Manuscript assessment

constructive feedback
have a draft and need some feedback on what’s working and what isn’t?

How an assessment can help you:

  • Helps you decide where to start in revising your novel, so you can improve your story during redrafts.
  • General guidance on all the big-picture elements of your book – so you know what you’re doing well, and which areas need work.
  • Identifies where your book fits in with your target market, based on your publishing goals – with general ideas on how this can be improved.
  • General suggestions, strategies, and feedback that you may not have considered after becoming so close to your own work.
what you get

Service includes…

I’ll read your manuscript and write a constructive and detailed report focusing on big-picture elements such as your plot/structure, characters, world-building, your target market, and any writing craft areas you may be struggling with. This usually runs around ten to twelve pages, and includes some general examples from your manuscript.

I know how tough writing can be, so this will be as constructive and solution-focused as possible, with highlights on what works well, too, and steps you can take to improve during redrafts. Afterwards, you’re free to send me an email with any questions.

Please note there will be no in-manuscript comments, so you won’t get extensive chapter-by-chapter help. If that’s what you’re looking for, you may want to hire me for a full developmental edit instead.

What’s the difference between developmental editing and a manuscript assessment?

It can be confusing – I wrote an entire blog post on the topic!

The key difference between these two services is that a full developmental edit provides both an editorial report and in-manuscript notes, allowing you to get a chapter-by-chapter, more intensive service.

A manuscript assessment is a different form of developmental editing. It still covers the same big-picture areas, but you only get the editorial report – no in-manuscript guidance. There will still be some examples, but they’re generally lighter.

still unsure?

Here’s what other writers say!

Thoughtful and detailed

Rachel’s manuscript assessment taught me so much, and unlocked a completely new way of looking at and understanding what did and didn’t work in my manuscript. Her notes were incredibly thorough, thoughtful and detailed, returned in a well-structured document with constructive ideas for fixing the big issues. I felt such an injection of energy after working with her, it has been invaluable for me.
Rachel Dauncey
YA author

Inspiring

Your manuscript assessment was exactly what I was hoping for. You confirmed some thoughts I had, raised plenty of new ones and helped me see where things were working where otherwise I had doubts. My head was nodding throughout and I found your suggestions/explanations inspiring. I can’t wait to get to work. Thank you so much.
Charlie kelly
Romance author

Helped me focus

Thank you so much for your feedback – it’s really helped me cut away all the fat from the story and streamline it, and to really focus on the story that I want to tell and what I want readers to get out of it. I’d struggled to explain my book to others and I see now that this was because I was throwing too many plotlines and characters at the wall and seeing what would stick. I’ve re-written around 50,000 words from scratch and it already feels so much better and is more snappy than the earlier draft. I feel much more immersed as I feel I know the characters and the world better than before.
aaron s. jones
Fantasy author
Website | Twitter

I feel more confident

I can’t thank you enough for your opinions on how to improve my story. I feel much more confident in what I’ve written and what I’ve changed about the story thanks to you.
Pixie j.j.
Fantasy author and artist
Twitter

She is simply amazing

The manuscript assessment I received from Rachel was extraordinarily helpful. Some of the feedback confirmed suspicions I had, which as a new writer helped me gain confidence in my own inner critic. But much more of the assessment addressed aspects I had not considered or those I thought I had worked out well. Rachel provided explanations as well as specific examples from my manuscript on each area of strength and weakness. That made the feedback much more impactful, as I could see the passages/lines and immediately understood her points. She even provided some excellent resources to help me improve on some of these areas.

I was blown away by Rachel’s thoughtful and thorough work and there is no doubt that my novel will be incalculably stronger because of Rachel’s feedback. She is simply amazing. If you are a writer in search of professional editing services, you found them. End of search.
wes cook
Author of The Ruiner
book your assessment