Manuscript Evaluation

This is similar to a very light developmental edit and book review, but does not go into the depth of a full developmental edit. It is performed in order for an author to get a sense of the current quality and readiness of their book for next steps and it advises on the editorial phases the manuscript is likely to need.

An editorial letter is a bird's-eye overview of what works and doesn't work in your current draft. It can help authors decide which stage of the editing process they're ready for and what to work on in the manuscript prior to that next stage of editing in order to ensure that the author and the book get the most out of their next phase of editing.

It includes commentary on overall structure, characters, POV, world-build, writing style, pacing, dialogue, market potential, best next steps in the editorial process, and whatever else may become applicable during the editor's review.

Editorial letters are usually anywhere from 2 to 6 pages and they may be useful to include with a style sheet for your next editing phase.

An editorial letter may also offer some comparable novels with similar authors, authorial voices (the style in which their book is written), subject matter, audiences, or themes. This may be very helpful to authors who are querying agents or who are self-publishing to understand the market for their book.

A manuscript evaluation is a general overview of a manuscript and can be used as a guide for the author's next revisions in order to ensure the next phase of editing is as effective as possible, saving everyone involved some headaches and money in the long-term.

Almost all commentary will be made in the editorial letter and the editor will not "fix" the problems they identify—they will only point them out and potentially offer some reasoning or advice. The author will then be able to find a solution for themselves and revise their manuscript themselves.

A developmental edit goes into much more depth and includes ample in-text commentary about where to expand or contract the story and/or develop characters and their arcs. It will include advice and suggestions written to directly help the author understand and fix the identified problem areas.

Nope! This is a bit more intense than a beta read, but it does share some similarities.

A beta reader's notes will not offer advice for how to fix problems—the advice will be short and to the point, assuming the author knows how to fix a problem based on extremely generalized comments like "this doesn't work."

However, a manuscript evaluation includes more notes and may also go into "why" something doesn't work and/or an occasional "how" the editor suggests fixing said problem without actually fixing it for the author.

Regarding characters:

"A is a very strong, like-able character whose arc grows and develops with her really well! However, her romantic interest is incredibly flat and the romantic arc needs something that challenges the character's relationship in such a way that their ending makes sense."

Regarding structure:

"Chapter one might be better used as chapter 3 and chapter 2 could be reworked as the opening chapter. I loved "..." line/paragraph and would love to see it used as the opening line to your whole book! That said, I would cut "..." or rework and reuse it "here" in order to encourage a more seamless flow."

Overall:

"After evaluating your manuscript, I think you're ready to skip right over developmental editing and go straight to line editing to help make your sentences and paragraphs shine!"

Or: "This book is so far an amazing idea full of incredible potential! I suggest doing a once-over revision yourself to implement the suggestions in this letter, then taking this into the developmental editing phase so that your plot and characters shine equally without fighting for a reader's attention."

Your editorial letter! Some comments may be written in the margins of your document, but the essential things will be covered in the letter.

IN GENERAL, most copy editors—including myself, can reasonably edit 6-10 pages an hour. Sometimes more, sometimes less, depending on the genre, gravity of the material, and density of work necessary.

This means, that for an editor who has ~20 hours/week available to edit your book, for an 80k word book, it will take 2-4 weeks to receive your completed edit from the time work begins on it (not necessarily from the time a contract is signed). Timeline will be discussed during your free consultation.

See more about how I determine overall cost and what your options may be by clicking on the “price and contract guide” in my website footer, and/or by discussing my process and your desires with me during your discovery call. My extremely detailed price, contract, and timeline guide will also be made available alongside the final contract so that you have all the details you desire prior to beginning work with me.