Developmental editing for autobiographical book

The challenge

Zulu Group was working closely with author Alexandra Asseily on her autobiographical book Becoming a Good Ancestor: Emotional Wisdom From a Life Lived Through War to Forgiveness. The book offers practical wisdom on embracing vulnerability, finding meaning in adversity and living a life of authenticity and compassion.

Zulu needed a developmental edit and copyedit to get the book in shape for publication.

The solution

We improved the flow and language of the book by:

• Focusing both on the bigger picture (during the developmental edit) and the finer detail (during the copyedit)
• Suggesting improvements to the book’s structure
• Rewriting sections that didn’t flow to strengthen the message in each section
• Ensuring the tone was consistent throughout
• Removing repetition, correcting mistakes and cutting down lengthy sections
• Offering creative ideas for headings

The published book can be bought on Amazon UK or Amazon US, and more information can be found on Zulu Group’s website or the author’s website.

Testimonial

Tate & Clayburn have been a pleasure to work with. We needed to prepare our book for publication, and could only get so far with our own edits. Their expertise and thoughtful approach made the process smooth and efficient. We wanted to ensure the author’s voice wasn’t lost in any edits, and they were very sensitive to that. They kept the book’s language and tone authentic to the author, whilst giving invaluable direction throughout. This project is close to our hearts, and we are so proud of the final product. We have already recommended them to another author, and would use them again.

Olivia Vesty, EA – Zulu Group