Novel Critique Service

Book / Novel Critique Services FAQ

This service allows you to have your writing proofread and critiqued / assessed by highly experienced authors and editors. You’ll receive detailed comments based on their real life experiences. By receiving constructive criticism you’ll be able to improve your manuscript.

Here are some frequently asked questions.

Do you share my personal information with anyone else?

No.

Never.

We will never give any of your personal information or writing to anyone. Anything you send us is treated with the utmost confidence. Your privacy is respected at all times.

If you want any further information, please review this website's privacy policy.

How long will it take to receive my critique?

We aim to proofread your book / novel manuscript and return your critique within 8 weeks.

Often, the turnaround time will be quicker than this. We will try and give you a more accurate idea of timings when replying to your initial email.

Please can you give me some more details on what I can expect from this service?

Yes! You will receive a detailed critique containing comments, edits and suggested improvements for your consideration. These are all provided in a Microsoft Word document.

The edits will be suggestions regarding fixing typos, spelling mistakes, incorrect wording, grammar and sentence structure.

We sometimes use Word's comment boxes to make annotations regarding certain sentences, paragraphs and sections within the manuscript. The sentences / paragraphs will be highlighted and the comments will appear in a box attached to the highlighted area. This makes it very easy for you to see what the comments pertain to and review them. Once you’ve finished considering a comment you can simply delete it.

Critique

In addition to the above, we will summarise our thoughts on your manuscript, pointing out strengths and weaknesses. All of this will be delivered in an honest but positive manner. We strive to encourage writers, not offend them with unnecessary negativity. We appreciate that some writers using this service will be beginners and always keep this in mind when providing comments.

Don’t Be Afraid!

We understand a lot of new writers can be nervous about engaging with this type of service, as they don’t want someone they don’t know telling them their writing is bad. The team always try to keep all criticism constructive, positive and encouraging.

Everyone has different styles and levels of knowledge regarding writing. We will simply point out areas for improvement. Once you’ve digested what we ’ve suggested, you will be able to improve your book / novel and give it a better chance of publication.

Part of any critique is personal opinion. You may not agree with everything we say. Good! We don’t expect you to. But you will have considered an outside opinion, which can only help your writing progress.

Why do you sometimes recommend the novel opening critique instead of a full manuscript assessment?

We often find that new writers come to us with the first draft of a book or novel. Sometimes friends and family may have reviewed their manuscript but usually they will not have received any professional feedback.

In these cases, we sometimes find fundamental issues with the structure of the books we critique. These problems can be identified by reviewing the opening section of a book, along with a synopsis.

Therefore, we recommend this service because it is more affordable and, if there are fundamental issues with the manuscript, it offers better value for money. It also allows the author to see if the style of critique we provide suits their needs before they invest more money in a full manuscript assessment.

This is why Chris offers a free consultation to assess each project prior to agreeing to provide a full book critique. We simply try and offer the best service possible to each client's individual needs.

What is the difference between your critique service and your editing service?

A critique is a big picture analysis, so it should be conducted before a comprehensive edit. Our service gives a broad assessment of your manuscript. You receive advice on how to develop a stronger narrative, better pacing, more engaging characters etc.

Our editing services are a thorough, line by line edit of your manuscript. We take an in-depth and comprehensive approach to tackle any grammatical problems in preparation for publication. You can learn more about our editing services here.

What don’t you do?

While we will suggest edits, we are unlikely to pick up every typo in your work. We recommend using spellcheckers and diligent proofreading.

We will not rewrite your story / manuscript for you. The suggestions we make are for you to consider and then use to revise and improve your writing yourself.

Why do you offer a book / novel critique service?

When Chris launched his website in 2011, he started to receive regular requests to proofread short stories and give his opinion on how to improve them and make them more publishable.

Due to the frequency of the requests, he decided to start offering writing services. Over time, the team has grown and Chris has been able to offer a wider variety of writing services. This book / novel assessment service is one of them.

Why do you use PayPal / Stripe to receive payments?

PayPal and Stripe are both world leading payment service providers. They offer a secure service, ensuring that monetary transactions are quick, easy and safe.

PayPal allows you to set up an account and pay via your bank in any currency, or you can simply pay by debit or credit card without setting up an account. Stripe offers multiple payment options. Whichever payment method you prefer, you can be confident that your personal information is safe.

Setting up secure payments within this website would be very costly and is not something we're currently able to do. PayPal and Stripe are trusted and widely used. For more details, check out the PayPal website and the Stripe website.

While PayPal and Stripe are available in most world territories, there are some countries that they do not operate in. And some of our clients prefer to pay direct via their bank. Therefore, we also accept payments via bank transfer and cheque. Please contact Chris for more details.

Why should I use your service?

The book / novel critique service team are all highly experienced writers. They've all written extensively in their field of expertise and have had their work published widely.

We know, this doesn’t mean we can guarantee that you’ll be published, but it does mean that we can offer you advice based on real-life experience and help give you the best chance of achieving publication.