My manuscript assessment will include an in-depth written report in which I identify the strengths of a manuscript and any issues that need further revising. My detailed written report will:
- Provide an informed, objective and professional opinion of an author’s work.
- Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the manuscript, and provide suggestions about how to improve and rework it towards a publishable standard.
Fiction writers will receive feedback and advice in an assessment about:
- The effectiveness of the opening and ending of a manuscript – the hook and the wrap-up.
- Character enrichment – how to add more depth to character depiction.
- Plot development – how to increase the dramatic tension and keep your story on track.
- Structure and pace issues – ways to maximise the possibilities of the setting or plot.
- Voice and tone – creating a distinctive and compelling voice.
- Dialogue – ensuring that dialogue is crisp, natural and reveals character.
- Setting.
- Point-of-view.
- Sentence structure.
- ‘Beats’ and interior monologue.
- Flabby writing.
- Inconsistences in style or characterisation.
- The context for your book and how it fits with other similar books.
- Whether the style and the language has been pitched appropriately for your target readership.
- The overall length of the work.
It is a rare manuscript by a new writer that doesn’t require further revising and shaping after being subjected to a robust assessment process.
See sample feedback
Note: There are no guarantees of publication or of representation by a literary agent following revisions carried out by the author after an assessment. However, you will have learned a great deal about which areas you need to strengthen in your writing and how to produce a higher-quality manuscript.
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