Hire a Book Editor for a Manuscript Assessment

Writerful Books provides manuscript assessments for writers within Australia, Canada, Ireland UK and USA who require an experienced book editor to undertake an affordable and comprehensive manuscript appraisal.

Our manuscript assessment service hones in on the structure, content and style of your manuscript along with many other elements such as character development, dialogue, pacing, plot and narrative. The service differs substantially from a manuscript critique.

Our manuscript assessment service may also suggest other publishing possibilities such as submitting to a particular literary agent, whether to self-publish or go the traditional publishing route, marketing and building an author or book platform in advance of the manuscript being published.

Why Choose Our Manuscript Assessment Service?

► A manuscript assessment can increase your chances of being signed or being published.

► Our manuscript assessment service will provide you with expert guidance.

► 58% of our clients are repeat customers or come from referrals.

A manuscript assessment differs from copy editing or proof-reading which focuses solely on aspects of the manuscript such as spelling, grammar and punctuation. An in-depth manuscript assessment may suggest to you if your work needs some editing or proof-reading, but it won’t provide this service for you.

A good assessment should pinpoint a manuscript’s strengths and weaknesses, advising the author to focus on the parts of the story or non-fiction work that needs improvement.

Where a professional manuscript assessment service differs from asking family and friends to critique your work is not just the professional treatment that will be given to your manuscript but also the industry experience the aforementioned family and friends most likely do not have. A comprehensive manuscript assessment will give you a substantive appraisal and offer you realistic advice on publishing your work.

The best time to have your manuscript assessed is usually after you have completed the second or third draft and have done your own edits and revisions. It is a good idea to hire beta readers to read and critique your work first and offer their opinion of the story BEFORE you have your manuscript assessed. The reason for this is that the beta readers may find major holes in the plot prompting you to have to do a major rewrite and saving you unnecessary expenses down the track. The exception to this is for first-time authors who we recommend getting their manuscript assessed before they hire a beta reader.

The bottom line is that there are 130 million books already out there along with all the other distractions people have to deal with on a daily basis. You want your book to stand head and shoulders above all the cultural noise. The only way to do that is not just to write an average book but to write an amazing book that will get people talking and be around for generations to come. We can’t write that book for you but we can take your gem of a story and polish it and make it the best possible book it can be.

Here’s what some of our authors had to say…

- Katherine S.

Please let the reader know that I'm flattered, and none of your beta readers should ever fear causing offense. I want their honest opinions, besides I'm pretty thick-skinned 🙂 - Katherine S.
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- Tom F.

Sorry it has taken so long to get to you. I’ve been swamped with day-job work. I also want to thank you for reading and providing thoughtful comments.

- Tom F.
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- Janene W.

Thank you for these timely reports. Please pass on my thanks to the beta reader for his or her report. It was extremely helpful and I think I've gained a much better insight into my manuscript from his/her useful and honest comments. I have read them and have been chewing on the comments. There are many points listed in the reports that align with my instincts regarding the manuscript. These give me areas I can directly attack as I head into my next draft, and I appreciate that. - Janene W.
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- Helen G.

Thank you so much for your insightful comments. I had to laugh at the grammatical errors. It seems no matter how hard I try to find them, some always get through. Grammarly is good, but it doesn’t seem to ever catch it all. This novel went through 4 edits with the program and it missed all of those you specified. I need to read it aloud, which I haven’t done. It is the best way but time consuming. - Helen G.
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- Anni T.

Thank you so much for the quick turnaround on your beta read! Your report was very insightful and will help a lot in understanding a reader's perspective. I am so glad the story came together for you - that alone is extremely helpful. Yes, the subject matter is dark, which is always difficult when trying to write a story that is entertaining! I have lines that I won't cross, esp. when it comes to writing about children. I think writing for shock value is a race to the bottom. I'll go back and work on the dialogue that is stilted/unrealistic - yes, it would be awful for the narrator to have to read stilted dialogue! Also, I have to thank you for ploughing through the story despite it being so messy! My editor is finding 100s of errors and many inconsistencies. I've been under pressure to make a deadline for my audio publisher and I've had issues caused by the border closure in Victoria (we were meant to be moving there). I agree with the border closure, but it's been a difficult time - as have these past months been for many, many people.
- Anni T.
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- Thomas M.

Hi Declan, I am, in a word, speechless. This is not at all what I expected from your beta read. Just to be clear, I'm thrilled! First, you pointed out a lot of things that got me thinking and realized I agree with you. I will make all or virtually all of your suggested changes in the next revision. You have made what I consider vital suggestions that will smooth out some of the rough edges still to be found in the book. Second, regarding your thoughtful commentary. I'm very happy that you found that the plot, characters, dialog, etc., worked well. As you know, the kind of praise in your evaluation is not something writers get to hear too often, if at all. - Thomas M.
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- Vanessa R.

Thanks so much, I really appreciate it. Your report is so thorough and encouraging. I will write more on the weekend when I’m not so tired — a new school year has started here and I’m a teacher and my mind is already fried. - Vanessa R.
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- Chris J.

Thanks Declan. There is a lot of work to do. I am not looking to become a professional writer, I just have a story I want to tell. Thanks so much for the report. Regards, Chris. - Chris J.
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- David J.

Thanks for that, your reviewer made some pretty encouraging comments and I can see the sense in the bits they criticised. I've made notes of a few things I'm going to modify or even remove. I hope you are also well. Kind regards, David.
- David J.
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- Maria G.

Thank you very much for this. I find it quite helpful, and instructive. Especially the bias, it was definitely not intended. I simply did not realise it. Neither my editors. So, I will work some more on the story, and will take on board all the other raised questions. - Maria G.
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- Jason U.

Please thank the sensitivity reader for me. The comments are very helpful! - Jason U.
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- Rudy S.

Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. I wanted to say the notes were extremely helpful and gave me alot to think about. I don't know if too much time has passed by now but I thought I should try. My only question for the reader to clarify on is that I forgot to mention that this book is the first of a planned series. And she said the characters didn't feel developed, and i'm just wondering if knowing that changes anything? I hope the Covid didn't knock you around too much and that you're feeling better. I've read the notes and first wanta thank you for the feedback. I genuinely appreciate it. - Rudy S.
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- Joanne O.

Thank you so very, very much for your feedback. I don't think I was expecting anything quite so resoundingly positive and I feel tremendously uplifted to know that you enjoyed reading my novel! This is my first attempt at writing and I have been working away at this manuscript for a good two years now, through various rounds of feedback, fine-tuning and the like. I'm not quite sure what to say! I would absolutely love to submit the piece and I confess I really have very little clue as to how to go about contacting agents. I will look into that and let's see where it takes me. Thank you once again - it really did make my day! Regards, Joanne. - Joanne O.
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- Michael P.

I received your report and took a gander. I’ll have more time later tonight to read it in detail. [...] Generally speaking, you highlighted exactly what I expected (not a bad thing). I knew going into this project that it would be a challenge staying “in the moment” i.e., biblical times/language. It has been fun. The protagonist’s journey – that’s what it’s all about. I’ll be in touch. Thank you. Michael. - Michael P.
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- Benjamin G.

I've just been looking over the beta reader report and can't thank you enough. You identified so many issues I would never have found on my own. I agree with all your suggestions and am excited to go through another revision to improve the manuscript. Your report was much more insightful and detailed than I expected. I will be referring you to fellow writers looking for a good beta reader. Thanks again. Sincerely, Benjamin J. Gohs - Benjamin G.
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- Matthew L.

Very many thanks for this - hugely appreciated! I am grateful both for your highly encouraging compliments and your suggestions for improvement. I do know what you mean about the danger of repetition with the animals chapters - I had looked at them to try and avoid that happening but I’ll go back and look again! Originally it was one long chapter but I split it up so that it didn’t get in the way of the chronology. I shall ponder and play around with it! Meanwhile, I’m delighted you found it so relatable and that it made you laugh! Many thanks again for your work and kind wishes. Matthew.
- Matthew L.
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Further Reading: How a Manuscript Assessment Can Help You Find Your Voice as a Writer and Get Published

Manuscript Assessment Fees

The fees are calculated per 1000 words. There is a minimum word count of 50,000 words.

AUD $16.25 per 1000 words
CAD $14.65 per 1000 words
GBP £8.75 per 1000 words
EUR €9.95 per 1000 words
USD $10.85 per 1000 words

Note: Manuscript assessments don’t include proofreading or copy editing. We offer substantial discounts to authors requesting a manuscript assessment who need to hire an editor for further editing or proofreading.

** We also have an express evaluation and expert evaluation service which is a more economical option for writers who want a quicker turnaround time while getting expert advice from a professional book editor. Highly recommended!

Hire an editor to evaluate your manuscript here

* Acceptance of a manuscript electronically does not automatically imply any contractual obligations. Some editing jobs may take up to six months to complete depending on the workload of individual editors and length of the manuscript. Editing will only commence once a client agreement form has been signed and costs agreed upon.