Manuscript Review for Self-Published Authors
When you are the publisher, nobody checks the book unless you arrange it. A structured read of the whole manuscript, before you pay for editing or upload the files.
$50, paid once · Refunded if you're not satisfied · PDF and Word, up to 400 pages
Where a manuscript review fits when you self-publish
A traditionally published book passes through an agent, an acquiring editor, a copy editor and a proofreader. A self-published book passes through whoever you hire, and editing is usually the largest cost. The Book Manuscript Review is a structured read of the whole manuscript for $50: language, structure (flow, pacing, balance between parts), typos, and names, places, dates and timelines that change across the book. Run before a paid edit, it clears the problems you can fix yourself, so the editor's hours go to what you cannot. It is not a developmental edit, a copy edit or a proofread of the formatted book. It reads the text of your file, not its layout, so it does not check trim size, ebook formatting, front matter layout or your cover.
One way to order the work
1. Revise it yourself
At least one full pass after a break from the draft. Keep a style sheet of names, places and dates as you go.
2. Run the review
Fix what you agree with. $50, paid once.
3. Send it to beta readers
They read for the story. The beta reader questionnaire helps you get answers you can use.
4. Hire the editing you can afford
A critique or developmental edit for the story, a copy edit for the sentences. See which one is which.
5. Proofread the formatted files
Layout introduces its own errors. Check the print proof and the ebook on a device before you publish.
What the review covers
Language
Grammar, word choice, clarity and awkward sentences, with your voice treated as yours.
Structure
Flow, pacing and balance between parts and chapters, transitions, paragraphing.
Typos
Spelling, punctuation, capitalisation, doubled or missing words.
Inconsistencies
Names, places, dates, timelines, spellings and conventions that change across the book.
One PDF report
An overall assessment, the book's strengths, and findings with the passage quoted and a suggested fix.
What it does not do
No developmental edit, no layout or ebook check, no plagiarism or AI-detection check.
Manuscript Review for Self-Published Authors questions
It covers part of the same ground. A manuscript evaluation or assessment by a human editor is usually a letter on the big picture: story, characters, pacing, market. The review is automated, reports on language, structure, typos and inconsistencies, and does not give a market opinion. It is cheaper and faster, and it does less.