Editorial Services for Fiction Writers

Manuscript Assessment

Big-Picture Feedback

You’ve brought your manuscript to life—but figuring out what comes next can feel overwhelming.

A manuscript assessment gives you clear, honest feedback on what’s working, what needs refining, and what to tackle first so your revision energy actually goes where it matters.

Request a Sample Edit

What’s Included in a Manuscript Assessment

Full Manuscript Read-through

A careful, thorough read focused on structure, pacing, character arcs, story cohesion, and more.

In-Depth Editorial Letter

A detailed written assessment outlining strengths, key concerns, and actionable revision guidance.

Personalized Next Steps

Clear suggestions for where to focus your efforts—whether you’re revising independently or planning further editing.

All feedback is grounded in professional training and genre-aware craft analysis, tailored to your story and goals.

A manuscript assessment does not include line-by-line edits or rewrites.

Is a manuscript assessment right for you?

This service is a good fit if you:
✔ want professional, big-picture feedback without committing to a full developmental edit
✔ have a completed draft and want an outside perspective before revising
✔ feel stuck after a draft and need direction before revising

A manuscript assessment is not a critique of your ability.
It’s a diagnostic tool for your story.

How the Process Works

Here’s what you can expect from start to finish.

Reaching Out

We start with a short conversation about your story, goals, and audience. I’ll review a sample to make sure we’re a good fit and share a quote and turnaround time.

Getting Started

If we decide to move forward, we’ll confirm next steps, sign a contract, and gather your manuscript and any relevant background materials.

Assessment

I read your manuscript carefully while taking detailed notes and compiling your Editorial Letter.

Review

You take time to read through the feedback at your own pace, reflect on the suggestions, and note any questions that come up.

Follow-Up

We connect to talk through questions, clarify feedback, and discuss your next steps for revision or further editing support.

FAQ

Still have questions? Here are some of the most common things authors ask before booking a manuscript assessment.

A manuscript assessment focuses on big-picture feedback and provides suggestions for improvement, but it doesn’t include in-manuscript edits or rewrites. Developmental editing is a deeper, more hands-on service.

You’ll receive big-picture feedback focused on your story’s overall structure, pacing, plot, and character development. You’ll walk away with clear, actionable suggestions to help you move forward with confidence.

Turnaround times vary depending on the length of your manuscript and my schedule, but you can expect an assessment to take 2 to 3 weeks. We’ll discuss deadlines during our initial conversation.

Manuscript assessments start at $0.018 per word. Final quotes are based on length, complexity, and turnaround time. Payment plans are available.

I love editing fantasy, romance, soft sci-fi, historical fiction, and women’s fiction. If your story falls outside these genres, feel free to reach out—I’m happy to discuss it!

Absolutely! After you review your report, you’re welcome to reach out with questions or schedule a follow-up call. I want to make sure you feel fully supported as you move forward.

Ready for clarity on what your manuscript needs next?

Let’s uncover what’s working, what needs attention, and how to move forward with confidence.

Request a Manuscript Assessment
  • My manuscript assessment not only confirmed areas I thought needed additional work but also areas I hadn’t thought. This process is a great opportunity for other writers to have an expert eye across their manuscript. Not only that Sara is super caring with her critiques. Areas to consider had her analysis but also suggested actions to address these areas. Not only that – you can discuss these in a follow up call for further clarification. I appreciated how I mentioned that this book was part of a series and so Sara highlighted feedback in the context of a series.

    When talking about strengths, Sara has given me some great ideas/wording for how I plan to go out to literary agents/publishers.

    I would 100% recommend writers, particularly first time authors like myself, to get a manuscript assessment from Sara. [She] is super clear with feedback and great to brainstorm with.
    L.K. Goodwin, The Weight of a Prophecy
  • The entire process was straight forward, comprehensive and a wonderful experience.

    [The most valuable part of the assessment for was] the insight. Specifically, the intelligent and focused insight.

    The report had just the right amount of insight on the weaknesses and strengths of the story and where I might modify the manuscript in order to tell a deeper and compelling story.

    The entire report was valuable. Comments on structure, character development, plot, story progression… each comment and suggestion were valuable.
    Eric Hiner, author
  • Sara was great at clearly communicating the process and feedback throughout the whole process. She was so kind and supportive of my writing and clearly understands the importance of people’s stories and making them as good as they can be, but also understands the importance of maintaining narrative voice. She’s clearly very passionate about what she does and is extremely talented. I would highly recommend her to anyone who needs a helping hand on their manuscript, and I would love to work with her again in the future.

    I had already had a developmental edit from another editor, but this [assessment] revealed a lot of new things that I and my editor hadn’t considered. I feel this is a great tool for any writer regardless of where they are in their writing journey. [It] went above and beyond my expectations, covering things that I hadn’t even considered. There is a lot of feedback that I agree with and will implement as best I can into my manuscript, but a lot of it has also given me inspiration on how to adjust other aspects of my story.

    The video chat with Sara I feel was the most valuable aspect. She really helped me understand her suggestions and confirmed that most things were purely suggestions and not things I had to change.
    C. M. Koch, The Girl Who Swam Between Worlds