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So, you've written a book. The next step isn't necessarily to get it published. Competition for placing a book with an agent is fierce, and finding a publisher willing to take on new writers is even more difficult. So, consider that the next real step is to give your book an edge—have it professionally edited—then find an agent or a publisher. And even if you're one of a million writers thinking about going print-on-demand (POD) so that you control everything about your book, you will still need to give your book that professional edge in this increasingly popular market.

We've been there. We've had agents, we've placed our books with traditional publishers, and we've taken control of our books and used print-on-demand. And yes, we've even entered the e-book market. Lucky for you, you've come to the right place for assistance, expertise, and making your book the best it can be.

About • Submissions • Contact • Prepress Services • Evaluations • Pricing

Memberships... Two Brothers Press is a proud member of the Editorial Freelancers Association. Links for serious writers... Preditors and Editors: A list of publishers and publishing services for serious writers. (Where appropriate, this site also posts warnings about agents, publishers, and editors.) Algonkian Novel Workshops Agent Query/Publisher List (claims to be "the internet's largest and most current database of literary agents") Print-on-Demand and Ebook Producers (list) Litline: a website for the independent literary community New! Integrative Ink... Integrative Ink is a resource that offers similar services to Two Brothers Press; thus, we are eager to share additional resources for you, the writer, to make your best choices. We understand that the people at Integrative Ink are responsive and helpful. Two Brothers Press has partnered with InkBugDesign for the best of book cover design, among a whole host of other services. When you're ready for that stage of your book, contact us or go directly to InkBugDesign. Search Engine Submission - AddMe	Our Four-Step Editing Services Program* Submit your complete manuscript via email (see submissions guidelines). We will edit the first 10 or more book pages free to give you an idea of the depth of editing your manuscript needs (see evaluations) and then return the manuscript via email for your consideration. If you decide to hire Two Brothers Press to complete the editing on your manuscript, you simply send an email requesting a complete edit. We will send you the payment processing link at that time based upon the word count of your manuscript. Once we have received payment we will automatically edit your manuscript and return it to you within two to four weeks, depending upon its word count. See the Pricing for the breakdown of costs. Note: Some writers have sent only sample chapters for TBP's free evaluation editing—in some cases to "test" our editing. Our policy is to accept only the entire manuscript. While we are happy to provide our free evaluation, which will indicate our expertise, we are not in business to provide free editing, either as a test or for incomplete works. Our Typesetting/Cover Design Services We also offer typesetting and cover design services. If you are "self-publishing" your book, which means sending it to your own chosen printer or sending it to one of the print-on-demand (POD) companies that allow authors to submit fully formatted, .pdf-ready files, Two Brothers Press can handle your needs. Please see Prepress Services for a more detailed explanation of this service. The Power of Punctuation Many new writers and even some who are experienced often fail to grasp how a few simple commas or other marks of punctuation in the wrong place (or lack thereof) can change the entire meaning of a sentence. To demonstrate the power of punctuation to change meaning, study the three examples below. None of the words have been changed—except by punctuation marks. Hide the cows outside. Hide! The cow's outside. Hide, the cow's outside. Can you guess the meaning of each of these sentences? (Hint: the third example is not a sentence, really, unless it's in response to a question.) They are all completely different, and all that was necessary to completely change their meaning was to play with punctuation. If you can't reason out three different* meanings, then maybe you will be interested in what Two Brothers Press has to offer. Here are the meanings: Conceal the cows. Conceal yourself. Where does leather comes from? Here's another example, where just a single mark of punctuation can change the focus of a single word: He read through the newspaper furiously underlining certain passages. The word to wonder about is "furiously." He read through the newspaper furiously, underlining certain passages. or He read through the newspaper, furiously underlining certain passages. Because the word "furiously" is placed where it is, without the comma, we are unsure which verb or gerund the word modifies: furiously read or furiously underlining.	Two Brother Press Books & Books Edited by Two Brothers Press Plans are in the works to expand the select authors of Two Brothers Press. Watch the Submissions page of this site for announcements. Currently writers can turn to us for full copyediting, industry-standard typesetting, and book cover design. News... April 26, 2009 Dateline Las Cruces, New Mexico In a bid to become a full-fledged publishing company, Two Brothers Press has been taking steps in the past few months to pull together its resources. We will be moving into our permanent offices by mid-June 2009, located at: 603 W. Las Cruces Avenue Las Cruces, NM 88005 Phone: 575.639.2029 There we will have our editorial headquarters and meeting space for workshops. Our long-term plans are to use freelance, contract editors for our editing services, graphic artists for our book cover services, and gather resources for eventually becoming a full-fledged publishing entity. The first steps have already been taken with the addition of our own e-book division. Writers whom we choose for our imprint will be included in our Books by TBP section.
	Punctuation Quick List A Useful Reminder of How to Use Punctuation Period End mark of sentence. Used in abbreviations, but usually not acronyms. Comma Divides elements in dates and addresses. Separates phrases in a sentence when not doing so can cause confusion. In pairs, sets off parenthetical expressions, as when renaming a noun. My father, Cliff, lived to be 83. Divides list items within a sentence. Used in series of short clauses. John went north, Jerry went south, and I went west. Apostrophe Does NOT form plurals—except rarely (as in the case of "dot all the i's and cross all the t's" where the acronym or abbreviation is a single letter). Shows possessive noun. Shows a contraction of two words. I'd (I had) he's (he is) can't (can not), etc. Semicolon Divides two independent clauses where the two clauses are closely related. Divides two clauses where a relational word is used: We went to the store; however, we didn't need to go. Is NOT a substitute for a period. Is NOT a substitute for a colon. Does not occur at the beginning of a list. Divides list items from one another when there are commas within a list item. Colon Used to set up an extensive list, following a clause. "The rules governing this body are as follows:" Used sparingly. Parentheses Always comes in pairs: (...) within text to add information within a sentence, but can be used to set off numbered items (generally the closing parenthesis): 1), 2), 3), etc. Quotation marks Comes in pairs to set off speech or set off a unique word or phrase. Use double quotation marks, unless there is a quote within a quote. Use single quotation marks inside double quotation marks : "...'...'..." Hyphen Used between words in a compound adjective that modify a noun, but not used in a compound noun. Is not used as a dash, although two hyphens together are sometimes used as a dash. Dash Often used in pairs—like this—to set off an interrupting thought within the flow of a sentence. Used sparingly.