Manuscript Evaluation
Clear editorial insight. Focused feedback. A roadmap for revision.
Strengthen Your Story, One Layer at a Time
You’ve completed your draft — that’s no small feat!
Now you’re ready for professional feedback to help bring out the best in your story. My Manuscript Evaluations are designed to guide you through the next phase of your revision process with a clear, empowering plan. Through my Stories in Layers approach, I focus on the foundations that make a story unforgettable: plot, structure, character arcs, worldbuilding, pacing, and emotional resonance.
If you’re ready to shape your story with clarity and confidence, you’re in the right place.
This service will include:
• A big-picture assessment of your manuscript’s strengths, challenges, and overall potential
• Focused in-line comments that highlight important patterns, clarify the reasoning behind my assessment, and point to specific examples from your manuscript.
• An editorial letter to help with your next round of revisions.
What You Get
Type of Feedback
You’ll receive professional insight into key elements of your story, including:
• A bird’s-eye assessment: What is this manuscript doing well? What is its strongest potential? Where is it currently losing impact?
• Major revision priorities: What are the most important issues to address before spending time on smaller revisions?
• Underlying patterns: Are several seemingly unrelated problems actually symptoms of one larger structural, character, pacing, or clarity issue?
• Actionable next steps: Once you’ve identified the problems, what should you tackle first — and what can wait?
• Focused manuscript comments: Specific examples from the manuscript that support the larger assessment.
Every note and suggestion is rooted in helping you build stronger layers within your story — enhancing depth without losing your voice.
Constant Contact & Support
Editing can feel intimidating — but you won’t be doing this alone.
• I will be available to you before, during, and after the edit to ensure 100% satisfaction.
• During typical business hours, I respond to emails within a few hours. Outside of business hours, I respond within 24 hours.
• I send out progress updates to clients every week to keep in touch & ensure comfort during the hard process of waiting for feedback.
Revision Resources, When Helpful
When your manuscript would benefit from additional guidance, I may include relevant resources or techniques to help you tackle a particular revision challenge.
Think of these as your “layer-building” toolkit for revisions!
Deliverables
• A copy of your document with marginal notes, questions, and suggestions
• A comprehensive editorial letter addressing your manuscript’s strengths, major revision priorities, and recommended next steps.
(Most full-length manuscript evaluations result in an editorial letter of approximately 8–15 pages, depending on the manuscript and scope.)
*Note: The editorial letter may be shorter for smaller manuscripts such as children’s books.
Manuscript Evaluation Pricing
| Manuscript Length | Price | Delivery Time |
| Short Manuscript (Up to 10,000 words) | $175 | 14 days |
| Mid-Length Manuscript (10,001-50,000 words) | $350 | 30 days |
| Full Manuscript (50,001-100,000 words) | $600 | 45 days |
| 100,000+ Words | Custom quote | Custom |
Hear From Past Clients
”
Tessy was amazing! Her critiques were knowledgeable and helpful. She dedicated a lot of time and thought into both her extensive reader report and her detailed in-line notes.
— Meghan Rhine
”
What great feedback from Tessy. She really seemed to connect with the work which made me feel so comfortable listening to her input. The suggestions she made were fantastic.
— Shane Ryan
”
Tessy did an absolutely amazing job with my book. I knew there were things wrong with it but didn’t know why or how to fix them. She answered both those questions for me.