Manuscript Assessment
If you want to find a traditional publisher or you want to sell your work to readers, we believe it requires doing whatever it takes to make your novel as good as it can be.
Charles Finch, a USA Today best-selling author and essayist, said, ‘To me, the single biggest mark of the amateur writer is a sense of hurry. Amateur writers are usually desperate to be published as soon as possible. And I understand that feeling – you just want it to start, your career, your next book, whatever. But I wonder how many self-published novels might have had a chance at getting bought, and finding more readers, if their authors had a bit more patience with them?’
To create the best novel you are capable of writing, you need the right guidance, encouragement and honest feedback.
Manuscript Assessment provides professional advice on the big picture structural design of your story and how you can improve your story and writing. The right editorial feedback and guidance can make all the difference.
Manuscript Assessments differ from copy editing or proof-reading, which deal with the accuracy of the writing in terms of spelling, grammar, sentence construction and punctuation. This is what you should focus on once the dynamics of your story, character development and writing are working.
You will be given a detailed evaluation of your novel and recommendations on the steps you need to take your story to the next level.
Your Manuscript Assessment may include recommendations on:
- Pace
- Reader Interest
- Story Logic – Plot
- Character Development and Motivation
- Story Structure
- Exposition and Backstory
- Thematic Message
- Point of View
- Voice
- Writing Style
- Dialogue
- Sense of Place
- Genre Expectations
- Appropriate Length
- Need for Further Research
- Target Audience & Potential Publishing Opportunities
- Writing & Scene Craft Opportunities
All manuscript assessments come with a follow up phone call to discuss how you can best implement the feedback to make your story as good as it can be
Your manuscript assessment provides specific recommendations for how to proceed. Your book might require some editing and rewriting. If you need further support to implement these recommendations or would like further feedback, we offer a number of options for you to complete your manuscript.
Screenplay Assessment
The Writers’ Studio offers professional Manuscript Assessments for completed drafts of screenplays.
If you want to find a producer, win screenwriting competitions or see your work made into a film, we believe it requires doing whatever it takes to make your screenplay as good as it can be.
Legendary director Alfred Hitchcock said, ‘To make a great film you need three things – the script, the script and the script.’
And to create the best screenplay you are capable of writing, you need the right guidance, encouragement and honest feedback.
A Manuscript Assessment provides professional advice on the big picture structural design of your screenplay and how you can improve your story and screenwriting.
You will be given a detailed evaluation of your manuscript and recommendations on the steps you need to take your screenplay to the next level.
Your Screenplay Assessment may include recommendations on:
- Character Development and Motivation
- Story Structure
- Theme
- Story Logic – Plot
- Dialogue
- Reader Interest
- Pace
- Exposition and Backstory
- Point of View
- Screenwriting style
- Setting
- Genre Expectations
- Appropriate Length
- Need for Further Research
- Target Audience
All manuscript assessments come with a follow up phone call to discuss how you can best implement the feedback to make your screenplay as good as it can be.