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…

- 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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- Mark P.

Thank you for the helpful and detailed feedback! - Mark P.
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- Maia F.

Thank you so much, Declan. I’m actually going to submit the manuscript (after editing and polishing as much as possible) to a contest. Then, I’ll see what feedback I get and will go from there. I’m not sure if it’ll be a traditionally-published novel or I’ll self-publish it, but either way…it’ll happen 😊. I really appreciate your help. - Maia F.
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- Rebecca A.

Thank you very much for your work. It is clear to me you have read the manuscript thoroughly and I appreciate your direct feedback. I already feel excited about the potential for improvement you have outlined that I wasn't able to see on my own. What's more, I've also seen clear evidence that I made the right decision in deciding to get a manuscript assessment from your detailed comments alone. This is exactly what I needed. Thank you again.
Rebecca
- Rebecca A.
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- Danielle B.

Thank you so much for your detailed responses to all of my specific questions and also your general feedback! This all helps SO much. The two most important things I took from your feedback was that 1.)[...] I just thought of some scenes/ideas of how I can do this so now I just have to write them out and see which ones work best 🤞 2.) There needs to be a stronger hook in the first chapter. I can see now that where I started the story probably isn't the best place to start it. And 3.) there definitely needs to be downtime between the intense scenes. Someone actually suggested this to me before but I was wary because I was afraid of slowing down the story and boring the reader but I think I just have to figure out a balance.
[...]
Best,
Danielle Brown - Danielle B.
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- Laura B.

This was VERY helpful. I guess the Beta reader did not know that this is just the first 5 chapters of a longer book. I agree it needs work and that is why people hire beta readers- so they can get feedback and revise, revise, revise. Thanks again.. Laura. - Laura B.
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- Marlane A.

Thank you for your feedback. I’ll work through your editing recommendations, which I found helpful and encouraging. Sincerely, Marlane
- Marlane 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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- Jennifer B.

Thank you so much. This feedback was extremely helpful and I think it will be crucial in assisting me to tell the story I want. I greatly appreciate it! Sincerely,
Jennifer Byrd - Jennifer B.
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- Kathryn H.

Thank you very much for returning this so quickly. I appreciate the kind words and support. That gives me the courage to try to get an agent for this story, although I haven't had luck finding an agent in the past.
Best wishes, Kathryn. - Kathryn H.
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- Tony M.

I wasn't expecting your email for another couple of weeks. What a pleasant surprise. I've yet to read the reports but I look forward to it. Thanks also for the developmental editing suggestion. Are we talking like a mentoring role? Either way, I might actually take you up on that as I've been looking for such 'guidance'. [...] Anyway, I'll get on to these reports and will be in touch. Oh, and it's still my intention (in the distant future) to seek a manuscript assessment. But, first things first. Thanks very much. Tony. - Tony M.
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- Amelia N.

Thank you for the report! The beta read was very helpful to let me know what to edit and work on next. Pass on my thanks to the reader.
Regards,
Amelia - Amelia N.
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- Pat K.

Thank you for the valuable feedback on both the strengths and weaknesses of Windshift. I'll be working on those improvements during the weeks ahead. Thanks again, Pat. - Pat K.
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- John B.

Hi Declan, I finally got The Last Five Swords published and would like to send you a copy as you were very instrumental in getting it over the line! Thanks for your help, John. - John B.
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- Patricia L.

I took a quick read of the report yesterday and will focus in today. It appears I have a lot of work to do to create a book people will buy.
Appreciate the honesty.
Patricia - Patricia L.
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- Joseph C.

Report received, many thanks. I'll let you know how it goes once I get stuck into the drafting. Cheers - Joe
- Joseph C.
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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.