Nonfiction book writing and development
From an idea, an outline or a rough draft to a finished manuscript, with help at every step.
Your expertise, written clearly
Nova Publishers (thenovap.com) helps nonfiction and memoir authors from first idea to published book. We shape the promise of the book, outline the chapters, support your research, develop prose from your notes and interviews, and edit the manuscript until it reads clearly. Start with an idea, an outline or a full draft, and the finished book is published under your name in your own retailer accounts.
The book's promise
One sentence on what the reader walks away with.
Chapter plan
A table of contents that delivers that promise.
Research support
Sources gathered, organized and moved to tidy endnotes.
Developed manuscript
Prose built from your notes, interviews and drafts.
Edit and publish
Developmental and line editing, then cover, formatting and distribution.
How it works
Four steps, and you approve each one before the next begins.
Define the promise
One sentence on what the reader gets, and a chapter plan that delivers it.
Research and draft
Research support and prose developed from your notes, interviews and drafts.
Edit and check
Developmental and line editing, with sources checked and organized.
Publish
Cover, formatting and distribution in your own accounts.
Start from wherever you are
Nonfiction books start in different places. Some authors have an idea and years of expertise, some have an outline, and some have a rough draft that needs structure. Nova Publishers starts wherever you are and takes the book to a finished, published manuscript.
The first step is the book's promise: one sentence on what the reader will know or be able to do by the last page. Every chapter in the plan delivers on that promise, which keeps the book focused and gives you a clear description to use at launch.
Research, drafting and editing
Your writer and editor support the research, organize your sources and move citations into tidy endnotes. Prose is developed from your notes, interviews and drafts, so the ideas and the voice stay yours.
Once the manuscript is complete, developmental and line editing make it read clearly, and sources are checked and organized. We work on memoir, history, how-to, self-help and other nonfiction.
Publishing the finished book
When the manuscript is ready, it goes through Nova's publishing process: cover design, interior formatting, ISBN and distribution in your own retailer accounts. Publishing starts at $999 for an ebook, and print editions start with Launch Pro at $1,899.
Writing help is quoted per project, based on where you're starting and how much of the writing you want us to do. Your book is published under your name, and you keep every right and 100% of your retailer royalties.
Memoir publishing
Nova Publishers publishes memoirs and family histories from two starting points. Some authors arrive with a finished draft. Others tell the story in recorded interviews, and a Nova ghostwriter writes it in their voice, with only the author's name on the cover.
Either way, the memoir is edited for accuracy, consistency and a story readers want to finish, then designed and published in your own retailer accounts, in print and ebook, with an audiobook if you want one. Your story and every right to it stay yours.
From the Nova bookstore
A sample of books in the Nova bookstore. Each author owns their book and keeps their retailer royalties.
Questions authors ask
Don't see yours? Send it with your manuscript and we'll answer within 1 business day.
Ask us a questionYes, Nova Publishers helps nonfiction authors at any stage: shaping the idea, outlining chapters, research support, developing prose from notes and interviews, editing, and then publishing the finished book under your name.
Yes, Nova Publishers publishes memoirs from a finished draft, or writes them with you from recorded interviews through its ghostwriting service. Your memoir is edited, designed and published under your name in your own retailer accounts, and you keep every right to your story.
At Nova Publishers, memoirs vary in length, and most trade memoirs run about 60,000 to 90,000 words. A family memoir written for relatives can be much shorter.
Yes, you can write about real people in a memoir you publish with Nova Publishers, and truthful writing is the safest ground. Changing names and identifying details lowers the risk, and for anything sensitive, ask a media lawyer before you publish.
Not always: Nova Publishers publishes nonfiction built on lived experience, original research or access to experts, as well as professional expertise. Medical, legal and clinical topics need credentials or a qualified collaborator.
Nova Publishers starts with a one-sentence promise of what the reader gets, then a table of contents of 10 to 18 chapters that delivers it, each answering one question with examples or stories. Cutting what doesn't serve the promise matters as much as adding.
It depends on the book: Nova Publishers sees memoir rely mainly on recall plus fact-checking key dates, while investigative and academic-style books need primary sources and citations. Most general nonfiction draws on dozens of outside sources.
Nova Publishers usually moves sources to endnotes at the back, keeps in-text citations to the essentials, and lets the main text read cleanly. Readers who want the sources can find them; everyone else can keep reading.
For investigative or sensitive nonfiction, yes: Nova Publishers' editors catch obvious factual problems during editing, and we recommend a dedicated fact-check for books where accuracy carries legal or reputational risk.
Only if they move the argument forward: Nova Publishers designs charts and images for both print and ebook when they do, and every photo needs permission or a clear public-domain status before it goes in the book.
Nova Publishers sees nonfiction sell through topic-specific podcasts, speaking, trade publications, Amazon Ads aimed at similar books, and an email list built around the book's subject.
Send us your manuscript, or whatever part of it exists.
We reply within 1 business day with a fixed quote for what your book needs.