Children's Book Manuscript Assessment
It's all about story and how it is communicated to your reader.
It all begins with story. Never more so than with books for children.
Children's Book Manuscript Assessment
A manuscript assessment for a children's book will usually take place during the first draft stage of your writing. Our children's editors will look at material in all age groups up to, and including, Young Adult. We provide you with an in-depth report along with an accompanying manuscript annotated with points and examples from the report.
Books for Young Adults will be assessed on the same concepts as adult manuscripts but will also take into account current trends in the market and age group suitability.
The manuscript assessment report will cover the following areas:
- Assessment of illustrations where relevant and suitability for that specific age group
- Content suitability for the reading abilities of that level - including characterisation
- Overall presentation of the book
- Credibility of the content in relation to the genre and age group
- Grammatical structure and suitability of language used
- The presentation of meaning and concepts
- Where relevant the editor will suggest further reading and illustration resources
Children's Picture Book Appraisal
Our children's picture book reports look at the concept of the picture book including story idea, theme, the message it is conveying and the treatment of the message. The editor will also look at the characters - their effectiveness and the ease with which a child will be able to relate to the characters. The report will also cover the plot and the narrative arc of the story as the characters progress through a physical and emotional journey and the potential obstacles they face. We will also look at writing style including the level of 'show don't tell' needed for books aimed at this age range, dialogue, rhyming texts, verses and stanzas and the length of the text.
Please note our fees for a picture book appraisal report are fixed at £220 for a picture book of up to 1,500 words. Please contact us for more information or to book this service.
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