When you’re a new writer you can spend a lot of time and money on manuscript assessments. You might not need to have your whole manuscript assessed, particularly for early drafts.
Sometimes, suggestions pointed out to you in the first few pages can make a drastic difference to the whole manuscript and after having the first part of your piece assessed, you might want to go back and change the whole thing. Or you might just be having problems with a particular scene. In these cases, getting a complete manuscript assessment up front can be money wasted.
That’s why I’m offering partial manuscript assessments of 5 to 20 pages that can allow you to focus on a particular issue or scene or simply provide a guide to let you know if you’re on the right track.
WHAT A MANUSCRIPT ASSESSMENT INCLUDES
Your manuscript assessment will include a written critique of the pages of your manuscript focussing on the following areas:
- Plot & structure
- Character development
- Dialogue
- Themes
- Setting
- Logic and story flow
- Pacing and tension
- Tense
- Voice and Point of View
- Ability to engage the reader
MENTORING/WRITING COACHING
I can also provide general writing advice, and advise you on how to submit your finished piece and where to send it.
COST OF MANUSCRIPT ASSESSMENTS/MENTORING/WRITING COACHING
If you’re interested in having a manuscript assessed or are seeking mentoring or writing coaching, please email me Dee*at*Deescribe*dot*com*dot*au and I’ll be happy to provide you with a quotation for your project/manuscript.
Fees are $50AUD per hour.
- On A4 sized pages (no more than 300 words per page)
- Double spaced, (line spacing)
- In 12 point Times Roman or Arial font
- 3 cm margins all round the page
- A CORRECT return email address must be provided
- Please also include the genre you are writing, the word count for the entire manuscript and the age of your intended readership
I will endeavour to assess all manuscripts as soon as possible, but if there’s some urgency to your assessment or you’re wondering about its progress, feel free to email me and enquire about its status.
Hi Dee,
Just wondering if you do Manuscript Assessments on children’s picture books?
Thanks,
Rachel
Hi Rachel,
Sorry for the delay. For some reason I only got to see your comment now. You have probably found an assessor by now…and I hope your manuscript is progressing well. In case you haven’t, I have just started doing manuscript assessments on children’s picture books due to a number of requests.
I provide detailed assessments on characters, flow, content and concepts; including advice about storyboards and structure…and advice about Australian publishers that might be suitable for your work. My picture book critiques are $100.
If you have any questions about this, please feel free to email me Dee*at*Deescribe*dot*com*dot*au
Dee