Mystery, Crime & Thriller • Romance & General Fiction • Children’s, Middle Grade & YA
Manuscript Evaluation
Will your story meet the expectations of your readers?
Before you invest in detailed editing, a manuscript evaluation gives you the bird’s-eye view of your story: what’s strong, what’s shaky and what needs your attention. It’s a cost-effective, high-impact way to sharpen your story and find your focus.
'I’m so impressed with the attention and time Hayley spent helping me with my manuscript. She proved to be thorough and generous and perceptive. I’d recommend Hayley in a heartbeat.'
— Laura Ballou (contemporary fiction author)
What is a manuscript evaluation?
A manuscript evaluation, sometimes called a manuscript assessment, manuscript critique or manuscript review, is a cheaper, less-intrusive alternative to a developmental edit. It looks at your manuscript on a big-picture scale and critiques things like plot, character and pacing.
​It involves a full read-through of your entire novel, but no direct changes or mark-up are made to the manuscript. Instead, you receive a written report detailing specific areas that need improvement, usually backed by examples from the text, along with highlighting strong points for encouragement.
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You then get to go away and revise based on the notes in the report, giving you full creative licence with your work, but guided by a professional.
Who it’s for
Writers who want a professional editor's eye and genre specialist's feedback before moving forward with editing or querying. If your looking for big-picture guidance on what's wrong and how to fix it but don't have the budget for true developmental editing, this option is a cost-effective way to discover if you're manuscript is heading in the right direction.
What you get
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A complete readthrough with feedback tailored to your manuscript
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A multi-page report/revision letter (usually up to 10 pages) with summary, strengths, areas to improve, general observations and suggested next steps
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An expert's eye on pacing, plot, character development, and genre fit
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Typical duration: 2–3 weeks (depending on the length and complexity of the manuscript)
How it works
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You send your manuscript at least 24 hours before the read-through is due to commence. This allows me to ensure there are no issues opening it and work can start as planned.
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I read through your entire manuscript, making notes for each chapter, picking out areas to improve whilst acknowledging your strong points.
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I type up a detailed report highlighting what I've observed, along with a summary of your story through fresh eyes and suggestions for next steps and return it to you.
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You now revise your manuscript with this big-picture guidance in mind, allowing you to strengthen your story's foundations before moving on to more nuanced editing or querying with agents.