Manuscript Evaluation
All manuscripts submitted to Sparks Literary Consultants Inc. go through a lengthy, in-depth evaluation process. We read every word you’ve written. That’s the only way to truly understand a manuscript. Reading one page or ten pages gives you only a glimpse. We believe if you’ve taken the time to write a complete work, we should take the time to read it.
We evaluate and represent works of:
- Fiction—novels and short stories
- Non-fiction—scholarly works, instructional (self-help and how-tos), and informational
- Biographies, Autobiographies, and Memoirs
- Young Adult Fiction and Non-fiction
- Middle-readers—Fiction and Non-fiction
- Children’s Books (both illustrated and not)
- Poetry Collections
- Short Stories
Once we’ve read your manuscript, one of four things will happen:
- We’ll decide right then and there that we love your manuscript and we’ll offer you a contract for representation. Along with that offer, you’ll receive a written evaluation of your work—this will be an in-depth examination of the manuscript’s attributes and potential pitfalls of which we believe you should be aware.
- We’ll decide your manuscript is pretty good, but needs a bit of polishing. In our evaluation, we’ll explain the changes we think might strengthen the work and how you can go about making those alterations yourself. Once the manuscript has been revised, we’ll offer you a contract for representation.
- We’ll decide your manuscript needs a lot more work. In our evaluation, we will explain why and teach you how certain changes could improve your writing. If we think you would benefit from working with one of our professional editors, we’ll provide you with a quote for those services and you’ll decide whether or not to hire us.
- We’ll decide there’s just no way we would represent your work. Ever. Why would we believe this about a manuscript? Well, if the content is abusive to women, children, or minority groups, we won’t represent it. If it’s pornographic or libelous, we won’t represent it. If it’s hideous and violent beyond what’s necessary to tell your story, or promotes hate, we won’t represent it.
See our Fees page for more details about how to submit your manuscript for evaluation.
Not all manuscripts are ready to be out in the world
Some need the assistance of a strong editor. Some haven’t even been written yet. Maybe you’ve started to pen that great work that’s been rumbling around in your head for all these years, but you just can’t finish it. If you require manuscript repair or manuscript creation, Sparks Literary Consultants can help.
The Sparks Manuscript Repair Department has a dedicated staff of editors and writing coaches ready to help you.
Editing
Writing Coaching
