Word Keepers, Inc. is a small press publisher dedicated to new and seasoned authors with socially conscious voices whose work does not fit typical mega-marketing projects. Having an awareness and understanding of the nuances of writers and their process is core to our publishing success. Our intuitive publishing team imbues skills that hold sacred the space for a trade book to come to fruition through mind and heart.

Word Keepers, Inc. is a supportive, niche publishing house serving authors’ creative and intellectual properties. We create relationships… with authors, books, publishing professionals, vendors, and a global community of readers… all within an atmosphere that celebrates and honors individual uniqueness.

As a small-press publishing house, we combine the best ideas from traditional publishing with the opportunities and participation of self-publishing. We provide a sacred space for new voices. We call this boutique aspect of our publishing Participant Publishing™.

If you are beginning to think about a writing project or book, please contact us for a free consultation. We will help you decide if you are ready for professional assistance free of charge. Our many services are listed below.

Consulting & Coaching

CONSULTATION IN OUR OFFICE ($255 flat fee) – A two-hour discussion of your book project or your work in our home office or by phone/Skype. An agenda is agreed upon in advance, for further evaluation, as well as for future development, publishing, marketing, personal promotion, and proposal planning.

COACHING ($110 an hour) – It is rare to find a writing coach who is first a Writer and therefore understands the nuances of writers and their process. It is rare to find a writing coach with first-hand knowledge of the all-important Editor’s critical eye. And it is rarer still to find a writing coach who holds the precious space for your story’s vision and brings it to fruition through the expertise of a Publisher.

However, the greatest find of all is the individual who encompasses all three professions – writer, editor, and publisher – with the mind and heart of an Intuitive Coach. Spend time in this supportive, authentic place to align your writer’s intention with your vision.

CONSULTATION BY PHONE – LIFE TOOLS: ASSIGNMENT AND PURPOSE/purposes ($275.00) – A one-hour discussion and in-depth participation to reveal your Life Assignment. Your life Purpose and possible purposes will also be uncovered in this process. Who are you? What are you doing here? What do you need to be about here?

Have you ever asked yourself, “Couldn’t somebody just give me a how-to book on life?” This beginning question gets asked when you’re ready . . . ready for personal growth. You want to know more about yourself and how to navigate with mastery through life’s challenges. Read on . . .

• Stuff happens just when we don’t expect it!
• Stuff doesn’t happen when we need it to happen NOW!

The process of awareness starts with self-knowledge. What’s that one little thing in life that keeps glitching you? You can begin to understand what’s behind that question by knowing your assignment and Purpose/purposes. These are the keys—101 Basic Life Tools—that help you fill in the mortar between the bricks of your foundation. You stand more firmly in your understanding of what it means to have dominion over . . .

• What does identifying and living your life assignment as a state-of-being look like?
• Have you ever ‘gotten up on the wrong side of the bed’ and your whole day was a continuous stream of the same bad hair day? NOT!
• Have you ever wondered why you couldn’t break that habit of finding fault with every little thing and every little person that crossed your path at work? NOT!
• Have you ever been in a love relationship that felt like you were wearing a big neon sign that said, “Yeah, that’s okay, dump on me!” NOT!

The “Have you ever’s” are life experiences when you are not in your assignment. The “NOT!” are what it looks like when you are in your assignment as a state-of-being.

I’ve spent three decades studying spiritual practices and participating in initiations with living teachers—known by some as Ascended Masters—to expand my awareness and consciousness of living my life from a position of Spirit-first. I’ve traveled the globe participating in what I call “the real work” of my life, while doing my day job of assisting writers in finding their voices; publishing books written by socially conscious authors; and helping visionaries ground the etheric into practical vehicles of change, through the written word, for self first, and then others. My work with writers, new and seasoned, is grounded in this spiritual work. If you would like to set up an appointment to participate in this process for yourself and your own self-knowledge, please e-mail me at wordkeepersinc@gmail.com. --Toni Holm-Tice

Legal

CONTRACT REVIEW ($275 flat fee) – For a flat fee, we can save you from signing your book away. The fee covers the entire eight-page; thirty-nine clause industry contract that hails from an era long out of date.

Editorial

EDITOR’S REPORT ($3,000 flat fee for 1st draft or estimated hours @ $75.00 per hour) – This detailed three-to-five page report provides a professional evaluation of your book’s potential from both literary and marketing angles. This report provides a detailed analysis of both fiction and nonfiction manuscripts, including characters, strength of plot/subplots, author’s voice and style, format, etc. A three-week turnaround is guaranteed and the charge includes a free hour-long follow-up phone consultation to discuss the report.

This initial report builds the framework of our future working relationship. It solidifies our understanding of what the project currently is, and what can be done to position it for publication.

REVISED MANUSCRIPT READ-THROUGH ($1,500 flat fee for 2nd draft or estimated hours @ $75.00 per hour) – You’ve gone over and over the manuscript, and incorporated all necessary changes. Now is the time you need a new set of eyes to review those changes and put the final touches on your book or project to bring it to a polished perfection. This report provides the same type of valuable information as the initial Editor’s Report.

EDITING - Most books need three levels of editing: development editing, line editing, and copy editing – in that order.

DEVELOPMENT EDITING ($300 minimum @ $10.00 per page) – In this first stage of editing, the Editor formulates and expands ideas; examines the competition; refines concepts; ensures consistent tone, and unifies the approach.

LINE EDITING/Copy Editing ($200 minimum @ $8.50 per page) –In this second & final stage of editing, we assign a line editor with the appropriate level of genre or technology expertise to read your work with fresh eyes. The line editor scrutinizes character development, plot delineations, and cross-referencing, including foreshadowing and follow-up, crossing the t’s and doting the i’s, polishes grammar, and corrects spelling.

HOURLY RATE ($60 per hour) – Many writers need general kinds of literary services that may not fit a specific category of services as described above. For these purposes we offer clients this simple hourly rate.

Packaging

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY ($225 flat fee) – There are two kinds of authors: the shy ones and the grandiose ones … but they both need help preparing their biographies. We get the facts, organize them to please a publisher who wants to know who you are, and help you infuse the finished biography with your own special authorial spark.

BOOK SYNOPSIS ($355 flat fee) – How do you describe your book to the lucrative foreign and screen markets? The synopsis is an important part of any book proposal because its quick tagline grabs the attention at a glance, and its full paragraph succinctly describes the book in less than a minute. After all, a glance and minute may be all that the busy professional has who sees thousands of book proposals every week and might want to purchase yours. We also include a query letter to accompany the synopsis. This is a mutual give and take project where we work together to create a letter that sells you and your project to a perfect stranger. We aim for clarity, brevity, and shine.

MARKET PLAN FOR AUTHOR/BOOK (Vendor referral) – A book contract is the most important point in the author’s career. From this point onward, our Publicist handholds the author through the production process to keep tabs on what happens to that book during its first fragile year of life. A Publicist is strategic to your shot at success.

Our Publicist knows that authors are often unaware that a book contract with a Publisher is a kind of marriage. Publishers have their ways of doing thing and authors have their ways of doing things; now comes the blending. Our Publicist knows authors AND knows publishers. Once you have a publisher, a publication date, and a price, a Publicist can maximize your experience and results by helping revise and augment your publishing plan.

Production

ILLUSTRATION/ART ADVISORY (Vendor Referral) – A picture is worth a thousand words … especially in the case of books and projects. Pictures definitely count for more on the printed page. This service includes advice on how to find pictures and art in given price ranges, how to obtain the rights to art/illustrations, how to reproduce them, how to art direct illustrators and photographers, and how to develop a preliminary design for your book/project. We advise you in conjunction with specialist art directors we know, and can refer you to more technical help when needed.

WEB SITE DESIGN (Vendor referral) – Many writers settle for a generic Web template under the umbrella of an organization or group that doesn’t get them to the top of the search engine list. Through referral, you will work with a Web design team specializing in customized Web sites that best promote you and your book or project. Our Web Designers will choose the best layout, the easiest navigation, and the most understandable content to optimize your site’s appeal to both search engines and book consumers. Our Webmaster will continue to market your site, updating it so that users return regularly to keep up with you and your career.

Workshops

WRITER’S WORKSHOP ($225 per participant) – (see listing at right)

Every once in awhile, all writers, whether seasoned or novice, need to partake in a refresher course.

Our Writer’s Workshop is a great opportunity to rub elbows with your colleagues, and leap out of your velvet rut to remember why you chose to become a writer in the first place — to tell your myriad of stories through the eye of the beholder — you.

The focus of this workshop is to actively show each participant the process of discovering your authentic writer’s Voice – your unique way of perceiving the world and expressing yourself. Once you tap into your writer’s Voice, you become a more powerful storyteller with richer, fuller stories that fully engage your readers.

During the workshop you will engage in both group and individual exercises to stretch your abilities and write outside your own box. Gift yourself the time to collaborate with like-minded individuals and hunker down while Toni leads you on a writer’s walk about. Come to recognize your genuine writer’s voice and your signature genre. Walk away with the writer’s fishing pole … not just the fish.

Proposed length: 3 hours plus a 1-hour Q & A session. Toni tailors these workshops to fit adult and young writers.