Aug 26

Aug 26 How to know whether you need a manuscript assessment or structural edit

Have you completed your manuscript and written those two magical words – ‘The End’? Are you now feeling that you’re ready to explore whether it’s strong enough to submit to an agent or a publisher? Or are you ready to begin your self-publishing journey?

Or have you in fact just finished a redraft of that manuscript and are thinking you just can’t stand to read a single line again and need someone else to help you figure out what else can be done?

First, congratulations! Take a deep breath and absorb this moment of completion because it’s HUGE and it deserves recognition.

It’s no easy thing to either complete a first draft of a manuscript, or to go through a redraft or ten. It’s exhausting, it’s challenging, it’s frustrating, and it takes a hell of a lot of time and patience, not to mention sheer determination and perseverance to get to where you have. So celebrate this moment and note it down in your book of achievements to remind yourself in difficult times that you absolutely can do it.

And when you’ve done that, you can begin thinking about your next move.

Should I get a manuscript assessment, or go straight into a structural edit?

This is a question I get asked quite a lot by writers who have completed their manuscript and are ready to make things happen. And I always answer by asking the writers two important questions:

Have you ever shown anyone your manuscript and had feedback on your writing, in a writing group or through beta readers or through a professional manuscript assessment?
Is this your first draft, or have you been able to redraft and rework it once or twice?

If this is your first draft

If you’ve got a first draft that you’ve never received any critical feedback on, either in a writing group or any other setting where great readers have read the manuscript from start to finish, then you need a manuscript assessment.

This is a wonderful and extremely cost-effective first step on your way to developing your work to a stronger, more publishable level. When you engage a freelance editor to assess your work, you get a professional who has many years of experience and can pinpoint exactly which areas of the manuscript need strengthening and which parts aren’t working and why.

The why is vital, because it’s not based on the editor’s personal opinion. It’s based on her or his professional opinion, which has been developed by working on hundreds of manuscripts and published works.

It’s this why that will empower you to move forward with your writing, because it’s not about what the editor likes or doesn’t like. It’s about what will help the manuscript improve.

If this is your second or tenth draft

If you have had feedback on your manuscript from writing colleagues or a professional assessment, and you have reworked it once or twice or a hundred times, and you feel like you have taken it as far as you can on your own … then you, my friend, need a structural edit, which is also known as a developmental edit.

So what’s in a manuscript assessment?

When I work on a manuscript assessment, I read the whole manuscript to get a clear picture of the work. Then I write a three- or four-page report detailing the major issues I find. These issues can be about the plot, the characters, the premise, the conclusion … anything that I find needs work.

Many authors ask if I have a set list of headings I address, such as ‘strengths’ and ‘weaknesses’. But I don’t have such a list. I aim to keep assessments as useful as possible, and that’s why I go straight to the heart of an issue I find.

Now, you will notice I said it’s about a three-page report. So yes, it’s brief. And it has to be. That’s why it’s an assessment.

Why do I need a structural edit?

Because you’ve done what you can on your own, and you know your writing is amazing, but you also know that the manuscript isn’t as brilliant as it should be, but you just can’t seem to get there.

The beauty of a structural edit, when done by a super-experienced professional editor who specialises in that genre or field, is that it examines every part of the manuscript. It’s an incredibly in-depth examination of the work, and the report is as long as it needs to be to ensure all the crucial issues have been discussed and the right questions have been asked to lead you towards the best solutions.

When I work on a structural edit, I also do line edits – so that means highlighting sentences that don’t work and offering alternatives for improvements where possible (but no copyediting). So there will be markup in the manuscript file as well as the structural report.

And yes, every published book has gone through a structural edit to make sure it’s as strong as it can be.

If you’re still unsure …

Or you want to discuss your manuscript and how to move forward with it, then get in touch.