Manuscript Assessment – Ruth Bullivant

Manuscript Assessment

When is your book ‘done’?

A manuscript assessment, or a professional ‘beta read’, or a book audit, is an affordable alternative to Developmental Editing.

How do you decide if it's safe to lay down your pen?

It’s the hardest question for writers.

You’ve put your heart and soul into your book and you need to know, does it pass muster? Can you send it out into the world?

You feel you need a second pair of eyes on it but you want objective and constructive feedback, not mere opinion.

Hello. I’m Ruth.

I assess nonfiction manuscripts for the clarity, logic and flow of their argument, and the strength of their structure.

Developmental Editing is costly.

And expensive. And, mostly, a waste of time.

If you have already written 60,000 words of your book, it’s too late for page-by-page feedback.

It will exhaust you, just looking at it.

Instead, if a writer encounters me after they have written their book, and they are wondering why they don’t feel quite happy with it, or how to find a publisher, then I might offer a Manuscript Assessment.

A Manuscript Assessment shows you what works and what needs more work.

I don’t inflict my subjective opinion on you.

My feedback is carefully calibrated against publishing industry norms and expectations.

I benchmark my findings against key indicators so that you know the strengths and weaknesses of your book as a marketable, and readable, proposition.

The output of the Assessment is that you get an actionable plan for improving your book’s chances of success in the market-

Is your book good enough to publish?

You wrote for the benefit of people who need to hear what you have to say.

But, now, you are wondering if your book gets your message across.

Maybe you have started to query publishers but aren’t making any progress to publication. Or you have asked your friends to read your book and feel they haven’t really grasped what worries you.

If your readers aren’t professional editors, they may not know how to give you relevant feedback or how to judge what is important and what is not.

Only a tiny proportion of submitting authors attract attention from publishers, but knowing how to position your book in the best possible light gives you your best chance.

My Assessments give insightful, fact-based feedback calibrated against industry norms, and an actionable plan to move your book along its publishing journey.

If you are curious to know more, tell me about your book and I will tell you if a Manuscript Assessment is your best next step.

How it works, step by step

Step 1: Message me to ask if I think an Assessment would help your book

Give me some facts: What is your book is about? How long is it? Do you know if you want to seek a publishing contract or if you want to publish on, say, Amazon? Everything you tell me I’ll hold in strict confidence. Your message comes straight to my personal inbox and when I see it, I will review it and tell you if I think an Assessment will suit your book goals. No charge.

Step 2: If I think I can help, we meet on a free call

If I think an Assessment is suitable for your book, I will suggest we hop on a call so that you can ask me any questions you have. You aren’t committed to anything, and if I offer to work with you, you still make the final decision before going ahead.

Step 3: I perform the Assessment

If we are “all systems go”, you make payment upfront on a secure payment link to cover the cost of your

Assessment and an optional follow-up call with me. Then you’ll send me your manuscript and I carry out the Assessment.

Step 4: You receive the completed Assessment

I send you the finished Assessment within the time we’ve agreed. My report will explain my assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the book measured against the objective standards of the book industry.

Step 5: Optional follow-up call

We have a call on Zoom if you wish so that you can ask me questions about the Assessment findings and we can make a plan to help you move to the next stage of completing your book.

As a result of the Assessment

🌟You will understand your book or proposal’s strengths and developmental needs measured against the criteria used by publishers, or the reasonable expectations of your readers.

🌟You will know if there are areas of your book you should do some more work on before you lay down your pen.

🌟You will have an actionable plan to move your book forward towards publication.

How much will this cost?

Rates vary according to how long your Manuscript is.

When I have more information about your manuscript, I will be able to give you an accurate quote.

This is specialised work tailored to your exact needs.

Ready to get in touch?

Well, let’s get started!