The Ultimate Manuscript Assessment
A full read and feedback from an editor.
Work with an editor from a Big Five publisher.
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The full assessment for those on
The Finished Novel Course
The service with experienced editors formerly of the major publishers. Included in The Finished Novel Course.
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With publishing professionals
Taken your novel as far as you can? Feeling word blind? It’s time for fresh eyes and expert advice.
Take that novel to submission standards with in-depth advice from our team of professional editors from the major publishing houses: Penguin Random House, Hachette, Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, and HarperCollins.
Our editorial team will evaluate every aspect of your story and writing from the overall narrative arc to each character, from pace and momentum to prose and dialogue and will provide a marked-up manuscript and a detailed report. Get the full picture of how close you are, and what remains to be done, with an online session with your editor to make a plan!
Get professional insights
The full belt-and-braces assessment before submission
Our editorial team are professionals with experience at the most famous publishers: Penguin Random House, Macmillan, Hachette, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster where they have overseen many bestselling and award-winning novels published to acclaim.
You will get the undivided attention of an experienced publishing editor to help you get your manuscript over the finishing line.
Our editorial team know what gets publishers’ (and literary agents’) hearts racing. They will offer expert insights to help you raise your game from pitch to page to ensure your manuscript excites the industry as a potential bestseller, whatever genre of fiction you’re writing. This could be the best investment you make.
What does it take for a manuscript to scoop a literary agent and a publishing contract? What are the true hallmarks of outstanding merit and talent in fiction? Discover what to leave in and what to leave out to establish yourself as an author with an exciting career ahead of you.
We work with writers to get them ready for major publishing contracts, and TV and film rights. We are in touch with literary agents on a daily basis and prime them on forthcoming manuscripts from our writers with regular meetings.
If your manuscript is a match for one of our trusted literary agents, you will be invited to enter our submissions process. There is no cost for this service and we neither ask for nor accept commission. It is by invitation only.
Literary agencies representing the big names of fiction trust submissions from The Novelry because they’ve come to expect publishing-ready manuscripts from our graduates.
The Ultimate Manuscript Assessment
The last step to publishing.
Next Steps Toward Publishing
You will receive an action plan with guidance and advice on how to implement our feedback. If your manuscript requires further work, we will include a detailed follow-up plan and offer suggestions for next steps. You can then book any further Paid Feedback Sessions with our editors to work together toward submitting your manuscript to leading literary agencies.
Membership of The Novelry gives writers access to over 60 writing classes a month, including guest events with authors, literary agents, and publishing professionals, plus recorded masterclasses and our writing community of beta readers for ad-hoc feedback. What’s more, you will find yourself supported by other writers like you worldwide who will cheer you on at every step. A published author needs a platform, and The Novelry gets behind each and every writer loud and proud to celebrate their success.
If your manuscript is a match for one of our trusted literary agents, you will be invited to enter our submissions process, in which we submit your manuscript to our trusted literary agencies for representation and publication.
Meeting with the Editor
For those seeking feedback to make an informed decision as to their next steps, nothing beats the opportunity to have meaningful dialogue with experienced industry professionals connected to the publishing industry worldwide. Writing a novel is a long haul and the least you deserve from a paid service is to enjoy a session where the focus is entirely on you and your manuscript.
You will be invited to book a 45-minute in-person debrief with your editor to discuss their feedback on your creative work. This is an opportunity for you to ask further questions and discuss in detail your writing process onward toward becoming traditionally published. This online meeting is recorded for you to keep and is included as part of your manuscript assessment.
A Marked-Up Manuscript
Our manuscript assessment report includes a marked-up manuscript that focuses on the detail of your creative writing, considering what each scene adds to your story, your characters, and your overall plot development. We highlight the best sentences and flag areas for improvement so that you can make sure your story really shines.
Structural Development
You will receive a detailed report of some 20 pages that evaluates every aspect of your entire manuscript, from the writing and the structure to the setting and the characters. We look at both the big picture (such as the narrative arc, plot beats, character arcs, and central questions) as well as the finer details (such as subplots and pacing), offering advice and practical steps so that you can continue to improve your manuscript.
We’ll examine it just as an editor would in a publishing house.
The Pitch
It is important to tighten the premise of your story into a single sentence, often called the pitch or the hook. This is one of the most important tools when it comes to securing an agent, so we always begin here. We will give you top tips to improve your pitch so that it’s compelling and designed to excite publishers. We also look at your ambition and how your work meets the requirements of your genre for your intended audience, offering ideas on how your novel or memoir might be positioned and its potential within the current market.
FAQs
Six questions to ask before you choose. Anything else? Read the full FAQs.
We aim to deliver your assessment within six to eight weeks. We can’t guarantee this given demand — you may be asked to join a waitlist — but we’ll keep you updated on timing throughout.
Our Editorial Director assigns an editor according to your genre. If you have a preference, tell us in your cover note when you upload your manuscript.
Email hello@thenovelry.com and we’ll give you a pro-rata price for the additional words.
It’s a thorough developmental edit with some line-by-line feedback — on dialogue or standout sentences, for example — rather than a formal line edit. Your report will still give you plenty of guidance on strengthening your prose.
Your assessment sets out clear next steps for editing and polishing your manuscript, and you have full access to our resources as you revise. Once you’ve applied the notes, you can book further feedback sessions with the editorial team, and when your manuscript is ready for agent consideration, we’ll invite you to join our submissions process.
No, and we never will. Most literary consultancies take a 10% commission on your publishing contract; add that to the 15–20% a literary agent takes and 25–30% of your hard-earned income as a writer is gone. We neither ask for nor accept any commission on your advance or future royalties.