Now Offering (Cautiously, Experimentally):   Manuscript Evaluation

Malcolm Gladwell, New York Times best-selling author of The Outliers, writes that "10,000 hours is the magic number for true expertise."  After twenty-some years of teaching fiction writing, and reading hundreds of novel manuscripts and a thousand short stories (a guess), I have my hours in and then some.

If you don't, and if you're trying to write, there are ways to shorten that 10,000 hour number–though not by a lot.  You still need to put in the time.  Lots of it.  But a good editor can help you penetrate to the heart of why your story or novel is "close" but still not "there."  An editor's job is to find that key technique, that missing component to a piece of fiction–and recommend strategies for revision at both the structural and stylistic level.  A really good editor creates doorways in the corners you've backed yourself into.

 Since I left the classroom, my "On Writing Blog"has been my body-double in the writer's workshop, the advanced fiction seminar, the lecture on the publishing world as it is right now.  In the blog I've tried to give away everything I've learned about writing and publishing, including  literary agents, fiction technique, dealing with editors,adult versus young adult fiction, writing the memoir, etc. There's enough in there for a short (and free!) book on writing.

However, if you have a novel or short story collection and are looking for more pointed help, I'm now offering manuscript evaluation on very limited basis.  I will take on the occasional novel-in-progress (you must have a full draft) if it meets certain writing standards.   I can't do true beginner's fiction–that is, you are a person who, because you speak English and suddenly have a grand idea for a plot, think you can write a novel; this sounds harsh but needs to be said.  Margaret Atwood has joked about the same issue: 

 A surgeon, trying to be cheerful to his patient, asks if she's "still writing."

"Why yes, I am," shesays.

"When I retire, I thinkI'll write a novel," the doctor says.

"When I retire, I'm going to be brain surgeon," the woman replies.

Writing is a process, not an impulse or a miracle.  Very few people–even if youngish and healthy–suddenly decide to be a major league pitcher.  We know in our bones that it take years of practice to be competitive (here we're back to Gladwell again). 

On the other hand, writing is a life sport, and we have to start somewhere.  Ideally you have already started, and have put in some serious time on a serious literary project.  You have a full draft, but it needs . .. "something."  That something probably is the clear, objective eye of a professional editor.

 The Editorial Process: 

1.  You submit a couple of chapters (maximum of thirty double-spaced pages).  I read your submission and decide whether we'd be a  good match; you have my writing blog and my published fiction to consider when deciding the same.  Important note:  If my fiction is "not your type," then I probably wouldn't be the right editor for you, either.  Please note that I don't write, or read much fantasy and so would not be the best editor in that genre.

 2.  I'll try to read your submission sample on the spot.  If it's a "go"–if I agree to evaluate your manuscript–I'll let you know immediately.  I'll also give you the turn-around time, which should be a month or less.

 3. My Fee:

$500 for a manuscript of up to 50,000 words

$750 for a manuscript of up to 75,000 words

$1000 for a manuscript of up to 100,000 words

 4.  "So,what do I get for my money, Mister?"

• a close, thoughtful reading of your manuscript with an eye toward its publication;

 • an editorial letter, 2-3 pages long, single-spaced, of the kind you'd get from a New York editor: what works, what doesn't, and strategies for revision "before we can consider your work for publication," as they say;

 • up to twenty pages of line editing; that is, an illustrated sample of how your sentences might (okay, should) read in terms of amplifying their effect.  The goal here is to show you the techniques of fictional style (which I also cover in my"On Writing" blog).

 5. The Paperless Trail, or "How We Do This":

 •  you send a sample chapter (as above);

 •  if I reply"Yes," you send me your full manuscript via email attachment. Manuscript should be generally in Modern Language Association (MLA) and Microsoft Word format, that is, double-spaced pages with appropriate pagination. Use a basic font such as Helvetica or New York Times.  I'd prefer that your novel be one long file (though with your chapter delineations inside it, of course).  Don't fret over making sure each new chapter starts at the top of the page; it's your prose I'm interested in, not the secretarial end, though I'll comment on that too if it's way out of whack.  (While screenplay formatting separates insiders from newbies, the publishing world is a bit more forgiving);

 • you send, by regular mail, a personal or cashier's check for 2/3 of my fee (I try to avoid Paypal and the like);

 • When I get your check, I set to work.  When I finish, I return your manuscript via email file with the sample of close line editing and summary comments on your writing style. The line editing will be done electronically via MicrosoftWord, under Tools/Track Changes; it's the standard in publishing nowadays. You send the final payment.  When I receive it, I send your editorial letter.

 • Depending upon my schedule, I might be available for additional line editing at $3.00 per page.  But that gets expensive for you, and the purpose of my line editing sample is that, after reading, you can see what your prose needs and fix it  yourself.  Note that line editing is not copyediting (final proofreading).

 To be totally frank, I might not offer manuscript evaluation except that my former literary agency, which had served me well for twenty years, went rogue and stole a lot of money from me.  I have advice on how to avoid that, too.

p.s.  There's nice blurb in my blog comment section from an aspiring writer whom I worked with recently.