One of my favorite services to offer writers is a manuscript critique. Also known as a manuscript review or a manuscript evaluation, this is a 360° view of a draft: what’s working, what’s not, and what concrete steps I recommend an author take to prepare the manuscript for publication.
What Does A Manuscript Critique Involve?
When I critique a manuscript, I start by reading the draft through from beginning to end, as if I’m reading a published book. I don’t make any comments or notes during this first read, because I want to be sure I know the full story — how the plot unfolds, how the characters evolve, etc. — before I start making recommendations. After my initial read, I jot down my general, big-picture observations:
Did the story keep me turning pages?
Did I understand — and could I root for — the journey the protagonist was on?
Did I feel immersed in the world of the draft?
Did any plot points feel like they came out of nowhere?
Did the story move too slowly or too quickly in places?
And on and on and on about what I observed as a reader.
Then, I read the story again, taking detailed notes that both expand on my initial observations and add insights about smaller details like the style of the prose or the narrative’s point of view or moments when I couldn’t quite understand why a character behaved the way she did.
After this second read, I have pages and pages of notes in front of me, and it’s time to sort them into a memo that will look less like frantic chicken scratch and more like a comprehensive overview of the draft’s strengths and development opportunities and my clear, actionable recommendations for revision. I also include an overview of other editorial services your book may need (line editing, copyediting, proofreading) based on your publishing goals.
Once I’ve delivered your memo and you’ve had a chance to digest it, then we schedule a consultation to discuss my feedback and clarify your next steps.
My goal in conducting a manuscript critique is to give authors a clear sense of what they need to do next to bring their story to life — and the confidence they need to do it.
When Do I Need A Manuscript Critique?
In short, I recommend authors look for an editor to provide a manuscript critique when they really don’t know what to do next. And I don’t mean when you’re tired of writing or when you aren’t quite sure how to approach the next scene or when you know you need to take another look at your protagonist’s superobjective but you just don’t feel like it right now. (If it’s just a basic case of writer’s block that’s holding you back, here are some ideas for moving forward on your own.) I mean when you’ve done everything you know how to do to bring your story to life. You’ve developed your characters, built your world, and created your plot as fully as you know how to do. You’ve done some self-editing on your own to fix the glaring problems and holes and patchy spots that are inevitable in a first draft. And maybe you’ve done that two or three times. When you’ve done all you can do, that’s when you’re ready for a manuscript critique to unlock your next steps.
For this reason, a manuscript critique is usually most effective on a full draft. But I do offer partial manuscript critiques for authors who need what I call a “creative kickstart.” This may be because you’ve hit a big ol’ wall and you need help getting unstuck, because you’re pulling out an old manuscript you haven’t touched in years and you want an objective look at whether it’s worth salvaging (and how), or because you’ve got a complete first draft but aren’t quite ready to invest financially in a full manuscript critique. While I do recommend a full critique whenever possible, a partial critique of a substantial section of your draft can go a long way in helping you understand where you are and where you need to go.
(Is your manuscript ready for a professional critique? Download my free checklist here!)
Why are manuscript critiques one of my favorite services? Because getting to a place where you’re ready for a manuscript critique is a huge achievement! You’ve spent weeks, months, maybe years getting your story down on paper and refining it to the best of your abilities, and that’s huge, but you know it’s just the first step in the process of putting your book out into the world. I want to help you celebrate your accomplishment, recognize the hard work you’ve done, and chart a course for the rest of your editing and publishing journey.
So, when you’re ready for help finding your next steps, reach out to discuss whether a manuscript critique is the right move.