Selected Book Services

Summertime's Bespoke Services

Mentoring

Take your writing to another level with mentoring from writer, editor, teacher, speaker and publisher Jo Parfitt. As well as writing over 30 books herself, Jo has helped well over a hundred new authors to write and publish their own. Jo offers a flexible range of mentoring options.

"What a joy it is to work with Jo on my second book! Why do I work with her? Because she intuitively sees into my heart, mind and soul. And with that insight, she draws from me the book that’s bubbling inside. She uses a magic mix of nurturing and caring with a clarity and discipline… that demands nothing but the very best from me. That’s what brilliant mentoring and coaching does. It’s rather like being sprinkled with fairy dust."

David Scarlett, author of The Soul Millionaire and The Flight of The Soul Millionaire

Appraisal

£150

Jo will appraise your book proposal (please use our Pipedream to Proposal document - P2P), your Table of Contents and up to 3,000 words of your writing, providing comments on subject, style, content, marketability and ways forward.

p2p FORM

'Kick Start' Your Writing

If you would like to write a book with Jo's guidance and the support of other writers, please join the next available slot on one of her ever-popular 'Kick Start' programmes:

Kick Start Your How-to Book | Kick Start Your Memoir

find out more

Sessional Mentoring

£950 for 7 hours or £150 per hour

Jo can work with you on a sessional basis. Choose what works best for you depending on your budget and where you are on your writing journey. Typically, this should enable you to polish your introduction and up to three chapters (or 10,000 words) of text.

CONTACT jo

'Your book from Scratch'

Jo's intensive 'Your Book from Scratch' mentoring will help you brainstorm, plan, create and perfect your book. Jo only works with up to four clients a year so you can sure of her undivided attention.

Jo will work with you face-to-face, through email or via Skype/ phone — as often as once a week if required — while you work through her Release the Book Within programme.

APPLY TO JO

Proofreading and Editing

We offer three levels of editing for your draft manuscript prior to publication — proofread, super proof and a full copy edit. Proofreading is an essential element of any book project, even for the most experienced writers. We quote a fee per thousand words rather than an hourly rate so you know up front what you will be paying. Contact us for more information.

Proofreading

from £8 per thousand words

A thorough proofread — checking typos, spelling, formatting, consistency (in spelling, format, plot and pace) and grammar use.

Super Proof

from £10 per thousand words

A more intensive level of proofreading. In addition to checking typos, spelling, formatting, consistency, and grammar, a ‘super proof’ will also check the nuance and cadence of the text and add comments about any flaws in the plot or text.

Copy Editing

from £20 per thousand words

Editing requires an expert with patience, a keen eye for detail and a thorough understanding of both the rules of grammar and common usage. We will look for consistency in format, structure and layout along with spelling and grammar. We will work with you to clarify ambiguity in meaning, check word nuance and best word use, tightening text as necessary — all while retaining your authentic voice. The fee is inclusive of an initial Skype consultation to discuss your manuscript, and a sample edit of 1000 words.

Designing

You have put time and effort into writing your book and its interior and exterior design should reflect this. Summertime works with experienced and talented designers to make your book stand out from the crowd. Contact us for more information.

Cover

from £250

We all judge a book by its cover so it pays to get this right. Our designer will work with you to create a beautiful jacket for your book — front, spine, back and e-book cover.

Typesetting

from £3 per page

How a book looks inside — the font style and size, format and the way the words flow across the page — should reflect the quality of the content. Our end-to-end design service includes typesetting, creation of the title page, artwork (if appropriate) and conversion to a high resolution print-ready PDF.

e-Book

from £200

We will create a Kindle edition of your book for publication on Amazon and an ePUB edition for publication on other e-book retailers (including Nook from Barnes and Noble, Kobo and Apple iBooks).

Self-publishing

from £150

If you prefer to self-publish and receive all net royalties, you give us your internal file, cover art (front, back and spine) and Kindle file and we'll set up and distribute your book through Amazon's KDP platform. If you need help with the design and conversion of your book, check out our design offer.

Promotion

These days, authors are expected to do a lot more to market their books both in person and through social media. This means developing a strong online presence with and appealing author website to showcase your book.

Getting Online

from £350

We can build your fully integrated website, blog and Facebook page. We can also create a high quality trailer to give your book a Hollywood moment in words, music and images.

Expat Bookshop

£100

List your book in the Expat Bookshop, the only website dedicated to expatriate-related titles.

Expat-related titles only

Press Release

£250

We will write a press release and send it out to over 350 expatriate publications and (if relevant) international schools. If you have written your own press release, we can send it out for £100.