Manuscript Evaluation

Manuscript evaluation is similar to developmental editing in the way we assess the story on a big-picture level. The difference comes in the amount and detail of the feedback. While a developmental edit offers a detailed roadmap for revision, a manuscript evaluation offers a briefer overview of the most relevant areas for improvement. Rather than in-depth feedback and suggestions, an evaluation will provide you with illustrative examples.

Why choose a manuscript assessment over a full developmental edit? This option is good for those who want a quicker pulse check on their story. Maybe you plan to do a developmental edit down the road, but you’re still in the early drafting stage. Maybe this is your first time seeking editorial feedback, and you want a more accessible entry point. If you’d like to start with a manuscript evaluation but find you’d like the in-depth feedback, you can add on a developmental edit of the same project at a discounted rate (offer valid within one year of the completion of a manuscript evaluation).

Clients: Independent authors (new and veteran), authors seeking representation, publishers, literary agents

Client Projects: Complete manuscripts, partial manuscripts with outlines, outlines or synopses

Deliverable: Report

Available Add-Ons: Developmental edit (discounted if added within one year); Query & Synopsis Development

Areas of Assessment:

• Structure, plot & pacing

• Tension & suspense

• Character development

• Setting & worldbuilding

• Audience & genre

• Theme

• Point of view & voice

• Continuity

• Line-level patterns (While a manuscript is not assessed on the line level, I will call out line-level patterns when present throughout)