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Consultation

“Thank you so, very, much  – it was lovely meeting you and thank you for being so gentle and positive with your feedback. I was incredibly trepidatious, and knowing that there is some merit in my attempt at  long-form… Well I don’t think I can put into words just how much this means to me!”

J.E. Full Manuscript Appraisal Client, 2023

Manuscript Appraisals (also called Manuscript Assessments) are for you if you have a completed or partially completed (at least 50%) manuscript.

I know how difficult it is to find an industry professional to read your manuscript. That’s why I’m offering this to you: because I know how hard you’ve worked, and I know how much you want to find someone to help you.

The good news is that you already know a lot about me. (I’m not some ‘anonymous’ reader in a factory farm of appraisers.) I have a proven track record of writing publishable, best-selling work, professional editing experience and teaching expertise too.

Don’t get scammed! Choose someone who is easily identified and you can trust. I would never trust my manuscript with a faceless “anonymous” assessor. (Would you see an anonymous doctor or lawyer?) And if the assessment price seems too good to be true, that’s probably because it is (and I highly suspect AI is “reading” your work, or it’s being sent overseas).

I’m an English teacher by trade and I especially love working one-to-one with people. I also worked in-house as an editor and still write for a range of niche areas. I’ve taught in schools, international corporations, in my lounge room, at conferences and writing festivals, in libraries, on weekend mountain retreats, in draughty halls, in the Abergavveny Community Centre in Wales and online. Teaching is what I’ve always done. I truly consider it an honour to combine this skill with my love of writing to help others realise their dreams.

I’ve got the credentials. I’m a bestselling author with 10 traditionally published books so far, a children’s series in production, fiction and non-fiction, in Australia and internationally. My first book received multiple offers and I haven’t been out of contract since.

I love working with other writers. Honestly, there is little that’s as inspiring as talking about craft with enthusiastic writers. (You help to light me up too!)

Especially, I love the idea that I can help to save you a heap of the mistakes that I’ve made along the way by sharing my wealth of knowledge and experience with you now. I can’t wait to cheer you on.

My Manuscript Appraisal Package Includes:

• your opportunity to send me your whole manuscript (or at least 50% of it), whereupon I will read every single word of it and make loads of scrawly notes along the way (which I will then type up neatly for you)
• my reading, preparing and reporting time
• an emailed copy of my notes, feedback and suggestions (“the report”)
• notes will include reflections on a variety of observations, such as your manuscript’s ‘readiness’ for pitching to agents and publishers, characters, supporting characters, structure, story arc, plot, writing style, sub-plots, themes, word lengths, balance of chapters, points of view, tense, contradictions, logic issues, and any potential problems I might spot in regards to sensitive content, global trends or legalities**
• (up to) 60-minute Zoom meeting with me so that we can talk through my observations and suggestions
• a mountain of useful information to help you take the next right steps
• lifetime membership* to my private coaching email list, with exclusive content just for this group
• FREE access to my e-course on how to find the time to write
• lifetime invitation* to a quarterly Zoom call for all my students, where you can ask me anything, and also (if you want to) connect with other writers who might be writing similar stories to you. (Writing buddies are the best! You might find a new one here.) 
• processing fees and printing costs.

Your Investment:

• Manuscripts up to 50,000 words: $1250
• Manuscripts from 50,001 to 100,000 words: $1,890
• Manuscripts over 100,000 words by quotation.

ARE YOU READY?! Apply Now! I welcome genre fiction, children’s books, YA, non-fiction and memoir. Please tell me a bit about yourself and your story and I’ll get back to you with availability. (Please note: I do not accept manuscripts with horror or graphic violence.)

Still Want to Know More? Check out These Kind Words from Others…

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And All That is Exceptionally Lovely to Hear, But For Me, Everything I Do is About Connection and Passion.

The thing is… I remember what it is like to be the person who wants nothing more in the world than to write books for a living. I remember what it is like to be rejected, over and over and over again. I remember wondering: Why? Why can’t I get a book published? What’s wrong with me? What’s wrong with my work?

I remember wanting (hurting!) to see my work as a real, physical thing, that I figured out how to self publish it (before you could do it on Amazon), just so I could hold it in my hands and know that I had truly made something – that the thousands of hours I had spent writing this story now meant something because it was real. I remember all of it.

And through it all, I what I wanted more than anything was someone to help me.

You might also be interested in a First 50 Pages package, or a First Three Chapters package.

When A Manuscript Assessment Might Be Right for You…

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.

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.

ARE YOU READY?! Apply Now! I welcome most genres, children’s books, YA, non-fiction and memoir. Please tell me a bit about yourself and your story and I’ll get back to you with availability.

(Please note: I do not accept horror or graphic violence.)