THE Group for Authors! discussion
Writer's Circle
>
Has anyone ever used Manuscript Evaluation
date
newest »

message 1:
by
Naghilia
(new)
Feb 13, 2014 12:06PM

reply
|
flag
*

I had professors, other writers valuate my first book, along with friends, and ended up winning a contest and was honored with my first publication.

I had my novel assessed. I wanted to know if I could write and if the story was interesting. Friends had read the MS and commented on various parts etc, but I wanted an outsider’s opinion and genuine feedback. Friends don't want to hurt your feelings. After I’d corrected / altered the MS from the assessor’s input I then sent the MS to an editor for her comments. I wanted input from both sexes outside of my circle of friends – BTW the assessor was a male. After 35 knock backs from agents & publishers I self published in paperback format, and a few months later as an e-book.
About a year later the e-book was picked up by a UK publisher. In 2013 it was republished in hardback, with a different title and cover. The assessor’s comments and suggestions were very helpful during my ‘learning period’ for self publishing. The UK publisher sent the book to be edited once again, but I am pleased to say that the few changes (about six or seven) were minor, so the assessor & editor that I used, were correct in their feedback & suggestions.

Thanks for your advice.


This step is invaluable. You need editorial feedback to make sure your book is in good shape. The editors I hired (one with 35 years of experience) really took me to task -- and I'm grateful. They are far more discerning than most readers.
Now, before self-publishing, I'm going to get reader feedback. I might make last-minute changes after their feedback. Once the editors pick apart your book, you'll want regular readers to tell you what they think (kind of a Sundance festival to test out the audience).
By the way, I spent a total of $2,000 on these editors. It was worth it.

I love a writer who knows the value of good editors!

The bigger problem I had was obtaining unbiased feedback prior to publishing, friends and family are great but in most cases they cannot separate you from the work. After publishing my book the next challenge was obtaining reviews. As a result of my experience I have created a free service called Bookvetter which can provide authors with feedback on books prior to publishing them. There are also published reviews in which the best books are then passed on to the book review blogger community for additional review and promotion. If you are interested please use the link below. Thanks
Marc
http://www.bookvetter.com/index.html


Thank you for the question, it clearly shows I need to work at better defining the service.
Bookvetter offers two types of reviews, draft and published. All reviews at this stage are provided by your anonymous author peers whose reading interests match the content of your book. You earn these reviews by providing reviews of other authors work. Because the reviews are anonymous there is no threat of review reprisals or the possibility of review trading, making an honest and independent review possible. As the content also matches the reviewers reading interest the review should reflect the reaction of a regular reader.
In the case of a published review the cumulative review score (six reviews) will determine whether or not the book is passed on (with the authors permission of course) to the book review blogger community. The reality is that reviewers are the scarce resource today as there are far more books and authors. Only those books that the author community feels are exceptional are passed on, Vetted Books. The reviews for Vetted Books are made public while the other reviews remain private and can be used by authors to improve their work.
So you are correct, you understand what Bookvetter does. I just need to work at making the process more apparent. Thanks for the question, if you have anymore let me know.
Marc

So, I hired three editors in succession. The first two did complete manuscript reviews. One charged $850, and the other $650 for my 120,000-word draft. (These are great prices, by the way. The editors' names are Marcia Trahan and Margaret Diehl). They read the entire manuscript, gave me a few-page review plus notes that they put in the manuscript itself. Extremely helpful. Finally, after slashing my manuscript by about 150 pages and editing the sh*t out of it, I got a copy editor to go through the entire revised draft. He charged $500 for the copy edit (punctuation, usage, syntax, all that good stuff). Seriously worth every penny.



Marcy: I used Elance a lot and sometimes I might now hiring someone because you reply to late or you're reply do not match my requirement.
I think Elance and Odesk are great place to build your clientele. You just need to be accurate, on time and pay good attention to your client requirement.

How did you do THAT?"
There are various book review websites where an author can have her book reviewed before it goes to print. It's a good way to test the market and get legitimate reviews that can be added to the book insert or jacket.ReadersFavorite.com comes to mind.
