Writing can be difficult. Having good ideas and getting everything in balance and proportion is an exhausting and time-consuming process. It’s like putting a broken vase together in a dark room. And at some point, you have to put the big light on and see what you’ve made.

This is where a manuscript assessment comes in. It’s a professional analysis of your book or story, investigating technical elements of writing to see how everything fits together, identifying what’s working and what needs strengthening.

Think of a developmental editor as an ideal reader - one who’s invested in your story and is committed to seeing it reach its highest potential of total reader satisfaction. I take your hard work and put it under the microscope. If something isn’t working then I’ll point it out, and offer solutions for improvement. So you get to test and rework your ideas through feedback and constructive criticism.

The actual nature of an edit will be specific to the book you’ve written. Just to give a few examples, some common and important things that a developmental edit will consider are:

Plot: Is the development coherent, rational and gripping? Does your first act set up everything efficiently? Is the ending satisfying? Do all the scenes you’ve written have a clear and focused function?

Pace: Does the narrative move at a speed appropriate for your readership? Are there points where it sags or wanders off?

Characters: Are they interesting and relatable? Are their actions consistent? Are their goals and motivations clear? Are their story arcs satisfying?

Point of View: Is it the right one for the story? Is it consistently applied? Is it being exploited fully?

Narrative Techniques: Is there too much telling and not enough showing? Does the dialogue sometimes feel unwieldy? Is the tone inconsistent? Is your voice as strong and confident as it could be?

A manuscript assessment is basically a book report in which I talk about how successful I think you’ve been in achieving your writing aims. These things are discussed in terms of the relevant theory, and I use this to show areas where they can be improved, giving ideas as to how you might go about it.

It is comprehensive but also practical, offering useful ideas for the next drafting stage. I try and make it as accessible as possible, taking the time to explain concepts and keeping the tone light. I maintain the balance between theoretical accuracy and being straightforwardly useful without getting lost in technical language and complexity.

For a manuscript of 60-100,000 words, a guide price is £500.

Yes, of course.

Get in touch for more details.

You can contact me about a sample edit, pricing or with any other questions you have.

Have a look at my endorsements page for kind words from former writing clients.