Ink Editorial is a boutique editorial, publishing and ghost writing agency offering a broad range of services.

Tom Witcomb is an editor, book coach and ghost writer who is passionate about helping you refine your voice & vision.

Collaboration, support, honesty, value

As an editor, literary agent and ghost writer, I bring a unique set of perspectives from across the publishing spectrum which has gifted me the ability not only to see what makes a story tick, but how a project works on a commercial level.

I love working on novels at every stage of development and will work with you to develop a bespoke package tailored to your specific needs.

I can help you refine an idea and develop an action plan for getting your first draft nailed; and then provide the accountability and book coaching to get there. If you’d prefer to work on a manuscript assessment or developmental edit (or a combination of everything!) we can plan your next moves. If you're at initial manuscript assessment phase, with a first draft of your story in hand, we can work on where to go next. I can roll up my sleeves and get stuck into a deep-dive developmental edit, delivering a marked up manuscript with line edits and margin notes. If you're ready to pitch to agents, I can help hone your submission package by taking a look at your covering letter and sample material, ensuring you're putting your best foot forward. In my many years working at a leading boutique literary agency, I've read my fair share of cover letters and I know exactly what's needed to stand out from the crowd!

Whichever way you cut it, each service will help you hone your writing and storytelling skills, creating the best book you can and getting it one step closer to publication whether that be traditionally, or by self-publishing.

What's really valuable, and something I absolutely love to be able to offer, is a follow up call after the work's been delivered, in order to clarify any points, and to brainstorm next steps with you so you feel empowered to take the next steps. Editorial advice in a vacuum is less valuable - I take a very collaborative approach to editorial work, in order to extract maximum value for you.

I fundamentally believe that honesty is the best approach to editorial services, as well as treating authors with the utmost respect and I take great pride in not only my candour, but also my desire and ability to be constructive with it. I will never just tell you something doesn't work out of hand, but will provide solutions. I love bouncing around ideas and helping authors finding the solutions to their problems. It's about empowering you to write the best book you can, not about doing what I say. My primary objective is to help you reach a place where you’re writing your best work, and I love forging lifelong relationships with authors.

If you’re planning on self-publishing, I can provide guidance through the process — from proofreading and typesetting your manuscript, to reaching readers and finessing your metadata and pricing.

There's a lot to consider, and a lot to take in. Don't worry if you don't quite know what you want yet: get in touch and we can tailor the best approach for you.

Services we offer

Submission Package Assessment

Think you’re ready to take the next steps and start sending your work out to agents?

With over ten years working in an agency, from reading the slush pile to managing my own list, I’ve read a fair few submissions in my time. I know what makes them tick.

Send through your cover letter and sample chapters today and put your best foot forward.

Manuscript Assessment

An editorial assessment aims to give a general overview of your manuscript — a state of the nation — and to provide helpful action points to help you self-edit and take things forward. My editorial assessments focus on the wide-angle stuff like plot & character development, but also on dialogue and style. It could be seen as a sort of guide to self-editing that uses examples from your manuscript, but won’t pull out every instance.

Developmental Edit

A developmental edit focuses on the same wide-angle concerns of the editorial assessment but will trace the route of any issue right through the manuscript. You’ll get notes in the margin questioning unusual character actions, plot inconsistencies etc., but I also do a line edit on the text itself. There won’t be any adding of prose — in cases where something’s missing, I’ll make the note, and perhaps offer a suggestion to clarify a point — but a scrubbing up of what’s there. Sorting out syntax, sentence structure, etc. It won’t be a hard copy-edit, but will aim to catch most things.

Mentoring

If you’re not quite sure what you need, or don’t want to commit to a full report. Or you need some accountability and a check in every now and again, Book Coaching might be for you.

It’s a dynamic process that can really be anything you want it to be, so get in touch and let’s discuss what works best for you.

Contact Us

Interested in working together? Fill out some info and we will be in touch shortly. We can’t wait to hear from you!