Your book begins…

… with our relationship.

You have a story to tell.

We are seasoned experts who know how to tell it well.

With four decades of experience helping hundreds of authors, the team at Avocet Books brings your unique voice to the world.

We are your thought partners who help you write, edit, design, and publish the book that boosts your brand, your legacy, or both.

“As a result of the book, I've traveled to speak and conduct leadership seminars in New Zealand, Taiwan, Thailand, Iowa, Atlanta, Montana, Hawai'i, Guam, and Saipan—to name a few spots … I've made $100,000 as a direct result of the book … I think I've become a better writer—bolder and more confident in my opinions. I also know the process and what works for me.”

Ed Conley, author of Promote The Dog Sitter

“Writing the book was one of the best things we have done. It has given us greater credibility, several new clients have come through reading the book and then contacting us, and people genuinely love the book and find it useful. We could not have written a book as quickly, nor as well done, without you.”

Ashley Welch & Justin Jones, authors of Naked Sales

We get you. You are a …

What We Do

  • A ghostwriter helps you say what you want to say.

    Your ghostwriter is your collaborative partner, working with you to understand what you're trying to do, to reflect back to you what you've said, and bringing to bear our deep experience in making compelling, effective books. Our role is to be your trusted guide and intellectual partner through the process of completing a finished manuscript.

    You tell us the story, and we write it. It can be that simple.

    Or maybe your book requires research, interviews, even travel. We can do all of it.

    We help, but the book is yours.

    We will discuss your book idea in depth before we begin writing.

    Every book is different. Together, we'll determine if we are a good fit. Then we'll figure out the best way to work together.

  • Editing takes several forms. Book editing involves some or all of this work, depending on the shape of your manuscript.

    Book development means figuring out what goes in your book, what doesn’t, and how it fits together.

    Structural editing has to do with the shape of the book. Do you know what you want to do, and are you doing it? How effective are your narrative arc and character development? Could your argument be stronger? Are things in the right place and the right order? What’s missing from the story? What’s extraneous? How effectively do you lead the reader on an emotional journey?

    Line editing gets into the meat of the writing. Are the chapters working internally? Is the argument flowing from paragraph to paragraph? How are the transitions working? What about sentence structure and phrasing?

    Copy editing and proofreading. All manuscripts need this for a final polish and to bring the book up to Chicago Manual of Style standards, the professional book publisher’s style guide.

  • Too many authors start their book simply by writing, then get lost, become demoralized, and quit.

    A good author coach can prevent this.

    We will set you up with an organized structure for your book so you know what you are trying to do, who you are trying to do it for, and how to do it.

    As you write, we’ll read your first chapter, giving you tips to keep moving forward and improve as you go.

    When you are done, we’ll read your manuscript and come up with a plan for your next steps on the way to publishing a book that makes you proud.

  • We’ll pair you with an experienced book designer who will create a cover you love—and keep working with you until you do.

    They’ll design beautiful interior pages and, if necessary, graphics.

  • We will acquire an ISBN number for each edition of your book. Our production manager will work with you to set up your imprint and Amazon page and to upload your files to Amazon and Ingram/Spark. You’ll own all the rights and collect all the sales revenue.

    If you would like to publish using a traditional offset printer (which means you’ll buy and take delivery of a large quantity of books), we will work with your printer.

  • Audiobooks are now more popular than e-books and are the fastest growing segment of the U.S. market.

    Once you have a final manuscript, our audiobook partner Punch Audio will record, edit, produce and publish your book on Audible.com (which makes your book available on Amazon) and Author’s Republic (which makes it available everywhere else). You'll select your narrator from a curated group of professional voice actors.

    Do you want to record your book yourself? Punch Audio can find an affiliate studio near you if you are going to voice your own words.

  • In today's crowded book market, you need to do more than write a great book and hope readers find it. You need to let those readers know about it.

    Our experienced publicity partner, PR by The Book, specializes in helping first-time authors find and connect with their target readers. They will customize a publicity plan for you based on your book's content, your goals, and your budget.

  • We price your book together.

    You are in charge of the price of your project, because price depends on what you want and need.

    We speak by phone or video to learn what you want. We look at any work you’ve done so far and think carefully about whether we are a good match and how we can help you.

    Only then will we provide you with a scope of work, a fixed project price and a timeline unique to your project and your needs.

    You'll find pricing specifics here.