What's In A Manuscript Critique?

Want to know where you need to improve your novel? A good manuscript critique can do that.

I highly recommend you either find someone who'll give you an honest and educated opinion on where you need to improve your book, or someone who will help you edit it until it's the best you can make it.

Otherwise, you're throwing away sales - and money.

Where do you find someone who's a pro at this? And what should you get when you do?


Where to Look

Searching online is a great place to start when you want a manuscript critique. If you do a search, you'll get thousands of responses. Oh yeah. It'll get tricky deciding who to use.

Look for a place that provides an inexpensive sample critique of a short portion of your novel. If you don't like their work, try elsewhere.

You can also look in the backs of writing magazines. In the back pages of their magazine, Writer's Digest often has classified ads from people who offer critiques. Again, ask for a short sample to be sure you're getting a thorough critique of your work before committing hundreds of dollars
to anyone.

A third place to look is through writer's organizations. You may need to be a member to use such services, but I know some of those organizations have editing services available to their members. So check into them, or join an organization that offers critiques. You're more likely to find a professional when you go through such channels.


What It Should Include

A good manuscript critique will investigate plot, to start with. Such writing services should give you both notes directly on your manuscript and a written report of the overall quality of the novel.

It should also scrutinize the characters you've populated your novel with. Do they fit the plot and the plot fits them? Do they drive the plot? Are they acting inconsistently at any point? Do their motivations seem plausible?

After plot and character, the two mainstays of good fiction, the critique should analyze the overall structure of your novel. How well plot, setting and characters intertwine; if the language you've used fits the genre and style of book you've written; if your descriptions are parceled out well, instead of crammed into one large block of prose.

Finally, the critique may cover basics like grammar and spelling (but not necessarily). This is more of a line editing task, and for the most part, someone giving you a critique is not going to want to look for every spelling and grammar mistake. If you need help with that, look for an editing service that offers it.

Most of all, the critique you get should explain not only where your book can be improved, but give a few examples of how to improve it. No, it should not rewrite the novel for you, but it should give you a guide so you can go back and do the dirty work. Don't be lazy. That's what you got a critique for in the first place!


What To Do Afterwards

Once you have your manuscript critique back, it's time to rewrite, rewrite... you know the drill. Rewriting is the most important part of writing a novel. No one writes a perfect first draft. Not even authors who've been writing
for years.

So take to heart the comments you get back, make the changes that are recommended and you'll have a winner on your hands. If you'd like a checklist to guide you alongside your critique, go to my edit a novel page and download my free checklist to be sure you've covered everything.

Then, once you've finished the process, arduous though it may be, it's time to publish!