Free manuscript review
Send us your manuscript. We will read it and tell you the truth.
A written assessment of where your book stands — structure, voice, category fit and what it needs next. No charge, no obligation, and no quote until we have actually read it.
What you get
A real read, not an automated report.
Your manuscript is read by an editor who works in your category. What comes back is written by a person, about your book specifically.
- Structural assessment. Whether the argument or the arc holds, where it sags, and what a reader is likely to feel at the point they put it down.
- Voice and line quality. How the prose reads, whether the voice is consistent, and how much line work it would take to get it where you want it.
- Category and reader fit. Which shelf this book belongs on, who it is for, and whether the manuscript is currently written for that reader.
- Readiness. A plain answer on whether the book is ready to move into production, and if not, what stands between it and that point.
- Recommended next steps. Which services the manuscript actually needs — including the ones we would tell you to skip.
Who this is for
- Authors with a finished draft deciding what to do next
- Authors mid-draft who want to know whether it is working
- Authors with an outline and sample chapters
- Picture-book authors with text and a spread plan
- Authors who have been quoted elsewhere and want a second opinion
- Authors returning to a manuscript they set aside
If none of these describe you, send it anyway and say so in the notes. We would rather read it than guess.
After you submit
What happens next
Confirmation
You get an email confirming the file arrived and who is reading it.
The read
An editor in your category reads the manuscript and writes the assessment.
Your report
The written review arrives, along with the services we would and would not recommend.
Your call
Talk it through with us, take it elsewhere, or go away and rewrite. All three are fine.
Submit your manuscript
Send it through
Everything marked with * is required. The rest helps us give you a more useful read.
Questions
About the review
Yes. You send the manuscript, we read it, and you get a written assessment back. There is no charge and no obligation to work with us afterwards. We do it because a quote given before reading a manuscript is a guess, and because authors deserve to know what state their book is in before they spend money on it.
Send it anyway. Partial manuscripts, rough drafts and detailed outlines are all useful. An assessment of an unfinished draft is often more valuable than one of a finished draft, because there is still time to act on it. Tell us in the form roughly how complete it is.
If that is the honest answer, yes. It is more useful to you than a polite one, and it costs you nothing to hear it now rather than after paying for a full edit. We will also say what would make it ready.
Yes. For picture books, send the text along with any notes on how you imagine the spreads working. If you have sample art or a rough dummy, include it — we can comment on the text and the visual plan together.
It goes to the review team and is used only to prepare your assessment. It is not shared outside that process, and it is not used to train anything. The full file handling and retention policy is being finalised with our legal advisers and will be published on the privacy policy page.
We aim to come back within a few working days, and longer manuscripts take longer to read properly. If your book is time-sensitive, say so in the form and we will tell you honestly whether we can meet your date.