Dear Terry,

As you said you are busy these days. Could recommend a couple of people or services that I can approach to have my manuscript assessed.

Many thanks

Tariq

Hi, Tariq, the editorial consultancies I hear mentioned most often are Writers Workshop, Cornerstones, and the Literary Consultancy. And you might find this blog post on the subject, by EmmaD, helpful:
http://emmadarwin.typepad.com/thisitchofwriting/how-to-get-the-best-out-of-an-editorial-service.html

- NaomiM

Hi Tariq, I've sent you a WWmail.

It's good of Naomi to mention some consultancies you might try. All I'll say is that there are important differences between these three, i.e. it isn't necessarily safe to assume they all offer the same kinds of services, and with the same kind of due diligence.

You should probably also bear in mind a few things about the bigger agencies: first, that you don't get to choose the reader who works on your ms. This shouldn't matter if all readers at an agency are equally good but then you don't really have any way of finding out (but the truth is, they aren't equally skilled, experienced or committed). Second, they all charge per thousand words; which might seem sensible, but actually it's the system sure to produce the highest fee. For example, a report on a 130,000 words novel will cost you over £1,000. Basically, you're paying for the reader to do a lot of reading and that might not actually be necessary. You could save a lot of money if you were paying an editor by the hour and the two of you worked out exactly how you want the editing time to be spent - something you simply can't do with a bigger agency. Third, the majority of readers at the agencies are not editors; they're writers. Of course, writers will or should have a pretty good grasp on editing requirements; but it's not guaranteed. Lastly, most readers at the bigger agencies only receive a third of the fee you pay (at one, it's even a bit less than this), which inevitably means there is the danger your report could be written by someone who is less than enthusiastic about it. By contrast, a freelance editor will receive the whole fee, added to which their reputation is directly on the line.

Terry

For lots of info on the lit consultancies mentioned, have a look at our interviews with them at:

http://www.writewords.org.uk/interviews/smartquill_editorial.asp
and
http://www.writewords.org.uk/interviews/helen_corner.asp
and
http://www.writewords.org.uk/groups/151.asp
and
http://www.writewords.org.uk/interviews/literary_consultancy.asp