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Is your manuscript ready for the market?
Whether you're stuck mid-draft, unsure how to position your work, want a full novel review, or have been unsuccessful in your agent submissions, we can help.
At BPA, we specialise in working with new and emerging writers who want to make their manuscripts stand out in today’s crowded publishing space. Our experienced editors are ready to assess your work, identifying structural, craft and line-level issues, offering solutions, and giving you industry-focused advice tailored to your genre and market.
We will help you turn a promising draft into a polished, submission-ready manuscript that has real commercial and artistic potential – and a better chance of catching an agent’s eye!
Manuscript Assessment
Full Manuscript Assessments: Our Editorial Reports
A report of minimum seven pages giving an appraisal of your full fiction or non-fiction manuscript. The report will give feedback on overarching plot and structural issues, as well as the use of craft techniques, including characterisation, narrative distance, narrative drive, PoV, dialogue, exposition, and writing style. The editor will also comment on layout and recurring copy-edit issues, as well as advice on how to submit your manuscript within the current market.
You can send a short number of follow-up questions.
A report of minimum seven pages giving an appraisal of your full fiction or non-fiction manuscript. The report will give feedback on overarching plot and structural issues, as well as the use of craft techniques, including characterisation, narrative distance, narrative drive, PoV, dialogue, exposition, and writing style. The editor will also comment on layout and recurring copy-edit issues, as well as advice on how to submit your manuscript within the current market.
A mark-up of the manuscript, including line edits and track changes.
You can send a short number of follow-up questions.
Go to editorial reports.
A report of minimum seven pages giving an appraisal of your full fiction or non-fiction manuscript. The report will give feedback on overarching plot and structural issues, as well as the use of craft techniques, including characterisation, narrative distance, narrative drive, PoV, dialogue, exposition, and writing style. The editor will also comment on layout and recurring copy-edit issues, as well as advice on how to submit your manuscript within the current market.
A mark-up of the manuscript, including line edits and track changes.
A 30-minute online call with the editor to ask your questions directly about the feedback and the changes you would like to implement.
The mentoring programme is bespoke and structured according to each writer’s needs. There is no time limit.
It includes a first round of edits, follow by a call to discuss the changes. The author then reworks the section (generally 5 to 10K) before sending it to the editor for a second round of edits.
When all these phases are finished, the “month” (which can be as long or short as you need and doesn’t have to be four weeks) of mentoring is complete, and the author and editor can move on to the next “month” or section.
You can opt out of the programme whenever you want.
Your submission package is what you send out to literary agents – your cover/query letter (now most likely in the form of an email), your synopsis and your opening 15,000 words (sometimes less). Each element needs to work hard on its own to convince the agent.
From your first line to your first chapters, the opening to your novel needs to be tight, compelling, and impossible for the agent to put down. An editor will help you craft those pages to their full potential, and will often identify recurring issues that you can use to strengthen the manuscript as a whole.
Cover letters and synopses have to adhere to quite a strict format, and our reports will ensure yours are polished, professional, and tailored to industry expectations.
The Short Report, or First Three Chapters Review, focuses on the opening 10,000 words of your novel or work-in-progress. It is intended for authors requiring advice on how their novel is taking shape and can be useful if you want advice early on in the writing process – though if you are on a limited budget, it can help identify recurring patterns that you can use to strengthen the manuscript as a whole.
It included a 30-minute online call with the editor.
We have a script editor for film and television who is available to edit treatments as well as scripts.
A copy edit will focus on spelling, grammar, syntax, punctuation, layout, consistency and continuity in writing style. The editor will go through the document in detail and mark-up the manuscript. This stage of editing is the final stage, after the structural edit and once you are completely happy with the manuscript.
Each of these services can be tailored to your specific needs. Congratulations on taking that first time: By refining your manuscript and submission package before you approach literary agents, you maximise your chances of standing out, securing representation, and ultimately signing a book deal. Whether you are writing fiction, or non-fiction, expert editorial guidance can be the difference between another rejection and a full manuscript request.
Some questions you have about Manuscript Assessments?
Frequently asked questions
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