You’ve finished the “messy first draft” and you know it needs work, but you’re not sure where to start. Or you’ve completed several rounds of edits and want one final pass to know how ready it is for querying. An editorial assessment gives you a high-level, objective evaluation of your manuscript’s core mechanics without altering your text or changing the voice. I look at the big-picture elements to diagnose any structural cracks before you spend months revising in the wrong direction.
This service is for writers with an early or messy draft who need to know if the foundation of their story is secure before moving on to heavy rewrites. It’s for newer writers who still want to hone their craft and for those writers who aren’t sure what to do next or what the story needs for edits as well as for writers who have done several rounds of edits, critiques, and beta reading and are looking for a professional overview of how ready their manuscript might be for querying agents. I offer a birds-eye-view on the structure and development of your novel.
If you’re looking for an overall opinion on the strengths and weaknesses of the story, you’re not sure what type of editing it needs, or if editing fees don’t yet fit into your budget, and if you feel confident in your ability to appropriately apply feedback to your revisions without further guidance, then an assessment might be a suitable option for you.
What’s Included
- a one-round thorough read of your manuscript
- a comprehensive editorial letter analyzing your plot structure, pacing, character arcs, world building, POV consistency, tension, etc.
- suggestions on next steps
- recommended extra resources if/as needed
Please note: this service does not include margin notes or in-line edits.
Investment
.016 USD per word (i.e., an 80,000-word manuscript would be $1280 USD)
Partial Assessment
If you’re getting ready to query and want to make sure your first few chapters are where they should be. I’ll read your first ten, twenty-five, or fifty double-spaced pages and provide one round of comprehensive feedback on the big-picture elements present, what might be missing, how to tighten it up, etc. This service is offered at $150, $325, and $550 respectively (all fees listed are in USD).
Pages must be double-spaced with 1″ margins and text should be 12pt Times New Roman (or similar font).