A full developmental edit is like having a repair expert come to your home. They walk your property, appraising where there’s been damage and where the foundations are sound, and then they help you fix all the leaks and the broken-down fences. A manuscript critique is like having the repair expert come and appraise your property—and then advise you on exactly what work needs to be done. Fixing up the house is in the hands of the homeowner. This edit will guide you in the right direction to begin your revisions.
A manuscript critique looks at all the elements of story a developmental edit does:
- plot
- world-building
- characterization and character development
- conflicts and resolutions
- pacing
- POV
- thematic development
- showing and telling elements
- dialogue and inner monologue
- backstory, flashbacks, and info-dumps
- chronology
- genre and reader expectations
Does the point of view head hop between characters? Is all the backstory getting in the way of the momentum of the plot? Are some characters one-dimensional or their portrayal stereotypical? A manuscript critique will focus on the issues that will make the biggest difference to your readers.
How It Works:
- I perform sample edits for free for prospective clients, up to 1,000 words. Samples for a critique must come from the beginning of your manuscript if you would like one.
- I will request to review your manuscript as a whole to quote an exact project rate. All submissions of your work are strictly confidential.
In a manuscript critique:
- I will write you an extensive letter describing my analysis of your novel. (There are no comments in the body of the text itself.) I will detail what elements need work, as well as sections I think are working wonderfully. I relate big-picture issues to specific examples from your text, so you know where to start.
Have questions once you’ve reviewed your manuscript? No problem. I am available for questions for up to a month after your manuscript has been returned to you. I’m more than happy to hear from you!
Rate: $0.013-0.015 per word
A manuscript critique can be a great checkup that the most important elements are indeed working. I strongly recommend that you don’t skip first to copyedits and shortchange what will keep your readers reading: story.
Contact me to schedule a manuscript critique.
This edit is a wonderful way for authors whose budgets won’t allow for full-manuscript evaluations to get valuable feedback on a good portion of their novel. This edit focuses on big-picture concerns: Is the balance of exposition and action working? Is the story starting where it’s supposed to—or does the plot take too long to kick in? I may also call out language concerns, such as dialogue that feels a little scripted or vocabulary that jars the reader. The feedback provided in this partial edit will help you make the rest of your manuscript stronger as well. Most issues present at the beginning of a novel recur throughout.
How It Works:
As this is a partial edit, all I require is the first fifty pages of your manuscript. (I do not perform sample edits for this service.) Payment is due in full up-front, and turnaround for this edit is one week.
- I provide you with a letter detailing the strengths and weaknesses of your writing. I focus on the issues that most affect reader experience, including things that are especially pertinent to the beginning of a novel: Is the opening compelling? Does it lose momentum, where I felt like putting the book down before I got to the end of the fifty pages? What “promises” does the beginning make (mysteries to be solved or consequences to be faced)? I will let you know what threads the readers may want tied up by the end of the novel, as well as what plot points or characters I was most excited to see more of.
Rate: $300
Contact me to sign up for the First Fifty Pages edit.
Is this the right service for me?
- Do you get frustrated hearing feedback that an element in your novel just isn’t working…and you aren’t quite sure how to move forward in your revisions? A developmental edit will help pinpoint exact moments in the text, with explanations and suggestions for how to revise, so you don’t get bogged down or want to give up.
- More concerned about your prose than your plot? You probably want a line edit or a copyedit instead.