Manuscript Editing for Belt Publishing
Belt Publishing was founded in 2013 to promote voices from the Rust Belt, and its list has since grown to take in serious nonfiction on any topic, from memoir and criticism to creative nonfiction, maps, and cookbooks. Arcadia Publishing acquired Belt in 2023. Belt remains an independent imprint.
Off the Grid Editing prepares memoir, creative nonfiction, and criticism for writers aiming at Belt Publishing. Regional writing reaches a national reader when the place is rendered exactly and the argument travels beyond it, and we edit with both in view, keeping every fact and claim as you wrote it. We work in Chicago style. When you send guidelines from the press, we apply them.
Our Promise
We will ensure that the final draft you receive is completely ready to submit to Belt Publishing. We work with you until it is ready or refund your payment in full. That commitment has held since 2002.
Our editors do not have access to your manuscript until an order is placed. Your draft is secure until you decide to proceed.
Manuscript Editing Services for Belt Publishing
We offer three levels of manuscript editing depending on what your manuscript needs. Each is described below so you can choose the service that fits where your draft is right now.
Grammar and usage, awkward phrasing, repetition, and passive voice corrected, then clarity, concision, sentence structure, transitions, and tone, with your style manual applied throughout and a final proofread. For authors whose argument and structure are settled.
Clarity, emphasis, and paragraph structure: topic sentences, transitions, and sentences reordered within a paragraph, with every fact and claim kept as you wrote it. Includes copy editing and a final proofread.
Spelling, punctuation, typos, capitalization, grammar, and usage corrected with minimal wording changes, for manuscripts that have been edited and need a last check before submission to Belt Publishing.
Belt Publishing publishes memoir, criticism, creative nonfiction, and other serious nonfiction, much of it rooted in the Rust Belt and the Midwest. Its submission information page explains how to send a query. Read it first: Belt Publishing submission information. If you have received editorial guidelines or reader feedback from Belt Publishing, include them with your manuscript and we will address them throughout our edit. If you have questions about which service is right for your manuscript, contact us directly.
For more on how we work with literary manuscripts, see our pages on trade and literary publisher manuscript editing, book and manuscript editing services, developmental editing, and fiction and creative nonfiction editing.
Manuscript Instant Invoice
Ready to prepare your manuscript for Belt Publishing? Use our secure portal to generate an immediate, word-count-based quote and secure your delivery deadline.
Our editors do not have access to your manuscript until an order is placed.
Direct Support
Reach our editorial team directly to discuss your manuscript, your Belt Publishing submission timeline, or which service is right for your project. Initial consultations of up to 15 minutes are complimentary.
608-535-6324
editors@offthegridediting.com