Helping You Get Published | Professional Manuscript Assessment by Editor & Literary Consultant Patricia Anderson

A manuscript assessment (also known as a manuscript evaluation or critique) is a good idea for several reasons:

You get started positioning your book in the market in the right way.
You receive a professional, objective evaluation so that you know for certain whether your work is ready to be presented to an agent or publisher.
If you need to undertake revisions, the assessment gives you a clear direction for doing so.
An assessment saves you time and editing costs.
An assessment boosts your confidence as an author and increases your chances for successful publication.

What does the assessment include?

The assessment includes a close reading and analysis of your project. You then receive a full written report (2000-3500 words) covering the following:

strengths of the work to be emphasized
problems (if any) of presentation and formatting
editorial issues (if any) and sample markup to illustrate typical problems and corrections
problems (if any) of concept, structure, plotting, narrative style, dialogue, and characterization that might potentially reduce the market and publication appeal of fiction
problems (if any) of concept, structure, content, style, and documentation that might potentially reduce the market and publication appeal of nonfiction
practical suggestions for fixes
thoughts on market positioning
guidelines for preparing a book proposal
step-by-step recommendations

Options

Some clients stop with the assessment and do their own revision work; others return for full editing and/or book proposal preparation. Recommendations are made on an individual, no-obligation basis.

Assessments are best done using a Microsft Word document sent via email attachment—this allows me to insert changes and comments into the MS. Then, if you like the changes, you simply click to accept them. If I work with hard copy, you would have to key in changes manually, which is more work for you and can lead to errors being introduced. If, however, you prefer that I work with hard copy, I would be pleased to accommodate you.

Turn-around time

Turn-around time, once the assessment begins, is 1-2 weeks.

Payment terms

Following the policy of professional editing and writing associations, I require full payment in advance for a first-time assessment. Ask me why...

Please pay by Interac email transfer, personal check, bank draft, or money order in US or Canadian currency, PAYABLE TO PATRICIA ANDERSON. I also accept Euro checks. Please let me know if you wish to have your fee quoted in Euros.

Find out your assessment cost

To find out what an assessment would cost you, email the TOTAL WORD COUNT of your manuscript.

About Helping You Get Published

I appreciate your interest in Helping You Get Published and wish you every success in your writing and publishing endeavors.

Patricia Anderson

Contact Patricia