Manuscript evaluations are when a developmental editor reads your entire manuscript and gives you guidance on how to make it stronger. This will mean that they suggest things you can add, remove, rearrange, or rewrite to increase reader engagement, clarity, and entertainment or education.
Why manuscript evaluations are important
There are two major advantages to using manuscript evaluations.
First up is the fact that you can save thousands of dollars and multiple months in editing costs and time. Not to mention a lot of effort. By getting feedback from a pro on how to improve the piece on your own, the draft you eventually send to a developmental editor will need a lot less work, so it will cost a lot less money to improve.
Second, getting an understanding of the professional editorial thought process helps you think more like an editor. You start to notice problems during your self-revisions and begin to pick up on ways to fix those issues on your own. That means future manuscript evaluations will be smoother and you’ll get less critique and more praise.
For some writers, due to their personal budget constraints, getting full professional developmental editing is not in the cards. So, manuscript evaluations are the next best thing that will actually suit their budget. Unfortunately, many writers don’t realize that manuscript evaluations exist, so they think that they can’t possibly receive any professional services for their work. But, if this sounds like you, now that you know, don’t be afraid to ask developmental editors to help you with this. If the editors you’ve been looking at don’t advertise that they do manuscript evaluations, that could be because the service is so much cheaper that they want to encourage people to purchase the big-ticket services like ghostwriting or developmental editing. It doesn’t hurt to ask them anyway. Closed mouths don’t get fed!
Drawbacks of manuscript evaluations
Because manuscript evaluations are simple assessments, you still have to do all the heavy lifting on your own. If you want someone to just hand you a fully edited manuscript without you having to put any more work into the piece, you’ll need to shell out the cast for a full developmental edit. If you don’t want to use a professional, you can ask for volunteers from your social, writing, or business circles. Just be aware that the quality of the edits might not be what you expect. Volunteers may not prioritize your project like a pro would since they aren’t being paid and have other responsibilities to attend to (work, school, kids, etc.).
As with any kind of literary service, each professional is unique in how they operate. So one person’s evaluation may not be the same as another’s.
When to get a manuscript evaluation
Manuscript evaluations are often done after self-revisions have been completed. That’s what’s recommended at Writerwerx University. That means making sure you put your effort into revising the work before you hand it off to a professional. A manuscript evaluation is essentially an extension of the self-revision process. But, instead of trying to rely on your biased view of the piece, you get the benefit of a pair of expert eyes to help you with your natural blind spots regarding your own work.
Where to find developmental editors for manuscript evaluations
Do a normal search for editors on sites like The Editorial Freelancers Association, WriterwerxUniversity.com, or the American Copy Editors Society (they have developmental editors, too!), or by asking fellow authors for referrals.
Once you have a short list of about five editors, start reaching out for quotes. Tell them how many words long (not chapters, not pages, only words) your manuscript is (you can use this word counter if you don’t know how to find the word count in your specific word processor), and send them the first couple of pages of your manuscript so they can get a decent idea of how you write. Be sure to describe to them what you’re looking for by name and with specific steps (i.e., “I need a pro to read my work and give me feedback I can use to make changes on my own”). Some professionals call various services by different names, so just using the term ‘manuscript evaluation’ may not mean what you think it means for them. Err on the side of clarity, not brevity.
While interacting with each pro, pay attention to:
- How they treat you during phone, email, or in-person conversations.
- How their prices compare to those of the other companies or pros on your list.
- What services are included in the price they quote.
- How helpful they are at educating you about their processes.
- Their portfolio of past work if they’ve been in the business for a while.
- Their reviews and testimonials, especially negative ones. The way they respond to negative reviews tells you a lot about their character as a firm or individual. You may still want to work with an entity if their response to an upset customer is clear and respectful, not aggressive and insulting.
Once you’ve done some research on the pros on your list, you can make a final decision, hire the editor who you think is the best fit for you, and start the manuscript evaluation process.