What is manuscript assessment?

Manuscript assessment is a service provided by a writing professional who assesses the quality of a written work and its potential for publication, identifies areas where it could be improved, and offers detailed constructive criticism accordingly, including giving advice about tailoring the work for a market.

The service may also, when the work merits it, provide a recommendation for publication to present to publishers and literary agents.

Manuscript assessment is not an editing, proofreading or agenting service.

Why have a manuscript assessed?

The publishing market is deeply competitive. Manuscript assessment is highly recommended by the publishing industry. While a favourable assessment report is no guarantee of publication, it can be a foot in the door to agents and publishers.

Further, every writer, including the most successful, can benefit from a critical, objective reading of their work. This is a crucial part in the development of a piece of writing and it is well provided by manuscript assessment. Good writing is rewriting.

Is my work suitable for manuscript assessment?

Manuscript assessment is suitable for writers from all walks of life and for all levels of experience, from the writer just starting out to the published author.

To be assessed the work does not have to be a polished final draft; however, the more developed the work the greater the benefit for the author.

Who assesses a manuscript?

Assessment is done by independent assessors, who remain anonymous to authors in order to maintain objectivity. Assessors are hand-picked writing professionals with solid track records. Assessors, with appropriate expertise in the writer's genre or area, will approach the work in terms of its component parts—character, style, grammar, paragraphing, and so on—that is, they do not just give an 'opinion' but a detailed analysis.

To see how Manuscripts Online has improved the way manuscript assessment is carried out, click here.

For more information about manuscript assessment and development, editing, publishing and other writing issues and resources, see the following links.

Manuscript development in the self-help and holistic areas, see Jane Teresa Anderson at http://www.dream.net.au. Jane lives in Australia.

Reviews of books by some of the hottest writers working today, exclusive author interviews, literary news and criticism, a free ezine and lots of book giveaways, visit The Compulsive Reader at http://www.compulsivereader.com/html. The Compulsive Reader is edited by Magdalena Ball, author of The Art of Assessment , Quark Soup and Sleep Before Evening.

The Australian Literary Agents Association, http://www.austlit.com/b/index.html, for information on agents and how to go about approaching them.

For ghost writing and agenting in addition to assessment, and for helpful writers' links and resources, see The Book Doctor at http://www.bookdoctor.com.au.

For writers' services and advice, and for news of her new novel in the Cassidy Blair series, The Lady Splash, see Kirsty Brooks's home page at http://www.kirstybrooks.com.

For workshops with adults or children in poetry, fiction, writing for children or general creative writing classes, and to buy her latest books, visit Dale Harcombe's website http://www.daleharcombe.com.

For writing workshops and writers' services, and for news of his latest novel, The Goldseekers, see Greg Bastian's website at http://www.gregbastian.com.au.