My specialty is helping authors write, self-publish, and promote books and related services. If you have ideas to communicate or stories to tell, I can help you create a book that furthers your career. To get your thoughts into print, I offer a full range of publishing services:
To meet the specific requirements of each author, I adapt my services to meet your goals, objectives, and capabilities.
Print-On-Demand and Self-Publishing Guidance
The emergence of the print-on-demand (POD) publishing industry has been a boon to self-publishers, relieving authors from the burdens of warehousing and distributing books. Nevertheless, the process of choosing a POD provider and thinking out how to most effectively use their services is complex. To help simplify this challenge, I provide a range of POD self-publishing services:
Consultation on your selection of a POD publisher
Recommendation on choosing distribution services: Amazon, Ingram, Barnes & Noble, etc.
Selecting book size, soft cover/hard cover, paper type, and other options
Designing your book to meet publisher’s standards (see Book Design & Graphic Arts page)
In most cases, it is best to use POD publishers for what they do best: printing and distribution. Professional specialists are best for o ther publishing tasks, such as book design and development of promotional materials . POD publishers have very little interest in interacting with authors about what kinds of marketing materials will actually fit their needs. They do not provide real marketing guidance.
I have been a professional technical and business writer for over thirty years and have written over 200 book-length documents and marketing pieces for major companies including Merck, Unisys, The Franklin Mint, and Vanguard, as well as for small businesses and independent professionals.
My knowledge base is broad and deep, and I am a quick study. This positions me to quickly grasp your area of expertise and help you communicate it. In 2006, I self-published a book on future trends, VISION 3000: The Transformation of Humanity in the New Millennium, which explores forecasts for human science, spiritual culture, technology, media, economics, and governance, an example of the breadth of topics I have explored in depth. In 2008, I delivered a presentation, The Impact of Advanced Media Technology, to the world Future Society conference in Washington, DC.
My educational background includes: undergrad at Harvard University in social relations, Temple University in technical writing, and Villanova University in computer science, plus a wide array of seminars and continuing education courses, including a six-year program studying psychodynamics and spiritual psychology. As an independent scholar, I read continuously on a wide range of topics, including how to use new media technologies to publicize new ideas, books, and authors. I have also been a painter and graphic artist for most of my life and enjoy helping authors get their message across through visual images.
As an idea-entrepreneur, I have run over half-a-dozen different businesses and learned a great deal about practical uses of communications media to promote and publicize creative work. I have been involved with self-publishing, marketing, consulting, speaking, and creative media innovation throughout my career. As the owner of Emerging Vision Media LLC, I am constantly keeping up with how to use new media technologies to publicize new ideas, books, and authors.
"I found Michael to be incredibly knowledgeable and skillful in his innumerable publishing talents which include, but are not limited to, book design, layout, formatting, cover creation and logo creation. He brought my book to life with his professionalism, artistry and insight. It is my pleasure to highly recommend his services." Published Acknowledgement: "Michael -- for invaluable expertise in everything including book design, formatting, cover creation, and for helping me set up PranaCreations. I absolutely would not have been able to do this without you." – Judy Myers, Author, Managing the Mommy Years
"I’ve worked with Michael for over 12 years and found him to be an intelligent analyst, an effective project manager, and a remarkably good writer." – James Sherry, VP Sales, Devon Consulting
"I highly recommend Michael for his strategic planning, organizational development, project management, business analysis, and writing abilities. He has consistently delivered high quality results." – Michael Toomey, Former National IT Director, The Devereux Foundation
"I would highly recommend Michael. His work was well received, on schedule, within budget, and facilitated rewriting our business practice standards. He melded well into our team while maintaining a leadership role." – Rosemary Myers, Director of Information Systems, The Franklin Mint
"Mike, we have gotten praise from Technical Operations on the quality of your work. It’s great to have a project so well managed. Thanks." – Tom Cole, Director of Systems Integration, The Vanguard Group
"After observing his effectiveness on other projects, I asked Michael to help us with our High-Performance Computing Environment. I have been more than satisfied with the quality of his results and would whole-heartedly recommend him." – Simon Kearsley, PhD., Director of Molecular Systems, Merck & Co.
"Michael listened to our needs and wrote a clear, focused, and practical Strategy Plan that was perfectly suited to our objectives. It was well-written and logical, delivered on time and within budget. We would whole-heartedly recommend him to his future clients for any business writing or strategy development project." – Siti Crook, CEO, EcoBuilt Efficient Buildings
REQUEST FOR ESTIMATE/CONSULTATION
Cut and paste the text that follows into your e-mail editor (e.g., Outlook, Word) and answer each question.
A sample is required to receive an estimate for editing services
6. Describe your project: (e.g., book, business document, dissertation)
7. Describe the level of writing or editing required: (e.g., copyediting, proofreading, content editing, fact-checking, ghostwriting, formatting)
8. Current word count of document:
9. Your deadline date:
10. Required manual of style, if any: (e.g., Chicago Manual, APA, MLA, AP, AAA, CBE/CSE)
11. Number of charts, tables, and pictures:
12. Do you need charts, tables, pictures edited/formatted?
13. Do you have a budget for the project? (Please be specific.)
14. Number of footnotes and entries in reference list:
15. Do you want to contact a particular writer/editor?
16. How did you learn about our service?
16. Attach a sample chapter/section or other important documents related to your project. Please zip large files (max 1MB)
YOUR NAME MUST BE IN YOUR SAMPLE DOCUMENT OR IT CAN BE THE FILE NAME (e.g., johnsmith.doc).
The network coordinator will forward your submission (plus any attached files) to the consultant(s) you select. If no selection is made, your submission will be forwarded to several consultants who might be a good match. Final choice of consultant is yours.
If you do not get a response within 3 hours (M-F) of submission, send a follow-up e-mail to:
Coordinator @ Airmail.net
and/or
EditingNetwork @ gmail.com
You may also use the chat button and/or leave voice mail for the network coordinator: 469-789-3030.
Allow a longer response time if you sent your submission during the weekend or after U.S. business hours.
All of the consultants listed on this site are freelance. They are located throughout the U.S. The coordinator cannot answer cost/timeframe questions for each consultant. You must go through the submission process to receive direct responses from the consultants listed on this site.
