Our Manuscript Assessment
Get expert editorial feedback on your completed novel manuscript. Our in-house 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.
You’ve been working on your novel for months, or quite possibly much longer. You have completed several drafts, thinking about the story structure, the characters and the language used throughout. You have watched your novel evolve from a messy first draft into something that’s finally taking shape. You might even be wondering if it’s ready to submit to literary agents.
So where do you go from here? How do you know if your novel is ready? How do you improve your writing so that it stands out in a crowd? Our Ultimate Manuscript Assessment will give you the answers to prepare for publishing, and if you're ready, we'll make a plan to submit to our literary agency partners.
What makes this the Ultimate Manuscript Assessment?
Our manuscript assessment will provide a professional evaluation of your novel and give you proactive feedback to make it even better. One of our in-house editors, all of whom have worked at a ‘Big Five’ publishing house, will work with you on your entire manuscript, marking up your chapters with notes on excellent language and brilliant images, as well as areas that could be improved.
The feedback will be detailed and insightful, and will cover every aspect of your story: structure, setting, characters, pace and so much more. Your editor will also offer notes on your pitch, synopsis and your ambitions for the novel. You will receive a ‘Director’s Cut’ of your first chapter, prepared by one of our excellent author tutors, to demonstrate what your opening might look like should you choose to incorporate the editorial feedback.
You’ll receive a 45-minute video debrief with your editor so that you can ask those niggling questions and a beautifully presented and detailed report to incorporate all of the above.
By the end of the Ultimate Manuscript Assessment, you will be one step closer to publication. You’ll have a sense of where your strengths and weaknesses sit, a clear plan for your next steps and will be feeling reinvigorated ahead of your next draft.
A Full Editorial Report
The Pitch, Cover Letter and Synopsis
The Genre and Positioning of Your Novel
Director’s Cut
A Marked-Up Manuscript
A Video Debrief with an Editor
Securing Literary Agency Representation
We work with literary agencies with world-class reputations seeking exciting new novels.
Our partner literary agencies represent bestselling and award-winning authors like Philip Pullman, Michael Ondaatje, Hilary Mantel, Marilynne Robinson, Madeleine Miller, Celeste Ng, Gail Honeyman, Richard Osman, Paula Hawkins, J.M Coetzee, Jacqueline Wilson and more.
Recognizing the quality of our graduates' novels, they prioritise our submissions and respond within two weeks. If we think your manuscript is ready, we'll make a plan with you for submission to agents. We take no commission for this, it's all part of the service. We have secured representation for writers with agencies like United Agents, PF+D, Madeleine Milburn Literary Agency and others. If you mean business as a writer, we can help introduce you to the best agents who can get you a publishing contract and even license your work for TV and film.
“A wonderful organisation for aspiring writers, and we’re thrilled to work with them!”
Madeleine Milburn, Director of Madeleine Milburn Literary TV & Film Agency representing award-winning and bestselling authors of adult and children’s fiction who feature on The Sunday Times, New York Times and international bestseller lists.
Meet Your Editorial Team
Our Editorial Team will work on your manuscript to assess and develop its potential within the publishing market
You'll brief us with your ambitions in the online cover letter. You will submit your manuscript of up to 100,000 words and additional material (for example, the synopsis and pitch letter). You’ll be allocated an editor from our editorial team at The Novelry, based on genre and expertise, who will read your novel and prepare your report, overseen by our Editorial Director. Within 4-6 weeks, you will be invited to book a 45-minute video call with your editor to discuss their notes and to ask any outstanding questions. You will then receive a detailed editorial report with thorough feedback on every aspect of your novel as well as a marked-up manuscript. You will also receive a ‘Director’s Cut’ of your first chapter demonstrating how you might choose to incorporate this editorial feedback.
Our radical and energising approach to your novel is not only guided by our editors' years of publishing experience, working with big-name bestselling authors, it's creative too with a practical demonstration of powerful writing. That's what makes this the ultimate manuscript assessment. An investment in your future as an author.
The Ultimate Manuscript Assessment
Recommended by the world's leading literary agencies.
After you sign up, you will be able to upload and submit your fiction or memoir manuscript to us within 12 months from date of purchase. You'll find there's space to add any matters of specific interest or concern for our editorial team to consider. You will receive your in-depth professional report within 4-6 weeks. Behind every successful author is a great editor.
Reviews of our Ultimate Manuscript Assessment
Discover why so many writers love The Novelry
“Such insightful and powerful feedback.”
“I now have a clear sense of the road ahead. It’s plain that my editor is not only an expert in her field, but she’s heartfelt and authentic, and she truly understood my manuscript. The written report is accessible, in-depth and instructive. It’s clarified the intangible, and I know now what will make the novel more robust moving forward.
The entire experience has been energising. I feel hopeful and laser-focussed.”
– Brooke Hardwick
“Impressive.”
“I wanted to say thank you so much for the video call today and the Ultimate Manuscript Assessment. It is so motivating that a professional editor has taken my writing seriously. I am incredibly impressed with the thoroughness of your work and your understanding of my manuscript. The recommendations you've made are clear and instantly helped me see what changes I could make. I particularly liked the options you suggested for deepening the characterizations and the way in which you helped me imagine alternatives.”
– Megan Wilkinson-Tough
FAQs
Find out more at our FAQs page here.
What is a marked-up manuscript?
Am I ready? *
Do you take commission on successful submissions?
Impaired vision / hearing / English second language
Who will work on my assessment?
When will I receive my report?
Why don't you charge by word count?
Our Admissions and Refund Policy
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With more independent five-star reviews than any other writing course online worldwide.