What Is a Manuscript Evaluation? (And Do You Need One?)

It’s the most common developmental editing service you’ll see. Know what to look for and when (or if) you need one.

If you google “developmental editor” and start looking through editors’ websites, you’ll see a common service appear again and again:

A manuscript evaluation.

(Or assessment, or diagnostic, or critique. A rose by any other name, etc.)

Typically, in a manuscript evaluation, an editor will offer to read your manuscript and tell you what’s working and what to focus on next to make it even better.

It sounds like the dream, right? Someone who will read the book you’ve spent months and months writing, tell you what they think of it, and give you a to-do list.

And manuscript evaluations sell like hotcakes because what they’re offering is exactly what writers want.

Or at least—

what writers think they want.

But when you don’t know what you really need, you risk wasting hundreds or thousands of dollars on a service that leaves you disappointed, stuck in the same spot, or even feeling false confidence that your story’s problems have all been solved when they’re not.

What if you don’t need someone else’s to-do list for your story? What if you have access to all the evaluation you need right now, without paying a single cent?

And if you don’t need someone else’s to-do list, what do you need instead?

In this episode, I’m giving you a crash course on manuscript evaluations. You’ll hear:

• What they are,
• When they work,
• Why they go wrong,
• And the rare occasion when I will agree to do one.

Here’s the thing: there are no regulations in the author services industry.

That means it’s up to YOU to vet every professional you work with.

I’m equipping you with everything you need to know to make the most of manuscript evaluations—or find the service you need instead.

Links mentioned in the episode:

• See what I do inside Story Clarity (instead of doing manuscript evaluations)
• Hear author John Green read from editor Julie Strauss-Gabel’s editorial letter for The Fault in Our Stars

Transcript

0:00

If you Google developmental editor and start looking through editor's websites, you'll see a common service appear again. And again. Uh, manuscript evaluation. Or assessment or diagnostic or critique. A rose by any other name, et cetera. Typically in a manuscript evaluation, an editor will offer to read your manuscript and tell you what's working and what to focus on next to make it even better. It sounds like the dream, right. Someone who will read the book you've spent months and months writing. Tell you what they think of it and give you a to do list. And manuscript evaluations sell like hotcakes because what they're offering is exactly what writers want. Or at least. It's what writers think they want. But when you don't know what you really need, you risk wasting hundreds or thousands of dollars. On a service that leaves you disappointed, stuck in the same spot, or even feeling false confidence that your story's problems have all been solved when they're not. What if you don't need someone else's to do list for your story. What, if you have access to all the evaluation you need right now. Without paying a single cent. And if you don't need someone else's to do list. What do you need instead? Let's talk about manuscript evaluations. What they are when they work, why they go wrong? And the rare occasion when I will agree to do one. Welcome to your next draft. Before we jump into all my thoughts on manuscript evaluations, and I have a lot. I have a quick favor task. Would you mind sharing this episode with a writer friend? One of the best ways for people to discover podcasts is through word of mouth. In fact, that's one of the best ways for people to discover any content, really, Including someday. Your book. So if you're enjoying what you hear on your next draft and you have writer, friends that you think would enjoy it too. I'd really appreciate it. If you sent them the link. This episode in particular is a great one to share, especially with new writers writers, who've just finished their first drafts and writers who are stepping into the world of working with an editor for the first time. We're going to talk about one of the most common editing services out there. And my goal is to prepare you so that you know what you're getting into, what you need. And what to expect. You can share the link, alicesudlow.com/ 77, or share the episode from your favorite podcast app. Thank you so much. I am honored to be a source of editing guidance. You trust. And every share is a really big deal. Thank you. Now let's get into the episode. All right. I've got to start this off by saying I have some pretty strong opinions about manuscripts evaluations. Manuscript evaluations were the primary service that I offered as an editor for six years. And in that time I learned a lot about the role. These evils can play in a writer's process and an editor's packages And the significant gaps that they can't fill. So I admit. I'm coming to this topic with a lot of bias, but my bias is not ungrounded. It's based on my years of actually doing manuscript evaluations by several different names and in several different forms and continually coming up against the same fundamental limitations in every form they took. And manuscript evaluations can take a lot of names and a lot of forms because the other thing you need to know going into this is that there is no standardization or regulation in the author services industry. No outside body is assessing editors to ensure that we are all offering services that meet any objective standards. On the bright side, that means that editors like me have total freedom to craft offers that best serve our writers and ourselves. On the dark side, that means that anyone can put up their shingle as an editor, regardless of the quality of the service they're offering, which puts the burden on you, the writer to determine whether you're getting the kinds of quality support you need and deserve. And that's why it's important to me to share with you what I know of manuscript evaluations. Because if it's your responsibility to vet the professionals you're working with and the services they offer you. You need to know what you can reasonably expect from those professionals and services. If you go peruse editors websites, which may or may not be a little hobby of mine. you're going to see manuscript evaluations on offer. I want you to know what those words mean when you see them, what you're likely to get when you purchase one And when an evil is the service you need. A little spoiler alert. I no longer offer manuscript evaluations, at least not as the first service that I do with a writer. There is a time and a place for manuscript evaluations and some editors genuinely love doing them, but for me, they are never the right place to start. This is the positive side of no regulations. Where I don't think manuscript evaluations are useful. I don't have to offer them. I can design the exact path that does work best for my writers. And there is no governing body to require anything less of me. But before we get into why I don't offer manuscript evaluations or the rare reasons that I'll make an exception. Let me lay some slightly more objective foundations. So we're all on the same page. Consider this your manuscripts, evil primer. Starting with. What is a manuscript evaluation? A manuscript evaluation. Is a service in which a developmental editor. We'll read your manuscript. Evaluate big picture elements, like story structure, plot, theme, and character arcs. And give you high level feedback on what's working. What's not, and what to focus on next in your editing process. You might see it called a manuscript assessment Or a manuscript critique or manuscripts diagnostic. These are all names for the same kind of package. What does a manuscript evaluation typically include? The specific deliverables included in a manuscript evaluation will vary depending on the editor. Remember no standardization, no regulation. Every editor determines for themselves what they will offer in a manuscript evaluation. That said there are some elements that you'll typically see most editors offer. First, the editor will read your entire manuscript. They won't just read a synopsis or skim a few pages. They'll read the whole thing, whether it's 50,000 words or 250,000 words. Next, the editor will evaluate what's working and what's not. They'll focus on story development, concerns, the plot that pacing, the character arcs the point of view, the theme. if those things are all generally working, some editors may consider the writing style as well, but I've never encountered a manuscript evaluation where all of the big picture stories, development areas were firing on all cylinders and didn't need any additional Polish. Once the editor determines what the manuscripts needs. They'll write an editorial letter. In this letter, they'll share their feedback, the things that work, the areas where the story still has weak spots and a handful of prioritized next steps for the writer to focus on. The length of this letter varies by editor. A really short one might be just a couple of pages. A really long one might be 20 pages or more, but a comfortable range is somewhere between five and 10 pages. The editor may also leave inline comments on the manuscript. Some editors leave detailed comments on the first chapter or two. Other editors leave scattered comments throughout the manuscript and other editors don't offer in-line comments. Regardless of the approach, the comments are generally designed to illustrate the feedback They've outlined in the editorial letter, which is where the bulk of the feedback comes. Finally, the editor may offer a call to discuss what they found in their evaluation. They might send you the editorial letter and inline comments first, and then follow up with a call to answer any questions you have about their feedback. Or they might have the call first, then adjust their feedback in the editorial letter based on your discussion. Or they might not offer a call, but email support. Instead, Some editors prefer to stick with written communication. All that is the scope of a typical manuscript evaluation. To recap, generally, the editor will read the entire manuscript. Evaluate what's working and what's not in the big picture story development. Prepare an editorial letter. Right. A small number of inline comments on the manuscript. And discuss their feedback with you on a call or over email. As you can probably imagine that's a pretty big investment of time and energy for the editor. Just reading the manuscripts takes several hours and then figuring out what feedback to give and how to communicate it to the writer. Is a hefty project. I say that to contextualize the next question. What does a manuscript evaluation cost? Again, There are no standards here. So the prices you'll see on different editors, websites will vary widely. That said trustworthy editors are likely to charge upwards of a thousand dollars or more for a manuscript evaluation. They may charge$1,200,$1,500 or more. I've seen some editors offer prices much lower than this, too, But be aware of prices that seem far below this range. Keep in mind that you're purchasing 10 to 20 hours of a skilled professionals, time and expertise. And for an editor to truly give you their best feedback, they'll have the charge for it. And I know this is my constant drum beat, but I'll say it again. This is an industry with no regulations and things that seem too good to be true often are. Personally, I would be wary of any manuscript evaluation that costs less than a thousand dollars. All right. That's our basic primer on manuscript evaluations. Now we're all on the same page and you know, what kind of service that I'm talking about? So let's dig deeper. Let's get into all that juicy bias. I promised right at the top, Let's look at the role manuscript evaluations typically play in a writers and editors process and the role that I think they should play. In order to do that, we have to go back. Where did manuscript evaluations come from anyway? Why are they a thing? Disclaimer here. I am not a publishing historian. I'm going to make some claims and educated guesses here. And I don't have sources to point you to, to confirm them, but this is how I believe we got here. And I think it's a pretty reasonable explanation. Back in the days when traditional publishing was the only kind of publishing. Or at least when self publishing was way more difficult. The standard way a writer would work with an editor was by putting a paper copy of their manuscript in a great big envelope, shipping it off to the editor and waiting. The editor. And I should specify here that when I say editor, I'm referring to the acquisitions editor at a traditional publishing house. The editor would read the pages, scribble in the margins and write up a letter, then they'd ship the whole package back. That was the bulk of the feedback the writer would get from the editor. There might be conversations to. Uh, phone calls on a landline or in-person meetings. If you were in New York city. New York city specifically because that's long been the hub of us book publishing. But the primary way editors delivered their critique was by mailing the manuscripts back with an editorial letter. Personally. I'm inclined to believe that the constraints of technology played a big part in the evolution of that method of feedback. Hemingway couldn't email his manuscripts to Maxwell Perkins. They couldn't text each other ideas or hop on a quick zoom call to hash things out. So they shipped the manuscript back and forth and waited for the mail to deliver a letter. Technologically. We are well beyond that now. But the traditional publishing industry is not known for rapid change. And the editorial letter is still a staple of the way that acquisitions editors and publishing houses deliver their feedback. If you want an example of that, you can go to the show notes And I've linked a video of John Green discussing his editorial letter on the fault in our stars from his editor, Julie Strauss cable. And yes. Manuscript assessments are a service offered by independent developmental editors, not traditional publishing houses, But independent editing evolved alongside and continues to be heavily influenced by the traditional model. Some independent editors began their careers in the traditional world as acquisitions, editors, or agents before leaving to start their own businesses. Other editors started Indy, but model their services off of the common packages they see in the field. And every avenue I know of for education and training as an editor is either directly based on traditional publishing. Or it's led by someone who spent a lot of time in the traditional world before breaking off to build something new. And even when people build something new, if they came from traditional publishing, they are still influenced by the structures they learned in the trad world. And so we have the manuscript evaluation. Uh, package by indie editors for authors before they get traditional deals or who may not even want traditional deals. A package that is yet modeled off of a traditional structure Designed within the technological constraints from a hundred years ago. What I am saying. Is this. The manuscript evaluation is not designed by today's editors for today's writers, leveraging today's technology. It has worked fine enough for decades. But we can do better. And so we come to my beef with manuscript evaluations, my bone to pick. Why don't I offer manuscript evaluations. Like I said at the start, I did offer manuscript evaluations for the first six years that I worked as an editor. I think I called them manuscript assessments at first and then diagnostics and then evaluations. Every time the name changed the scope and deliverables of the service changed to. I would offer my feedback as a letter or a folder full of documents and spreadsheets. I'd offer a single one hour call to discuss my feedback Then one, two hour calls, then two, two hour calls, then two calls that were meant to be two hours, but stretched way longer. When I struck out on my own in 2022, I realized that the price I charged had to be enough to cover the work I was doing. So then the price began to balloon as well. That thousand dollars surface became$1,200, then 1500, then 2000, then 2,500. And it still wasn't working. No matter how many iterations I tried, the manuscripts evaluation was still not serving my writers or to be honest me. It was no longer an entry level price for an entry level service. At$2,500, it was a serious investment. And for that$2,500, the writer got a lot. I was pouring my heart and soul into these evils, reading the manuscript closely. So I wouldn't miss any crucial detail. Then spending hours, crafting extensive reports on what I found and then brainstorming with the writer on long rambling calls to try our best to workshop our way to solutions. And when our eval engagement ended and I finally sent them away with an amount of feedback that was honestly overwhelming. I would still feel like my work was inadequate because I knew how much farther the writer had to go. Now, my writer's never told me that my work was inadequate. They walked away really happy thanking me for all our breakthroughs and insights, feeling clear and confident now that they had ideas to explore. But honestly, that just made the tension. I was feeling worse. Because as they smiled and told me how excited they were to go work on their stories, all I could see were the structural gaps that were still there, the problems that we still hadn't solved. We'd scratched the surface. Yes. In four hours of calls, we'd gathered some good ideas to explore and some potential direction the writer might take. But we had not solved the problems. We only barely begun. And every time I cut a writer loose, I worried that they didn't have enough support to succeed. It felt like sending someone to go walk along, train tracks, believing the tracks were abandoned and completely safe. When I knew there was a train coming along just a few minutes away. I worried that the writer would try to develop the ideas. We came up with, run into a wall and get stuck again in the exact same spot. Or that they'd make a few minor adjustments to the story. Think that they had fixed it. And mistakenly believe that they were ready for the next stage. Line editing or copy editing or worst of all, querying. I worried that they thought the manuscript evaluation ought to be the whole entire engagement with a developmental editor, not simply the first step Into more comprehensive collaboration. I knew that the manuscript evaluation might be the only opportunity that I would ever have to help the writer find solutions. I could see the problems we hadn't yet solved. And as hard as I tried, and as many times as I changed the scope, I could not make the container of a manuscript evaluation, large enough to fix those problems. Until one day. A writer came to me with a manuscript he'd set aside for a few years while he worked on other projects. Now he was coming back to it and he wanted to know if there was potential there. We'll call this writer, Henry. Henry asked me to read his manuscript and give him my impressions so he could decide whether the project was worth pursuing. I thought. Aha. He doesn't want my$2,500 manuscript evaluation where we'll dig in together to solve as many problems as we can. And two calls over four hours. He wants something smaller, just, just a read and a general review of the story's strengths and weaknesses. So I charged under a thousand dollars to keep the price low. I kept my deliverables extremely tight. I read the manuscript and we got on a one hour call. Nothing more. No written feedback, no folder full of documents and notes, no series of brainstorming sessions where we'd workshop the problems together. Just to read a call and my recap of the problems in the story. I read the manuscript. I found the problems we got on the call. I told them what they were. And under 45 minutes, we'd covered everything I planned to discuss. I said, so there you go. That's what I've got for you. Anything else you wanted to cover? And I watched the light fade. From Henry's eyes. I was worried about these issues when I brought you the manuscript, the things I was thinking are exactly what you found. So I guess they really are the main issues. He said tentatively. I was hoping you'd help me solve some of those problems. I was floored. I thought I had finally delivered what a writer had asked for had finally slimmed the package down into a budget friendly under a thousand dollars scope. Had gotten the sign off from the writer right at the start that yes, that's what he wanted and then restrained myself to stay within that scope rather than letting it creep way beyond what that container could reasonably deliver. I thought I'd given the writer the most valuable insight I could within the size of the package. We agreed on. And yet. Right in front of me on zoom. I could see Henry swimming and disappointment. I scrambled to help him to get in the direction he needed in the few remaining minutes. We'd allotted for this engagements. I haven't prepared any solutions to pitch him, but we spent the next half hour workshopping ideas. He might try. Still. When he left, I knew I'd missed the mark. Henry's edit was a turning point for me. It's sent me back to the drawing board to rethink everything about the way I engage with writers at this stage of story development. Here is what I found. First the actual purpose of an actual manuscript evaluation. Is simply to identify what type of editing the manuscript needs next. In other words to tell writers what the problems are that they should focus on next. My$2,500 and ballooning out of control manuscript evaluation. Wasn't a manuscript evaluation at all. I had left the purpose of that package far behind if I'd ever fully grasped it. Henry service, where I simply read the manuscript, identified the problems and reported them to the writer was actually what a manuscript evaluation is designed to be. I mean, think about the words, evaluation, diagnostic assessment. All those words mean to observe what is. Uh, doctor's diagnosis does not heal your illness. It merely tells you what illness you have. The container of a manuscript evaluation was never designed to hold solutions. It was actually designed to identify problems. Which means that technically I didn't do anything wrong in the report I delivered to Henry that report was in fact exactly what a manuscript evaluation was meant to be. And that brings me to the second thing I found. Writers do not need me to tell them what their manuscripts problems are. Before I do any work with any writer, I get on a call with them to talk about their book and what it will look like for us to work together. And one of the most important questions I ask is what challenges are you facing in your writing right now? What problems do you see in your manuscript that you would like feedback on? Take a moment right now to think about that question. What problems do you see in your manuscript? I'm willing to bet quite a lot that you just made a list. And I'm willing to that just as much. But you are right. Your instincts are good. You know, where your manuscript is working and where it's not like Henry, you don't need me or anyone to tell you what the problems are. You already see them? What you need. Our solutions. If you knew how to solve those problems, you already would have like Henry you're stuck. Not because you don't know what the problems are. But because you don't know how to solve them. When you already know what the problems are, you don't need to pay someone to tell you. And when you need someone to help you find solutions, it is unfair to both of us to try to fit that into the container of a manuscript evaluation that was never designed to hold it. Finding solutions needs a container. That's completely different. And so armed with these realizations. I built something completely different. I built story clarity. Where you and I walk in the door, assuming we both already know what the problems are. And our only goal is to find solutions. and because finding developmental level solutions for a novel is a Herculean task. This container is big and spacious. Four calls over eight weeks. And with the knowledge that if you need more support after that, I've got a path for that too. We don't waste our time or your money on a manuscript evaluation that will only tell us what we already know. We jumped straight into the real work. The story development you actually need. Zero regulations. Remember, this is the beauty of working in an unregulated industry. I can take all my years of experience struggling to make an archaic structure work. Toss the whole idea of manuscript evaluations right out the window and build something new from scratch. Based on what I've learned actually works for you and me both. Now I know, I literally just said I've thrown manuscript evaluations out the window. I know I've been ragging on them for probably 20 minutes or more But I do believe that there are a couple of contexts in which manuscript evaluations are useful. In fact when they're exactly what you need. Here's the first one. And manuscript evaluation is useful. When you believe that you are done with a specific stage in your editing process. Do you think that you've completed all the developmental editing that your story will need? And you're ready to move on to line editing, copy editing or querying. Get a manuscript evaluation here, and an editor will confirm that you're ready to move forward or point out lingering developmental issues, still worth addressing. Or have you gone through story clarity with me taking the outline we built together and used it to revise your manuscript. At this point, I will happily do a manuscript evaluation. And I'll be watching specifically to see whether our hypothesis worked and you're ready for the next stage of story refinements or whether there are any gaps that we can still address with more big picture story development. In short manuscript evaluations are excellent tools to help you determine whether your done. That you're simply not in necessary place to start. At that stage, they'll just tell you things you already know, and you'll pay a lot of money to hear them. The other context in which you might benefit from an eval, is this. And manuscript evaluation can be useful when you're vetting an editor to determine whether they're the right collaborator for you and your book. This is a benefit that I haven't mentioned yet, but it's really important to consider. Uh, manuscript evaluation is a finite service with a small scope compared to larger story development work. That gives both you and your editor, a relatively low stakes chance to test the waters and see what it's like to work together. Your editor will get a feel for your story, your writing, and the way you engage with feedback. You'll get a feel for the editors, working style, their method and tone when delivering feedback and the type of feedback they give. If you're considering an editor, but you're not sure whether they're the right fit for you. You can start off with a manuscript evaluation to get a taste before you commit to larger services. Just. Be aware that that's what you're doing. And don't be disappointed when the container of a manuscript evaluation can't hold all the solutions that both you and the editor wish you could find together. Make sure you understand where the manuscript evaluation falls in the editor's ecosystem of services and ask them what kind of support they might recommend once it's complete. If you and the editor vibe, well, consider it the beginning of a longer engagement where you'll do the real work together, not the end of your collaboration. I want to end by acknowledging what's at the root of the appeal of manuscript evaluations. You made a thing. And it was big and difficult and it took a really long time. And you want more than anything to hand it to someone else and hear them tell you it's good. Like a student handing a major project to a teacher Or a kid Handing their latest crayon drawing to their mom. I usually send analogies not to put you down for having this impulse. Not at all. Quite the opposite. In fact, I use them to illustrate that this is a freely normal human impulse that we experience throughout our entire lives. You made something. You walked into the void of nothing. Toiled alone there for months or years. And the merged With your own unique and original creation. That is amazing. If your first impulse is to go to Google search editor and pull out your credit card to buy the most affordable manuscript evaluation you can find. I get it. But let me save you that time and money right now. If you have just finished your first draft, here's my evaluation of your manuscript. You heard it right here from a professional editor. Is your work good. Abso-freaking-lutely you have accomplished something amazing, something so many people want to do. And so few actually do. This story is worth telling because you see value in telling it. And I fully believe in your capacity to tell it well, Does the manuscript have problems that need work? Yes. At this stage, they are story development problems, plot character arc, point of view, timeline theme. What are the specific problems? The specific problems in your manuscripts Are the problems you think are there? Your instincts are telling you. And your instincts are right. What do you need next? What you need next, our story development solutions. They're easier to find with help, like working with me and my story, clarity service, or finding a critique partner to workshop your story with you. But you can make a lot of progress on your own too, by reading craft books and using what you find to guide your revision process. And there you go. That's it. That's your manuscript evaluation. Congratulations. It's free. Now if you are well beyond your first draft, you've edited your story thoroughly and you know that you're ready to move forward into late stage editing. Then that manuscript evaluation I just shared is not for you. By all means. Go ahead and purchase a manuscript evaluation from an editor whose feedback you trust. Don't just go looking for the cheapest one. Look for the editor whose feedback you want. They can help you see if there are any blind spots that you've missed or send you happily into late stage editing. But when you know that there's more work to be done. You don't need to pay someone else to tell you there's more work to be done. You need to do the work. And if doing the work alone is confusing or overwhelming. Or you just like the support of a storytelling professional to help you find the right solutions for your story. Then invite a developmental editor in Just make sure that the service you choose is one that's designed to hold the pursuit of solutions. After all, you don't need someone else's to do list. You need the right creative partner to support you as you work through your to-do list. You've got this. You've got a story worth telling, and I trust that you know, what it needs in order to tell it well, I invite you to trust yourself to. Until next time. Happy editing.