It all begins with story. Never more so than with books for children.
A children’s manuscript assessment 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, but not including Young Adult. Young adult novels fall under the general manuscript appraisal service. We provide you with an in-depth report along with an accompanying manuscript annotated with points and examples from the report.
Fill out the form to find out the cost of a children’s manuscript appraisal – prices start at £280. You are under no obligation to go ahead and one of our team will be in touch with editor details, current timescales and fees.
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
Please note books for Young Adults will be assessed on the same concepts as adult manuscripts and fall under that appraisal category rather than a children’s manuscript appraisal.
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. In addition, we 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 £280 for a picture book of up to 1,500 words.
Please fill out the form on the left to hold a place in the schedule and provisionally book this service.
You are under no obligation to go ahead and one of our team will contact you with editor details, timescales and fees.