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Book Publishing Process - Appraisal
BOOK PUBLISHING IN AUSTRALIA AND BEYOND...Manuscript Appraisal
As part of the writing mentorship (also for all authors that have yet to receive a professional assessment of their completed manuscript) and the journey of book publishing in Australia and globally, we highly suggest you undertake a manuscript appraisal. How do you make the decision to undertake your book is for the general market do you need a manuscript appraisal? Well, it starts with understanding what an appraisal is.
A manuscript appraisal is a systematic and objective study of the marketability of your book, as well as an assessment of the revisions, rewrites, updates, and changes needed to ensure that the book is of the highest quality. Successful books almost inevitably have gone through revisions based on a manuscript appraisal, which is to be expected.
Ultimately, it is one of the earlier processes a serious author needs to undertake to ensure they have told the best possible story and to have the confidence that there is a market for their book. When you receive your manuscript appraisal back it will give you feedback on your title; length of book; desired format; pricing; subject matter and its potential popularity; author’s expertise; competition; audience; marketability; SWOT analysis; originality; focus; clarity; structure; validity; writing style; as well as any suggestions for added value. It will be comprehensive and honest and will most definitely encourage you to revise your book to ensure you are giving your book the best possible chance of success. This process takes your manuscript to the next level.
BOOK PUBLISHING IN AUSTRALIA AND BEYOND...Manuscript Appraisal
With the appraisal service from Ocean Reeve Publishing, you can be assured that the appraisal report will not come back stating ‘hey, you’re good to go, no changes!’ This would not constitute the definition of what an appraisal is to do. You need to expect a constructive and in-depth critique where undoubtedly you will be required to make changes and potentially re-write sections to improve the readability of your work. So it is important that you have the ability to take on criticism, advice and opinions without suffering a mental break. This is an important part of a successful writer’s life. Self-improvement and skill development is crucial, and an appraisal is an excellent way to introduce you to the editing process.
Do not submit your manuscript too early. By too early, I mean too raw, rough, ragged around the edges. If you get an appraisal too soon, the entirety of the feedback is going to be focused on messy paragraphs and obvious holes. Our appraiser will be stuck on the stuff you could have sorted out on your own during the self-editing process. Make sure you get your manuscript to a high enough standard that the appraiser can focus on the big picture stuff such as development, structure, flow, setting and voice, and doesn’t get bogged down in the superficial. You need to believe that your manuscript is in the best possible state you can achieve without external help.
BOOK PUBLISHING IN AUSTRALIA AND BEYOND...Manuscript Appraisal
For those that have not had an appraisal before and are a bit intimidated by the idea of exposing your draft manuscript to others, the appraisal process gives you immense confidence that what you are prepared to bring to life through book publishing in Australia and the world will be taken seriously and is the best it can be.
So if you reside in a regional or rural area without access to a local writers’ group, a manuscript appraisal is an excellent decision. If you want quick, detailed, genre-specific and guaranteed feedback (within two months), a manuscript appraisal is an excellent decision. If you have clear goals for you as an author and the manuscript in the book publishing and marketing journey, a manuscript appraisal is an excellent decision. Also remember, as the author you are too close to be objective in a personal review of your own work. How can you be expected to differentiate between the good and the bad? A manuscript appraisal will do this.
So what kind of budget do you need for an appraisal? Manuscript appraisals are priced by word count and can cost from $350 to well over $1000. For example, a 70,000-word non-fiction manuscript would likely cost around $1200AUD whilst a 750-word children’s book would be closer to $350AUD. It is a worthy investment to ensure that if you are seeking to make an impact with your story through book publishing in Australia, and then take out the world!
