Manuscript Development

I will read your manuscript, paying careful attention to areas such as plot, pacing, coherence of world-building, and character arcs and motivations. I will provide you with a detailed written report, with the option to discuss this further over a 30-minute video call.

I will not copyedit or proofread your work for errors. However, I will offer you some generalised feedback if there are any regularly occurring errors of spelling, grammar and punctuation, or overly repeated words and phrases.

You will receive:

• a detailed written report, outlining the strengths of your manuscript and suggesting areas for further development

• a 30-minute video call to discuss your manuscript and my suggestions.

Pricing

Full and partial manuscript reviews are priced according to word count. Sample prices are given below, but if your word count is significantly different to these, please contact me for a more tailored quote.

Up to 30,000 words: £280

Up to 70,000 words: £490

Up to 120,000 words: £770

A good option if you’re having trouble with a particular section of your novel. Send me the extract, together with a summary of any relevant background information and plot context (up to 1000 words) and any details about what you feel isn’t currently working. 

You will receive:

• a written report outlining the strengths of the work I have seen, pinpointing areas for further development and, if relevant, suggesting some ‘fixes’ for the issues you have flagged

• a 30-minute video call to discuss your extract and my suggestions.

Pricing

Partial manuscript reviews are priced according to word count. Sample prices are given below, but if your extract is significantly different to in length to these, please contact me for a more tailored quote.

Up to 10,000 words: £210

Up to 20,000 words: £245

Up to 30,000 words: £280

Send me the outline of your novel – either a synopsis or a chapter-by-chapter summary – including any relevant notes on world-building and character background (up to 5000 words in total). I will provide feedback on elements such as character arcs and motivations; the overall ‘shape’ of your plot; world-building coherence; and potential pacing issues. 

This kind of feedback is particularly beneficial in the early stages of writing your novel. If you’re a ‘plotter’ you will likely already have created a detailed plan before you even sit down to write your first chapter, so this would be a good stage to get some feedback. If you are more of a ‘discovery writer’ then it would probably be more useful to do this once your first draft is completed.

Depending on the package you purchase, you will receive:

• a written report of my feedback and suggestions

• a 30- or 60-minute video call to discuss feedback, brainstorm ideas and plan your next steps.

Pricing

Verbal feedback only via 30-minute video call: £70

Verbal feedback only via 60-minute video call: £90

Written report and 30-minute video call: £120

Written report and 60-minute video call: £140

Send me some sample chapters or scenes of your novel and I will carry out a detailed copyedit, allowing you to see where your most common errors tend to occur and thereby giving you specific areas of focus for your line edits. This is an excellent option if you are happy with your plot and characters, but are not sure where to start when it comes to the more detailed levels of editing.

Any errors or ‘stylistic glitches’ you make in the extracts I read are likely to be repeated elsewhere, so this is a good way to get some insight into those and further polish your personal writing style. For this reason, I would encourage you to send me sections that you are less happy with, particularly if you can’t quite work out the reasons for it. You can send me one continuous extract of your work, or two or three shorter scenes, together with up to 500 words of contextual information. 

I will read your work carefully for:

• errors of spelling, grammar and punctuation

• clarity and sense

• consistency of style and voice

• words or phrases that you unconsciously overuse.

I will NOT offer any feedback on content or plot structure, unless there is an issue with continuity or factual errors that the average reader would be likely to notice.

You will receive:

• a corrected version of your work with the changes tracked, and any points for clarification or suggestions for rewording made as comments

• a brief written report summarising any areas that it might be useful for you to focus on in your own line edits and, where appropriate, pointing you towards further resources.

Pricing

3000 words: £140

5000 words: £230