Writing and Publishing Services, From First Draft to Finished Book
Our writing and publishing services cover the whole road from a rough idea to a book on a shelf. We're an independent publishing house in Lake City, Colorado, and we've been publishing since 1996. We ghostwrite, edit, design, produce, release and market books, and we write for businesses too. Every service has a published starting price, and the rights to your book stay with you.
Pick the stage your book is at and we'll take it from there. You can also send us the manuscript and let our readers tell you where to begin. The quote is free, and the office is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm Mountain Time.
- Publishing since 1996
- Prices published at /pricing/
- NDA signed before work starts
- One team per book: a writer, an editor and a project manager
Which writing and publishing services do you need?
Start from where your book is today, not from a service name. Most authors only need one or two of the stages below, and you never have to buy the rest.
You need a writer. Our ghostwriting services turn your ideas and interviews into a finished draft in your voice. A memoir or a business book follows the same method. Starting prices are $6,000 for a short book, $12,000 for a memoir and $14,000 for a business book. "From" always means a starting point.
Begin with a manuscript assessment at $0.020 a word. It's a full read and a written report on what to fix first. Often the next step is a developmental edit, which reworks structure, pacing and argument before anyone polishes a sentence. We read a sample before quoting, and we'll tell you if the book needs an earlier stage than the one you asked for.
You're ready for a copy edit, a proofread, a cover, a layout, an ISBN, print files, an ebook or an audiobook. Our book publishing services explain the route. A typical independent book, with editing, cover, layout and files, comes to between $2,500 and $6,000.
Grant proposals, business plans, pitch decks, whitepapers, websites and resumes all have their own published rows on the pricing page. Pick the document you need and we'll quote it.
Not sure which tab is you? Send the manuscript once. Our readers will say whether the house wants it, and we'll quote the services route either way. There's no reading fee, and you get a written reply.
Writing services: ghostwriting and writing for hire
Writing is the largest family on this page, and it covers more than most people expect. We ghostwrite memoirs and real life stories, business books, children's books, comic books, scripts, speeches and songs. We also write technical, legal, medical and scientific books, and we rewrite drafts that have the right bones but the wrong sentences.
Quotes land between $0.20 and $0.32 a word, or at a flat project fee, which most authors prefer. Length matters first. Research and the number of interviews come next, and the deadline comes last. A rewrite of an existing draft is $0.12 a word.
The byline is yours alone. Payment is made in stages as chapters arrive, so you never pay for pages you haven't read. Each specialty has its own page, and the links below take you to them. Tell us who the book is for and how much of it you've already got on paper, and we'll suggest the shape that fits. For the full detail on price and process, start at ghostwriting, memoir writers or script writing.
Payment is made in stages as chapters arrive, so you never pay for pages you haven't read.
Editing services: four levels, one right starting point
Editing is priced by the word, so a short book costs less than a long one. The third column works each rate out on an 80,000 word novel.
| Level | What it fixes | Rate | On 80,000 words |
|---|---|---|---|
| Manuscript assessment | Structure, market and what to fix first, in a written report | $0.020 a word | $1,600 |
| Developmental edit | Pacing, argument and character | $0.034 a word | $2,720 |
| Line edit | Rhythm, clarity and voice | $0.027 a word | $2,160 |
| Copy edit | Grammar, consistency and facts | $0.023 a word | $1,840 |
| Proofread | Typos and bad breaks on typeset pages | $0.016 a word | $1,280 |
The minimum fee is $450 a pass. Here's how that plays out. A 60,000 word memoir needs a developmental edit at $0.034, which is $2,040. A 15,000 word short book proofread at $0.016 comes to $240 on the meter, so the $450 minimum applies. The order matters: fix structure first, polish sentences second and proofread last, because every earlier pass can introduce new errors. Our guide to the types of book editing explains the sequence, and book editing services covers all four levels in one place.
Publishing and production: from clean files to every shelf
There are two routes, and only a real publisher can offer both. If our editorial board acquires your book, the house pays for editing, design, printing and distribution and you pay nothing. If you're publishing independently, you buy only the stages your book needs. The detail sits on the book publishing services page.
$280 plus the printer's cost, with the spine measured to your paper. See printing.
At cost, $125 or $295 for ten, bought in your name, and we show you the receipt.
Marketing services: fix the listing before buying noise
A weak listing wastes every dollar spent after it, so our marketing prices start small. Listing and metadata is $350 a book, and it covers your categories, all seven keyword slots and a description written to the retailer's limits. A launch plan, with a 90 day dated calendar, is $750. An advance reader team is $900, and a press release written and sent to a named list is $650. Ad management is $600 a month plus the ad spend itself.
We don't sell five-figure launch packages. If someone quotes you one, ask what the money buys week by week and who reports on it. We'd rather fix the cover and the description first. The listing is the cheapest job here and the one that decides whether anything after it pays back. The detail lives on marketing services, book marketing and press release writing.
If someone quotes you one, ask what the money buys week by week and who reports on it.
Business, brand and web writing
The same writers also handle the documents that sit outside a book. Starting prices come from the pricing page.
Grant proposals
From $1,800 an application, written against the funder's own criteria. See grant writing.
Business plans
From $2,400, with market, model and three year figures. The SBA publishes a guide to writing a business plan. See our business plan service.
Pitch decks
From $1,600, with the story, the numbers and the design. See pitch deck design.
Whitepapers
From $2,200 for about 3,000 words, researched and sourced. See whitepaper writing.
Logos
From $650, with concepts, one developed route and every file format. See logo design.
Websites
From $3,200 for five to eight pages, designed, written and built. See website design.
There's more. We write resumes (from $320), Wikipedia pages where the subject meets the notability guideline (from $1,400, and we'll say so if it doesn't), and blog and SEO articles at $0.30 a word with a $240 minimum. Landing pages, newsletters and product descriptions are quoted the same way. See resume writing, Wikipedia writing and article writing.
Design and web: art, identity and the author platform
A book needs a face, and an author needs somewhere to send readers. Illustration for children's books and picture books sits with illustration services. Logos and brand marks are handled through logo design. An author website, with your book, your biography, a mailing list sign-up and a press page, starts at $1,400. Every cover and layout comes with its source files, so you can take them to another supplier whenever you like. Bigger business sites go through website design and development.
A book needs a face, and an author needs somewhere to send readers.
Genres and specialist formats
We work across twenty-nine genres, from crime fiction and drama to autobiography and case studies. The list shows what the house has published, not what it will consider, so ask if yours isn't there. Browse the full list at /genre/, and see how ghostwriting works in your state, for example Colorado.
What the services cost and how we charge
| Family | Starting point | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Editing | $0.016 to $0.034 | a word, minimum $450 a pass |
| Cover design | from $850 | per cover |
| Interior layout | $2.20 | a page, minimum $600 |
| Ghostwriting | $0.20 to $0.32 | a word, or a flat project fee |
| Audiobook | from $260 | a finished hour |
| Marketing | $350 to $900 | per job |
| Typical independent book | $2,500 to $6,000 | editing, cover, layout and files |
Every price is a fixed fee. There are no packages, so you pay only for the stages your book needs. Editing, design and production are half on booking and half on delivery. Ghostwriting is paid in stages against delivered chapters. We don't ask for a full project fee up front. Prices marked "from" are starting prices, not flat rates.
The copyright in your book stays yours. If you want an official record of it, the U.S. Copyright Office explains how to register your copyright. Every rate is on the pricing page, which is the source of truth when anything differs.
How a project works
Every service follows the same short path.
A few pages, an outline or a paragraph will do, by form, email or phone.
We read what you sent and name the stage to start at. That sometimes includes an honest no, with a note on what the book needs instead.
The NDA is signed too.
Your writer, editor and project manager keep you posted, and payment follows the half and half terms above.
Nothing is final until you say so.
Why use one publisher for all of it
One team per book
A writer, an editor and a project manager stay with your book from first interview to final file, so nobody has to learn your story twice.
A real publisher
We have a back catalogue, an editorial board that reads every submission, and no reading fee. See the books in our portfolio.
Prices you can read first
Every rate is public, so you can budget before you call. Starting prices are honest starting points, and the quote is the number you'll pay. See what our authors say.
“Western Reflections Publishing took my half-baked idea and turned it into something beautiful. Sarah, my editor, was incredibly patient with me. The cover design team nailed my vision, and the publishing process was smooth. Seeing my book on Amazon is surreal. I'm beyond grateful for their services.”
Amy ToshEditing & design
Questions authors ask before they hire
Do you take a cut of my sales?
No. For services work, the fee is the whole cost. The Authors Guild is a good place to learn what to look for in any contract.
Is it a package?
No. You choose the stages and pay for those.
What if you can't do it?
We say no, and explain what the book needs instead. If an earlier stage would serve you better, that's usually the cheaper answer too.
Tell us where the book is today
We'll read it, tell you what it needs, and quote the route.
Questions we get asked
How much do content writing services cost?
Blog and SEO articles are $0.30 a word, with a $240 minimum. Ghostwriting is $0.20 to $0.32 a word, or a flat project fee. Every rate is fixed and agreed in writing before work starts. Anything not listed is quoted after we read what you have. See the pricing page.
How much does it cost to get a publishing agent?
A literary agent isn't a service you buy. A legitimate agent is paid a commission on what they sell for you, customarily fifteen percent of domestic earnings, and nothing before that. We're a publisher, so you can submit to us directly with no reading fee. Our guide to finding a literary agent has the detail.
How many books do I need to sell to make $100,000?
Divide $100,000 by your royalty per copy. At $3.00 a copy that's 33,334 copies, and at $5.00 it's 20,000. Your own figure depends on price and format, so try the royalty calculator. The $3.00 and $5.00 are examples, not predictions.
Is selling 3,000 copies of a book good?
It depends on the price, the format and your goal. At a $3.00 royalty per copy, 3,000 copies earns $9,000, which may cover editing and design for many independent books. We don't quote an industry benchmark we can't source.
Which writing and publishing services do I need first?
Start with the state of the manuscript. No draft means ghostwriting. An unclear draft needs an assessment or a developmental edit. A clean draft needs a copy edit, a proofread and design. We read a sample and tell you where to begin.
Can I buy just one service?
Yes. There are no packages, and each stage is a fixed fee. Plenty of authors come to us for one job, such as a cover or a proofread, and never need another. The most common first purchase is a single developmental edit, and for plenty of authors that plus a proofread is the whole bill.
Do you offer book editing services and memoir editing?
Yes. We offer assessment, developmental, line, copy and proofreading at published per-word rates, and we write and edit memoirs too. See book editing and memoir writers.
Are your services affordable, and are there reviews?
Our rates are published, so you can judge them against any other quote. No work is free. Real reviews, in authors' own words, are on the testimonials page, and the author resources show how to publish a book step by step.
Ready when you are
Not sure which of our writing and publishing services you need? Send the manuscript, or tell us about the idea.