Getting a book published is more difficult today than it has ever been. Consolidation in the publishing industry, lower tolerance for risk, the emergence of a handful of bookselling giants, and the reduced amount of post-acquisition editing being done by publishers all have erected significant barriers for authors seeking traditional publishers.

More and more frequently, authors are finding that their manuscripts need to meet specific criteria for marketability and be edited to near-publication standards before an agent will even consider offering representation.

The Iowa Wordwrights can help. We’re an association of talented editors and writers. We're primarily graduates of the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. Several of us are tenure-track faculty, teaching writing at universities around the country. All of us are incisive editors and committed writers.

Although many of us had been working as freelance editors for years, we came together and formed the Iowa Wordwrights in 2005 to allow us to provide a broader range of services to our clients and to ensure that we could pair each individual client with an editor who would offer just the right perspective on his or her work. We almost certainly have someone on staff who is both interested in and experienced with your type of writing, be it literary fiction, genre fiction, memoir, biography or anything else.

We offer a variety of services geared toward helping both emerging and experienced writers improve their manuscripts and move them toward publication. We provide professional, in-depth manuscript critiques and editing for both fiction and non-fiction. We do ghostwriting. We can put together high-impact book proposals, help you with research, refer you to an agent, even prepare promotional materials for your book.

Our business isn’t just about books; it’s about writers. Our clients range from first-time novelists to writers with multiple titles to their credit—from individuals preparing family histories to writers planning to self-publish their work to authors preparing seminal works in their field.

And each of our clients receives the focused, dedicated attention of an Iowa Wordwrights editor—an editor who is committed not just to improving a manuscript but to improving the author’s writing skills. You’ll work directly with an editor whom you can talk with and ask questions of.

We usually can’t turn bad writing into good writing, but we can turn good writing into great writing. More importantly, we can help good writers become better writers.

Finding an editor is easy. Finding the right one isn’t. If you’ve been spent any time at all searching for an independent editor, you’ve probably discovered they’re not difficult to find. The challenge is knowing whether or not you’ve found the right one.

At the Iowa Wordwrights, we are professionals. All of our work is done under a written agreement between us and you, the client. There are no surprises, no uncertainty, no sleepless nights wondering if you’ve given your manuscript to the right editor. Our clients go into the engagement confident and well- informed, and they emerge from it better writers with stronger manuscripts.

At the Iowa Wordwrights, we’re committed to helping writers achieve success, and we’d welcome the opportunity to work with you.