Giving a manuscript to
someone else to assess and critique can be nerve-wracking and it is important
that you find the right person to give your ms the experienced attention it
deserves. How do you know if the assessor gives useful and insightful advice?
It is a good idea to look at the results – have the suggestions and advice led
to publication? Of course, not everyone wants to be published, some simply want
to write for family, friends and local community and are happy to self-publish.
Even so, a considerable number of Life Stories Workshop clients from both
courses and ms development services, have been successfully published by
mainstream publishing houses. Clients' Books shows the
growing list of Life stories Workshop writers who have been commercially
published.
Two levels of
manuscript development are offered:
Manuscript Development
If you have a few
chapters and need to know whether you are heading in the right direction, or a
complete first draft and want to know if it is working, send your ms in for a
manuscript development report. It will
examine everything from the unfolding of ideas to writing style, voice,
characterization and structure. There will be some on-page editing for sentence
and paragraph structure but not close or copy-editing for spelling, punctuation
or grammar. The service consists of on-page comments plus a full written
report.
Cost: Approx $560 for average length ms (50,000 words)
Manuscript Development
and Editing
If you want a
manuscript development report as above, but with closer attention to editing,
then ask for Manuscript Development with Editing. There will be the same
overall critique but with closer attention paid to sentence level editing,
including grammar, punctuation and spelling, although still not a copy-edit
(It’s a publisher’s job to arrange a copy-edit – a detailed edit to create a
print-ready ms). There will be on page edits and a full written
report.
Cost: Approx $980 for average length ms (50,000 words).
Patti Miller will work
on all mss herself unless she advises otherwise. If the wait-list is over-long,
Patti may suggest an experienced colleague to work on the ms instead.
Manuscripts are dated in order of arrival, please allow around six weeks for
your manuscript to be returned to you. If you wish to book a specific period
ahead of time, the fee is $600 per day.
N.B.
Cost varies according to both length of manuscript and amount of editing and
development required. Please email or phone for a quote on your ms.
