Manuscript Assessment
✨Our #1 Author Service✨
Service Overview
Words from Our Author, Michael
My manuscript assessment was simply incredible. I am so grateful for how much detail and effort Amber put into it. She has given me the courage to dive back into my story’s world and preserve the good parts of it while also significantly overhauling and ironing out the goals, motivations, and conflicts of my main characters. I think deep down I knew stuff about them was lacking, but I couldn’t grasp how and why because I was too buried in it all and too close to the story. This evaluation was exactly what I needed!
Words from Our Author, James
Although a manuscript assessment is all I requested, I received so much more. I used the assessment to shape my final novel that I am proud to say is published. Amber pointed out the major flaws in my manuscript while at the same time giving words of encouragement. As any first-time author well knows, encouraging words are invaluable. I will recommend Rooted in Writing to anyone seeking editorial services. Thanks for reading, and like Amber says . . .
Happy Writing!
Sample Edit
We do not provide sample edits for manuscript assessments. It’s too difficult to offer effective advice for a single scene without deeply understanding the plot and character arcs for the whole novel. After all, you wouldn’t trim a branch of an oak without first understanding the overall shape and balance of the tree. However, if you schedule a discovery call with us we will show you real past assessments so you can get an idea for how we structure our editorial reports and handle different kinds of editorial suggestions.
Report Contents
Report Card on Writing Elements
A report card that grades the different craft categories of your novel (plot, character, world-building, voice, mechanics) into a cumulative score that gives you a bird’s eye view of your novel’s health.
Elements of Excellence
A discussion of the novel’s greatest strengths, highlighting what is working well and is a good selling point for your novel to agents and readers.
Critical Problems
A deeper discussion of the problems found in the manuscript’s structure or overall execution that prevents the novel from reaching its full potential. These are problems that seep into multiple scenes, across plotlines, or into the vitality of a hero.
Market Viability
An analysis on how marketable the book is to its target audience and what you’ll need to do to increase its marketability.
Key Revision Suggestions
Five concrete revision steps you can take immediately to make your book stronger. These revision suggestions are designed to be low effort, high impact for your novel’s improvement. They’re small, contained, and relatively “quick” revisions that will have a substantial effect on the reader’s perception of pacing, character, plot, or your world.
Post-Service Consultation
Within 30 days after receiving the report, you may schedule a complimentary Zoom call to ask clarifying questions about the report or brainstorm revision ideas with your editor.
Rates & Dates
Final edits will be returned after 4-6 weeks, depending on the word count. For manuscript assessments, we charge $20 per thousand words (with a price break for manuscripts over 100,000 words). If you choose to come back for a developmental edit after the assessment, we’ll credit 50 percent of the assessment’s invoice to your developmental edit quote.
Services
Manuscript Assessment
Developmental Editing
Line Editing
Copy Editing
Typesetting
Proofreading
Packages
The Arborist
The Florist
The Gardener
The Botanist
Rooted in Writing
For Editors
The Garden Shed: An Editor's Toolbox
Editor Education
Join Our Team
Resources
Story Soil: The Blog
The Craft Book Library
Upcoming Courses & Webinars