help you while you work on a manuscript as the guardian and champion for your efforts toward a book. Developmental editor, educator, mentor, book-birthing doula, and writer’s advocate. Jill Swenson creates customized coaching programs for her clients and meets them where they are on the path to publication.

Book Proposal

Whether you have a finished manuscript or the kernel of a good idea, begin the path toward publication with a plan. We can help you craft a profile to establish your author brand, identify your audience, strategize on building your platform, craft a synopsis and chapter summaries to hook a reader, analyze comparable titles in the marketplace, develop a marketing strategy, and polish your writing sample.

If you are just beginning to work on your book proposal, you may find it useful to start by answering these questions.

Writing Workshops

Jill Swenson offers occasional online writing workshops through Elephant Rock Writing Studio established by Jeannine Ouellette in Minneapolis. To learn more, click here.

Editorial Services

SWENSON BOOK DEVELOPMENT LLC offers a variety of editorial services

• Query critique – Do you need a second look at your query letter to an agent or publisher? Or someone to guide you from first draft to a polished pitch?
• Manuscript critique – Do you need professional editorial feedback and constructive criticism on your book manuscript?
• Professional assessment – Is your manuscript ready to submit for publication, and if so, what are the most likely paths to publishing?
• Developmental editing – Focus on approach, narrative arc, perspective, voice, development of characters or arguments, and other substantive editorial matters
• Structural editing – Focus on organization and coherence of the narrative, argument, or subject material
• Line editing – Focus on the flow of ideas and arrangement of editorial content. Identify content that is misplaced, missing, or extraneous. Look for errors in sentence structure, unnecessary words, spelling, punctuation, grammar, style, and usage.
• Fact-checking, copyright permissions, bibliographies

Literary Consultant

Do you want advice on the business of being an author? Do you seek guidance in finding the right agent or publisher for your project? Are you looking for a second opinion? Schedule a consultation with Jill Swenson.