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…

- Jenni J.

You are currently my new favourite person after saying such positive things about my writing. I was quite taken aback with your appreciation of ‘Boundary Lines’. I’m really pleased you enjoyed reading it and were able to connect with it on a personal level.

Thank you for your comments and editing. I look forward to playing around with the passages you highlighted. All of your comments are valued by me.

Your honest and personal response really touched me and perfectly explains why you did not make an initial comment on the assessment regarding this passage of writing. Thank you for clarifying this. Although unsettling, my heart desires to create hope for the reader – a thought you did express in the initial manuscript assessment - so thank you! - Jenni J.
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- Thea O.

Thanks for sending it through. The beta reader is the first person outside of family to read it, so I was expecting it to be torn to shreds a bit! I'll be able to go through their comments a bit more closely over the weekend but it looks like I've got plenty to be getting on with!
Cheers,
Thea - Thea O.
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Thanks for the good advice. I’ll keep working on it.
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- Sharon J.

Dear Declan, I just wanted to thank you for your positive comments. Young Eagle Rising has taken me four years to write and I am delighted my efforts have given the story an authentic flavour and that you found it a worthwhile read. From the beginning I made up my mind William would not use the word 'Indian' and that I would stay as far away as possible from any 'John Wayne' portrayal of the Native Americans. I have only one question: do you have any advice on who I should sent it to for editing? Writerful seem to help with every stage which is very appealing to someone like me as I know little about the publishing world, but I'm sure there are many editors out there equally as good. If I choose Writerful Books, can I mention you have read it? Many thanks again!
- Sharon J.
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- Nikhil S.

Thank you for your advice on the manuscript. You are right that this is an earlier draft and it needs some more revising, but I think I have some ideas based on your comments. Take care, Nikhil. - Nikhil S.
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- AJ F.

Please pass on my sincere thanks to the reader. Some generous and kind comments along with some solid pick ups. I’ve not yet had the ms proofread in case it needed some serious work, hence the typos. - AJ F.
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- Claire C.

Thanks so much for you assessment. I have to confess, you were far more positive about my writing than I was expecting!

I have read through the assessment a couple of times and I am about to work my way through the Word version.

I was not surprised by your notes on the opening. It has been haunting me through every edit. Who knew the first line would be the most challenging. Thank you for your thoughts, I will see what I can do to make it more compelling/inviting.

It was also good for you to pick out the section I did on the vows. If you can believe it, it was a lot worse! I went on a crazy tangent, even played around with an illustration. I felt like a blog was inserted into the chapter, but I kept it in because I was trying to show in the reality of vows an entertaining way. I shall remove it happily and explore other ways of making my point.

For now, I have lots to do and I am looking forward to diving back into the manuscript with some direction and perspective from you.

Thanks again. It was really wonderful to read your encouraging words. This was very much a personal challenge for me - to write a story that had been dancing around in my mind for a few years. Knowing it wasn’t a total turd spurs me on to have a go at a second one.

Cheers

Claire - Claire C.
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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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- Sarah W.

Thank you very much for this, I appreciate your feedback and advice. Thanks again, Sarah.
- Sarah W.
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- Mel K.

Thanks for your feedback. Its quite critical, but better to get it now than later. Mel. - Mel K.
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- Rebecca R.

Thank you so much for the report. I am thrilled to receive this kind of feedback! It was so detailed and the reader made really insightful and useful suggestions. Please be sure to thank them for their thorough critique and kind comments. This was beyond helpful for me as well as reassuring that the book is worth my continued hard work. - Rebecca R.
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- Tina H.

Thanks Declan for your thorough breakdown of my book. Yours is the first feedback that is constructive. Friends and family are always a little too enthused and not always honest with their feedback. I will take your thoughts into consideration as I rework some of the chapters. Thanks so much for beta reading my book! Thanks, Tina.
- Tina H.
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- David R.

Hi Declan, First and foremost, thank you for the quick prompt service to my story collection, Human Being Human Doing. I will look at this over the next few days and email you with any explanation that may be required. Thanks once again; stay well and all the best.
- David R.
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- Philip K.

Hello Declan – I have been through your further assessment, thanks for those insights I can certainly work with those and will follow up on the contacts you suggest asap. I’m pleased to report that after many months of research and writing I have finally been able, this week, to self publish on Amazon the novel named “Treaty or Treason”! A close call with Penguin Ireland sadly didn’t work out for traditional publication. I would like to pass on particular thanks to Declan at Writerful Books (Dublin and Melbourne) who assessed the manuscript and helped me with many comments and kept me trudging or swimming on. Some famous author once commented that writing a book is like swimming the English Channel, you don’t know where you are, don’t know how far you have come or how far it is to go, but you have to keep swimming! Couldn’t agree more. Philip Kerrigan.
- Philip K.
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- Tammy A.

Thanks for sending it through. Some great feedback. I'm slowly working through your suggested edits.. - Tammy A.
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- Bryce B.

Thank you so much for your excellent evaluation. I knew the manuscript had problems but I am so close to the material I did not know what they were. You found the science section interesting so I think I will open with that. the answer to your question about the tea kettle not boiling over is: it does in the form of steam. Did you find any of the Bible information interesting besides the word of God bit? Or am I correct in concluding nothing was interesting or surprising in the Old Testament section and the relevance was not obvious? Thanks, Bryce.
- Bryce B.
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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.