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MANUSCRIPT EVALUATION
You’ve written a novel,
edited it to the best of your
ability, perhaps shared it with a
trusted reader or two. But before
you send it out to fend for
itself in the world, you’d
like to be sure it’s in the
best possible shape. You’d
like a professional
evaluation.
Or perhaps you’ve already
begun submitting, and all
you’ve received for your
trouble is a fistful of generic
rejection slips. Editors and
literary agents don’t have
time to explain why they reject,
and they generally stop reading
the moment they decide the
book’s not for them. For
beginning writers, it’s a
perfect Catch 22. Until
you sell a book, you’re
unlikely to receive any specific,
professional feedback; yet
without that feedback, it’s
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SPECIAL
GET-ACQUAINTED
OFFER
Beginnings are so
important. Literary
agents interested in
a novel typically ask
for the first three
chapters, but in
reality, the writer
has only three or
four pages in which
to capture their
interest and convince
them he or she can
write. How strong is
your opening?
Working with an
independent editor or
a writing teacher
requires a leap of
faith, but there is a
way for writers to
shorten the distance.
Submit the opening of
your novel or short
story, up to 5000
words (approximately
20 pages), and for a
nominal fee Barbara
will read it and give
you her candid,
detailed assessment.
You can test your
opening on a
professional and get
acquainted with
Barbara Rogan:
It’s a win/win
proposition.
Special offer price
of $50.00.
Contact Barbara
for more details or
instantly submit up
to 5000 words
electronically with
payment through
Paypal
here.
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difficult to write salable
fiction.
That is where Barbara Rogan comes
in. She knows the publishing
industry from all sides, as an
editor, an agent, and the author of
eight critically acclaimed novels.
She will read your manuscript and
write a detailed, constructive
report (generally between 10 and 12
single-spaced pages for a complete
novel) that addresses both the
large and small pictures, including
structure, setting,
characterization, pacing, dialogue,
description and point of view
choices. She will also provide a
chapter-by-chapter breakdown with
specific suggestions and editing
guidelines where applicable.
Every manuscript is different. Some
need just a little polish to shine,
as shine they must to succeed in
the tough fiction market. While no
editor can promise publication,
Barbara’s goal for these
advanced writers is maximize their
chances by making strong books
irresistible. In the case of
stories that are not yet ready for
the market, her report will
pinpoint the story’s
strengths and weaknesses and point
out specific structural and
stylistic areas that need work. In
addition to the written evaluation,
Barbara will annotate and return
the hard copy of the manuscript.
Finally, a telephone or email
consultation is included in the
price of this service, so writers
will have the opportunity to
clarify comments, share ideas, and
pose any further questions they may
have.
You have the option of submitting
either a full hard-copy manuscript
or a partial with a synopsis. Since
many stylistic problems manifest
early and can be addressed without
reading the entire novel, and
structural pitfalls often show up
in synopses, submitting a partial
(typically the first 100 pages) is
a good, economical option.
Price: $4.00 USD per page for the
first 100 pages, including synopsis
if submitted; $3.00 per page
thereafter. Pages must be
double-spaced with standard 1
½” margins in
12-point print, and should average
250 words per page. Manuscript
shipping costs both ways to be paid
by writer.
MANUSCRIPT EDITING
Why edit your own
fiction? Isn’t that the
publisher’s job?
Well, yes and no. Publishing
houses do employ editors, but
actual editing is only a small
part of what they do. Neither
agents nor editors have time
anymore (if they ever did) to
polish diamonds in the rough.
Writers are expected to learn the
craft on their own nickel, and
part of the craft of writing is
revision. To paraphrase Truman
Capote, unedited work isn’t
writing, it’s typing.
Barbara Rogan’s Next Level
Workshop, Revising
Fiction, teaches writers to
edit their own fiction, so that
they emerge from the course with
a greatly improved manuscript.
The workshop costs much less then
having your manuscript
professionally edited while
teaching an essential skill.
In some cases, however, the
timing is not right for a
workshop, or the services of a
professional editor are
preferred. Writers in this
situation may wish to query
Barbara Rogan about editing their
work. She will undertake to edit
only novels that she feels have a
reasonable chance of selling to a
traditional publisher; otherwise,
neither the author’s
investment of money nor hers of
time can be justified.
Price: $9.50 per page. Pages must
be double-spaced with standard 1
½” margins in
12-point print, and should
average 250 words per page.
Manuscript shipping costs both
ways to be paid by writer.
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