Picture-Book Manuscript Assessment Information Pack
Picture-book manuscript assessment with Margrete Lamond
Hello, and thank you for your interest in my Picture-book Manuscript Assessment.
This Information Pack covers everything you need to know about preparing and submitting your manuscript, as well as what your review will and will not include.
Why get a manuscript assessment?
Many publishers no longer accept unsolicited manuscripts. This means that those who are open for submission receive thousands of them.
To stand out from the mountain of other stories coming across a commissioning editor’s desk, your story needs to be, yes, outstanding from top to bottom.
Not only must the spelling be perfect, the grammar and syntax correct, the imagery original, the characters believable, the dialogue relevant and the plot engaging, but your story logic and theme, too, must be rock solid.
If your story logic has a flaw, the rest of the story will not work … and it is cracks in story logic that are the hardest to detect when you yourself are the author.
A manuscript assessment is a fresh eye that can pick out blips and bumps that you, the author, may have overlooked.
How does a manuscript assessment work?
A manuscript assessment is an all-inclusive, deep-dive analysis of your story.
All stories are different, and each author’s approach will put a different emphasis on different elements of narrative, so I base my assessment on the following key elements that underlie all storytelling:
Theme - to assess whether the underlying ‘meaning’ of your story can be captured in a simple sentence, and whether the story is a concrete expression of this theme
Story logic - to assess if the reason for telling the story is reflected in the action
Plot - to check that narrative arc, pacing, beginning, turning points, ending
Mood - to assess the emotional tone of the narrative
Voice - to consider the point of view from which the story is told
Style - to look at pattern, rhythm, sentence structures, and how these support the story
Character - to consider the number of characters, their actions and reactions, and their vividness as engaging individuals
Dialogue - to ensure dialogue is relevant to moving the story forward
Language - to consider your vocabulary choices and language level in relation to theme, intended age group, intended market
My picture-book manuscript assessments are personal and constructive. I allow myself time to think about your story on both conscious and subconscious levels, and then to write three to five pages of notes and annotate your manuscript.
I begin with a deep-dive analysis into theme and story-logic because this is the sometimes hard-to-fathom abyss where problems often originate.
After reading your story through once or twice, I make my initial notes on the manuscript.
Having recorded my initial ‘surface’ thoughts, I put it aside for a week or two and let my subconscious take over: I glance at your story from time to time, think about it and make additional notes.
Then I write your assessment and ...
work separately on your manuscript with further editing suggestions and margin notes.
How do I submit my manuscript for assessment?
I can only accept digitally delivered manuscripts.
Please submit your manuscript as a Word document (so I can easily make annotations)
Please submit your story as a text that runs continuously without inserted page breaks
Avoid formatting or fancy heading styles etc
Please double-space your text
How long is a report, and how is it delivered?
The written report will vary from person to person but will cover up to four typed A4-pages, which I will email to you.
I will also provide notes and annotations on the manuscript itself, and will email this back to you at the same time as the written report
How long before I receive my assessment?
I know how ghastly it is to be left waiting and wondering after you have submitted work for review.
To minimise your agony as much as possible, I aim to have feedback returned within 6 - 8 weeks of submitting (ideally within 4 weeks).
However, due to the number of requests I receive, it can sometimes take a little longer.
When do we schedule the Zoom conversation?
When I send you your review, I also suggest a time for a follow-up conversation, usually within a few days of receiving the review (so you have time to absorb it ... at least a little).
What if I’m a complete beginner?
We are all beginners at some stage, and it can be a lonely experience to have a passion, but no community of like-minded people who can mentor and support us.
Everyone benefits from professional feedback, whatever stage they are at, and this includes you
I look forward to meeting you and seeing your work!
What if I want follow-up feedback?
It can feel disconcerting to diligently follow advice, but then be left wondering ‘Have I followed the advice in a way that works, or have I inadvertently wandered off down the wrong path?’.
My ‘Follow-up Feedback’ options offer a second short feedback in the form of a Zoom conversation (so much more constructive than just notes).
If you want more detailed follow-up, you will need to purchase a second Manuscript Assessment.
How much does a manuscript assessment cost?
Manuscript Assessment $297
Manuscript Assessment plus one Follow-up Feedback $397
Subsequent Follow-up Feedbacks $120
What a picture-book manuscript assessment does NOT cover
My manuscript assessments focus on making your picture-book text the best it can be. They do not include the following:
Personal recommendations to individual publishers, commissioning editors or editors
Contact details for individual publishers, editors or art directors
Contact details for authors, designers, agents or illustrators
Lists of publishing houses relevant to your style
Just keep in mind that publishers are always looking for fresh voices, whatever their books currently look like, so your best approach is to keep working on developing a unique narrative voice that tells a story that inspires a publisher to sign you up!
I look forward to helping you make your picture-book story the best it can be.
Margrete