Book Manuscript Critiques
from Author and Editor Barbara Brabec

Note that I do not critique short stories or partial book manuscripts, and I am only interested in critiquing the same kind of book manuscripts I accept for editing.

 

IF YOU'RE WONDERING if the book you’ve written is worthy of publication and whether it might find a good market if it was professionally edited, you might avail yourself of my inexpensive critiquing service. Here you will get my honest opinion about your book’s potential market, its strengths and weaknesses, and whether it's likely to be of interest to trade publishers or if you should plan to publish it yourself.

More important—especially if you want to cut your publication costs (and who doesn't?)—is that if you let me critique your manuscript prior to its being edited, this could not only result in a much better book but could save you hundreds of dollars in editing costs.

That's because my manuscript critique will include a list of self-editing and rewriting tasks you can do prior to submitting the manuscript for my comprehensive editing. (See Joe Bell's confirmation of this below, and then click over to the linked page to read the rest of his remarks and those of other satisfied authors who have benefited from my book manuscript critiquing service.)

AFTER YOU HAVE STUDIED MY CRITIQUE (which will be as comprehensive as my editing), you will be entitled to a fifteen-minute follow-up telephone consultation to get answers to any questions you may have. (Longer consultations are available at additional cost.) At that time we can discuss the best way for you to proceed with getting your manuscript ready for editing and publication. (Note that I have long-distance telephone service in the Continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Canada, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. If you live elsewhere, the follow-up telephone conversation mentioned above would have to be at your expense. I do not use Skype.)

The detailed written critique will include a discussion of:

Your Best Publishing Options: With tips for how to proceed. (See also articles in the Writing/Publishing department.)

Book Title and Subtitle: Whether it clearly conveys the book's content and has no apparent problems from a trademark or marketing standpoint. (If it does, I'll discuss them.)

  Author Credibility: Readers want to know about the author's expertise or experience in the book's topic or subject area. If you'll include the author bio you plan to use for the book (life or work experience, education, degrees received, titles held, professional affiliations, years of activity in a field, any published writing, presence on the Web, etc.), I'll critique that along with the manuscript.

Overall Quality of Writing: Areas of the manuscript will be cited for things you've done well and where there are problems or room for improvement.

The Book's Audience: Whether or not I find your book appropriately written for your intended audience and likely to hold readers' attention.

Book Structure: Whether chapters are in logical order and have good closings that move the reader forward to the next chapter; how well content within each chapter has been presented and whether it flows logically and has appropriate subheadings (if the book calls for them); whether you have provided sufficient information or are assuming knowledge on the part of readers; whether any how-to instructions in the book are clear; whether you are repeating yourself or discussing the same topics in more than one place and need to bring those discussions together.

Use of Copyrighted Material. Everything one writes is protected by the Copyright Law—even content that is not officially copyrighted (such as letters to your Mom). First-time authors often unknowingly violate the Copyright Law by illegally using content from other sources without permission or proper citation. I'll comment on any quoted material I think is problematic. 

Supplemental Information: Analysis of what is included (or may be needed in the book), such as a Preface, Prologue, Introduction, or Table of Contents; resource chapter, appendices, or bibliography; sidebars, special tips or quotations; graphic elements or illustrations; checklists or worksheets.

Rewriting and Self-Editing Tasks. With my written critique in hand, you'll know exactly what the manuscript needs in the way of editing and how much self-editing and "clean-up" work you can do before giving it to me for my comprehensive editing. (See here for what that includes).

FICTION: If you've written a novel, I'll also comment on:

The Book's Opening and Ending: Whether or not it grabs me at the start, holds my interest in the middle, and leaves me feeling satisfied at the end; also whether the story has good momentum and is credible. If not, I'll explain what I think needs to be done to fix any of these problems.

Timeline: Whether your plot holds together as you move the story along, and whether you always let the reader know when things are happening and are using past and present tenses properly; also whether you're writing from an appropriate point of view. Any problem areas in the manuscript will be identified with suggestions for improvement.

Characters: Whether they are adequately described and developed so I can see them in my mind and care about them; also whether your descriptions of places and things enable me to mentally visualize them. If not, I'll let you know.

Dialogue (Style and Substance): Whether it is appropriate for each of your characters and moves the story along, or whether it is merely mundane and boring filler copy; also whether you are using appropriate "speech tags" and attaching them to dialogue in a way that is not clumsy or distracting. (Few first-time authors are able to do this without study or professional guidance.) If your manuscript suffers from these common problems, I'll provide examples of how you can improve the writing a bit before I add the final refinements during the editing process.