Taking the Leap: Manuscript Assessment
This week, I’ve decided to take a big leap.
I’m sure many other self-published authors out there know the tension of investing money in their work. After a discussion with a colleague of mine, T. R. Milne (who recently released her debut novel – check it out here), I’ve decided to invest in a manuscript assessment.
The plan is to assess all three of the Inspector Ambrose novellas that I’ve written, including the unpublished Murder at Mansfield Manor. There’s a cost associated with this – it’ll be several hundred dollars. So why have I decided to take the leap?
Because getting feedback – especially impartial feedback – is so hard! Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate everyone who has read my writing so far, but getting people to actually tell you what they loved and hated is another matter. Most people just say it was “good” – which is cool, but I need someone to give me some honest truth, so that’s what I’m shooting for.
So after some adjustments to the original manuscript of Mansfield Manor, I’m going to be submitting my stories (along with several hundred dollars) to Writers Victoria for an assessment.
I’m taking the leap, and I’ll let you know how it works out.
In 6 – 8 weeks.
Depending on workload.
I’ll be interested to see how this goes. I’ve been considering doing the same thing after I finish editing my story.
Well I’m nervous, for sure – but in discussing this with my partner, I’ve realised that if I really want to have a go at writing a novel, I need to see where my current writing’s at. It’s also what my colleague recommended – her advice was that getting professional help (in the form of mentoring, assessment, etc) early is hugely helpful, and she wishes she’d done it earlier.
[…] Inspector Ambrose stories to be independently assessed this week – a process that started a while ago. So what took so […]
[…] see, my Writers Victoria membership has just come up for review. When I first joined it was because I was submitting my manuscript for assessment. I didn’t know what I was […]