ZS Consulting Inc.

Project Challenge

In 2021, ZS Consulting wanted to capture years of experience gained from working directly with biopharma companies and patients to share with the wider healthcare community how critical it is to put patients at the center of the healthcare ecosystem. Their vision was to do this by writing a book with a “story-telling” prose that would sell their patient-oriented business model in an appealing and easily accessible way.

This book was to be written by a diverse team of subject-matter experts. The challenge was for them to write it with a consistent story-telling tone, but they were not professional writers and the company lacked the bandwidth in-house to make this goal a reality on their own. The owners of the project therefore needed a professional editing team to “shepherd” them through the process of taking their manuscript concept from its outline and development through to its publication.

 

The Solution

PhD|Advantage partnered with ZS Consulting on their book project by providing a Managing Editor that oversaw the administrative aspects of the project, project timelines, team calls and liaison between ZS and its legal team and the PhD|Advantage editors.

The partnership was kick-started with a strategy session where ZS and the Managing Editor discussed:

  1. the style, brand and vision for the book with PhD|Advantage’s editors to ensure that subsequent edits performed by them were in accordance with the goals and needs of the client;

  2. the framework for the editors to use to identify any passages of text that might require input from the ZS legal team.

Over the next four months, the PhD|Advantage editors revised each chapter draft three times to ensure consistent tone throughout the book, made corrections for errors in grammar and punctuation, and ensured the prose had the “story-telling” approach that the client requested. Throughout this time, ZS was able to provide feedback on the content of the evolving manuscript. This was made possible through the 30-hours of scheduled meetings with the managing and senior editors that ZS had available to them.

A final proofread was made by an editor unfamiliar with the manuscript prior to sending the document for typesetting. PhD|Advantage redesigned the book’s figures, images, photographs, iconography and the book cover according to ZS brand standards; they also created additional marketing materials for Amazon including the book’s “look inside’ feature (view here) and synopsis (view here).

PhD|Advantage generated and uploaded all files needed for publication on Amazon and responded to any technical errors highlighted by Amazon. The client had the final say on all designs generated during this stage. PhD|Advantage communicated directly with the client’s choice of printers. Following typesetting, another editor unfamiliar with the manuscript performed a final proofread for grammar, punctuation, and typographical errors.

The Value?

“Got a great idea for a book, but do not know how to navigate the publishing landscape? Work with our professional PhD-educated editors who can help you with everything from branding and design through to editing and readying your materials for submission to a commercial publisher.”

“While our ghostwriting services are comprehensive, we invite and encourage our clients to be as much—or as little—involved in the writing process as they wish. Our goal is simple. We want to help you  to develop a powerful and effective book you will be proud to call your own.”

“You can partner with PhD|Advantage on as many stages of the manuscript-writing process – from conception to publication – as your needs require. It’s always your call.”

“We pride ourselves on the flexibility of our services. We can guide you through the publication process, whether you plan to submit your book to a traditional or independent publisher, or if you want to follow a self-publishing route; this is a decision you do not need to make until the book is completed.”

“When partnering with PhD|Advantage, you retain all rights to your book’s content and its cover.”