WordHouse Editorial Guide for Personal Essays
EDITING AT WORDHOUSECREATIVE NON-FICTION
The Value of Personal Essays
At WordHouse, we begin with the view that every personal essay is novel because it is individual. Your work differs from others on the same subject through a clear and vulnerable sharing of your own experience. Before giving opinions or judgments, our editor-first-reader will have felt some emotional response to your work. What we look for is not mere entertainment, but your exploration of fear, awe, wonder, confusion, sadness, calm, or chaos. We are drawn in as your tone and language bring the story to life. This becomes the main ground for our editor’s yes vote.
Why Readers Matter in Publishing
A publishing reality is that without readers, your ideas will not resonate, no matter how creative the writing. In an age of data explosion, almost nothing feels entirely unique when set against the vastness of the web. What matters is not claiming absolute originality, but creating resonance. Your work’s worth is proven when it reaches that one reader who finds it, not by chance but through need — and once found, it should wholly be theirs.
Like other publishers, we ask: what are the other similar books in our online and physical bookstores? This is not to dismiss your content but to map its place in a crowded field. Our concern is to gain your reader’s attention and to see, even at the earliest stage of reading and review, how your ideas will reach the intended audience. When we ask this, we are looking at your marketability, weighing the risks of publishing your work by identifying its niche from the start.
How to Hook and Hold Your Readers
How will your readers stay engaged? In today’s easy-swipe, easy-go world, expectations that content should “entertain” or “leave a takeaway” have thinned. Yet readers will finish even long-form work if it resonates from the start. As editors, we encourage you to build a strong hook that introduces the content and holds attention. Your creative nonfiction will benefit from best-practice teasers, supported by engaging pace and clear structure. We want your readers to stay to the end through your thoughtful mythmaking in tone, mood, and atmosphere.
Best Practices for Creative Titles and Engaging Teasers
The Editorial Process at WordHouse
We classify our editors’ work into three tasks:
Collection
Curation (including copy and line editing)
Posting and Promotion
When we accept your draft, we will work with you to improve its engagement and readability. Careful checking of your language helps readers grasp its value. Easy-to-read means more than short sentences; it means writing that is clear, concise, and firm in its intent. You do not want to mislead readers, exaggerate your expertise, or spread misinformation. We encourage a style that stays vigilant in this way, and we point out any possible gaps or weaknesses along these lines
