Author: Josephine Moon
Author. Speaker. Teacher. Editor. Manuscript Appraisals.
Get a jump start on Anthea Hodgson’s new book, The War Nurses, which was inspired by her own family’s history. We took a deep dive into this story and at one point we both ended up crying! But don’t worry, we also laughed a lot too. (And make sure you stay till the end to hear about what she’s working on next!) You can pre-order Anthea’s newest novel right now from your favourite bookstore, online or in person, to make sure you don’t miss out. You catch our chat via link in bio.
I’m so happy to once again be speaking at the Yellow Ladbugs conference this year, alongside the incredible autism advocates Gilly (@neurodivergent_researcher) and Autistic lawyer Annie Crow (@_anniecrowe). We’ll be chatting about Autistic burnout and ways to support our girls.
It’s absolutely packed with lived experience educators, teachers, speech pathologists, lawyers, doctors, psychologists, advocates, artists, allied health and so much more.
I learned so much from last year’s conference and it’s tremendous value at just $50! Parents, teachers, grandparents, allied health and #neurodivergent people of all ages and stages will find something wonderful in here.
Don’t miss it! https://ylbconference2023.vfairs.com
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Following on from my last post here are even more reasons you might need a manuscript appraisal.
Oh… I Feel This!
I wrote 10 manuscripts in 12 years before I got a contract. During that
time, I won short story competitions, I wrote freelance, I was shortlisted for
two publishing awards, I had agents request my work and then reject it. I was
scammed by dodgy publishers with dodgy contracts. I was scammed by writing
competitions (that then publish your work and then sell the work back to you).
My spreadsheet of rejections hit 100 (and then I deleted it in disgust). (Oh,
and I had been working full time, part time, casually, in my own business,
running a charity and while pregnant.) I had reached the end of my
tether. It took just one final piece to get me over the line. For you,
that final piece might be a manuscript assessment.
The pain!
Even published authors sometimes need manuscript assessments!
I mentioned above that I once had to ditch 50,000 words of a novel. A novel
that was on contract. With a deadline. I knew ‘something’ wasn’t right. This
was going to be my fourth contracted novel, so it was surprising when I
realised I was absolutely stuck. I paid for a manuscript assessment with
my favourite editor, who I trust, completely. And like a really good editor,
she didn’t tell me what to do. Instead, she asked questions and made astute
observations and in reading her report I knew I had to abandon
that manuscript. (There is a happy ending to this story, which I will share
with you when we begin work together.)
Listen to That Voice
So you just read that bit above where I had to ditch 50,000 words, right? If
I had listened to my inner voice, my gut feeling, just a little bit earlier,
I might not have had to lose so much time, energy, and spinal integrity while
sitting in a chair, working on something that was built on shifting sands.
This is why I’m here to help, with your manuscript, be it fiction, non-fiction, novel or memoir 🙂
You can find the Manuscript Appraisal Booking Page Here.
Jo
(And let me tell you about that time I had to ditch 50,000 words of my novel….)
If you’re a beginning or emerging writer (or even an established one), you might be in need a manuscript assessment.
The very first memoir I wrote was shortlisted for a publishing award. Looking back, though, the manuscript didn’t have what it needed to get through a publisher at that time. But I didn’t know that then because I didn’t have enough experience yet; however, if I’d had a manuscript assessment, I think an astute assessor could have directed that manuscript into a publishable piece of work.
Then, while writing my fourth book (which was contracted and an advance had been paid), I got halfway through and realised I needed help. I paid for a manuscript assessment with a trusted editor and it shed so much light on the ways I had written myself into a corner. It was so valuable.
Here are a few of the reasons you might find yourself wondering if you need an assessment and why you might be right.
This is An Excellent Time to Get an Appraisal
Getting an appraisal earlier rather than later can save you from taking your story into directions that aren’t helpful. An appraisal can help show you where the gold is among the rubble, allowing you to ditch the rubble and let that treasure through. In our first drafts, we often can’t see the wood for the trees. We are ‘word blind’ to our own work because we’ve been staring at it for so long. We need fresh, expert eyes to see what’s really going on. (And that’s all of us… beginners or multiply published writers.)
If They’re Not ‘In The Arena’…
I’m sorry to say that they are unlikely to be able to give you what you need. Think of it this way. Your mum could probably do a fair bit of skilful first aid when you came off your bike, but if you had bones exposed and wounds of gravel, you needed a doctor! Family and friends can give amazing support. (They can also do the opposite. If so, we need to talk.) Usually,
friends & family’s best support is spent in practical ways (… childcare, cash, coffee, study time, a room of one’s own) and emotional support. But if it’s hard core writing craft you want, you need an expert in the field (in ‘the arena’).
You Are Correct!
Agents and publishers will rarely (if ever) look twice at something you’ve pitched. I know it is hard to wait. I know it’s hard to do yet another draft of your story. Everything moves so slowly in the publishing world. But… the upside of that is that because everything moves so slowly, you have time. You have time to do another draft. You have time to rework your manuscript, but only if you are taking it in the right direction! Trust me, as someone who has ditched 50,000 words of a manuscript that was going in the wrong direction… it HURTS! Don’t spend years going in the wrong direction. The sooner you know, the sooner you can turn around and get back on track. Or, as happened to me, clear the deck for the right story to arrive instead.
If you are ready for a manuscript assessment, you can contact me here.
Calling all writers or aspiring writers!
Lovely ones, I am for the first time ever opening my doors to mentor, coach and assist developing writers. Why now? Maybe because The Wonderful Thing About Phoenix Rose is my 10th book, which has a nice feel to it. Maybe because I’ve been in this game for a long time now (with a string of bestsellers, international publications and never out of contract) and, ridiculously, it’s only just occurred to me that i could share my skills and knowledge and others might even appreciate it 🙂 (Yep, I’ve been the queen of imposter syndrome and have just realised how wrong I’ve been.)
(It’s also highly possible that the introduction of ADHD medication has finally given me the energy, focus and capacity to do a heap of things I am passionate about but never had the energy to do. But, I digress…)
It’s certainly because I remember how difficult it was when I was a writer who was past ‘the beginner’ stage but not yet at the ‘accomplished’ stage (a truly awkward and at times isolating experience). Maybe it’s because I am a homeschooler now and there’s something about homeschooling that makes you think differently about, well, everything. And it’s certainly because my ‘teacher genes’ have been re-activated over the past year. And as much as I remember that awkward ‘in between’ stage of writer development, I have huge passion for beginning writers too and in homeschooling I’ve become exceptionally sympathetic to the plight of writers who simply don’t believe they start, better their work, or finish a work. (Newsflash, you can.
If you’re a writer and would like some help, please do check out the four programs I have put together (just to get us started…. because spending weeks of website maintenance is really not my favourite thing to do and four was all I could manage right now!). And because I am committed to helping you long term, you’ll find I’ve built in long term support past your initial package. (See this example.)
If this is the year you want to write or you want to move to the next level of writing, I am here for it. I’d love nothing more.
Raw beginners through to published authors are welcome, as are all ages and abilities.
(Also, if you are an NDIS client, you may be able to claim your investment. Email me for more details on NDIS.)
I hope to see you soon!
Jo
Subscribers to my LOVE LETTERS are getting a free thing I made (with doodling illustrations, too… it’s my new thing… I’m crediting my new ADHD medication).
Anyway…. I’ve made a guide of 23 things you can do after closing the book to keep the love going. Perfect if you have a book hangover and you just aren’t ready to let the story go.
Sign up now to make sure you get yours! Hurry! I’ll be sending it out soon!
Loves, I made my first ever gingerbread house from scratch and it really, really elooks it 😆 I think the world is breathing a sigh of relief right now that I became a writer and not an engineer because this house is held together with determination and a half kilo of spakfilla!
The recipe quantities were wrong so there were last minute ‘recipe rescue’ emergencies, AND it’s gluten free (which always adds a difficulty factor of 150), and I had to use paper stencils rather than cutters. But… it is really yummy! 🥰
The point of the gingerbread house is that I made it with my kiddo and it was fun and he got to see that things go wrong (quite a lot!) but we can work through it and we can still be proud of our efforts and progress. Progress is something I think we should be applauding far more than we do. We tend to celebrate achievements and ‘the best’ of everything, the top academics and the fastest runners (which is absolutely worth respecting and valuing) but I’d love to see a world that ALSO champions effort and progress and the courage to mess up and try again.
So, yep, I’ll be serving up this gingerbread house on Christmas Day because it too is an achievement of which we can be proud. (And also ‘cause it took hours to make so there’s no way we aren’t going to enjoy it! 😆)
