Expert editing, engaging critique, and fearless consulting since 2009.
Manuscript Critique for Novels and Nonfiction
We strongly believe that every manuscript intended for publication deserves professional critique. If you’re not sure whether your book is ready for your target readers, this is a great way to find out.
For a novel, we’ll examine the elements of fiction that are at play in your draft, including plot and subplot, world-building, character development, showing versus telling, mood, tone, and tension, structure, exposition, style, voice, and editing needs. For nonfiction, we’ll assess your target audience, message, structure, organization, clarity, tone, and more.
Our two manuscript critique services, Editorial Assessment and Comprehensive Manuscript Critique, explore avenues that can lead you to a stronger and more compelling book. Read on to see which option sounds right for you.
Editorial Assessment $.02/word
Initial consultation to discuss your writing goals and process
Lightly annotated manuscript
Brief editorial letter (3+ pages), including recommendations for development
One-hour strategy session over phone or Zoom
One-hour follow-up or line-editing session as you begin your revisions
If you’re looking for big-picture feedback on how your book is working, our editorial assessment service will tell you. What would happen if you sent this out to agents right now? What kind of reviews would you get if you indie-published this tomorrow? We’ll help you understand how your work measures up — and how to get it to the next level.
An editorial assessment is an excellent way to see how your current draft would fare in the wild. What might happen if you sent this out to agents right now? What kind of reviews would you get if you indie published this tomorrow? An editorial assessment will tell you.
We’ll put ourselves in the mindset of your ideal reader and get ready to settle in for a good read. As we read, we’ll take light notes in the margin, and when we’re finished, we’ll write a brief editorial letter that addresses the challenges this draft is facing. We’ll deliver our editorial letter and your annotated manuscript, then invite you to a phone call to discuss your draft in detail.
We’ll spend a good hour talking about the challenges your current draft presents, troubleshooting solutions, and working out a strategy for your next steps. When you’ve had a chance to dive into your revisions and are eager for feedback, we’ll have an hour of consultation in reserve for you. You can send a revised passage, schedule a phone call, or both. We want you to be confident that you’re moving in the right direction.
Comprehensive Manuscript Critique $.03/word
Initial consultation to discuss your writing goals and process
Fully annotated manuscript (on average, one comment per page)
Comprehensive editorial letter (8+ pages), including recommendations for development
One-hour strategy session over phone or Zoom
One-hour follow-up or line-editing session as you begin your revisions
Our comprehensive manuscript critique services take our editorial assessment to the next level. With a fully annotated manuscript and an editorial letter that examines your current draft’s challenges in depth, we’ll give you a crash course in writing, using your own work as the text. A series of one-on-one consultations before, during, and after your critique will prepare you to make serious progress in your writing practice.
We’ll read and thoroughly annotate your entire manuscript, giving you a window onto your reader’s experience. We’ll leave notes wherever we laugh, cry, jump, or groan. We’ll ask questions wherever they occur to us and let you know where we were confused. We’ll highlight material to consider cutting and point out places that the writing doesn’t serve the reader.
If the notes in the manuscript are the trees, the comprehensive critique letter is the forest. It’s a thorough analysis of how this draft is working. For fiction, we’ll examine in depth your plots and subplots, story world, character development, showing versus telling, mood, tone, and tension, structure, exposition, style, voice, and editing needs. For nonfiction, we’ll analyze elements like your target audience, message, structure, organization, clarity, and tone.
After you’ve had a chance to process your critique letter and annotations, we’ll meet online or over the phone for a strategy session. You and your editor are both experts on the manuscript at this point, so it’s always an interesting conversation. You’ll have a full hour to ask questions and explore opportunities for improvement.
When you’ve started to revise the next draft and want reassurance that you’re moving in the right direction, you’ll have at least another hour of your editor’s time on reserve. You can send a revised passage, schedule a phone call, or both. Our goal is to get you going on your next draft with confidence and a plan.
