The Editorial Critique: An In-Depth Review of an Author’s Manuscript

One of the most popular editorial services offered at Xulon Press is the Manuscript Review, a short, yet detailed review that offers authors a handful of strengths and suggested areas of improvement along with other helpful recommendations for their work. But for the authors who want a more in-depth look into their manuscript and even more recommendations on how to strengthen their work, look no further than the Editorial Critique.

Now, the word “critique” can sound rather daunting to writers, but there is no need to feel weary as the Editorial Critique is far from the verbal “bashing” service it may sound like. Instead, authors will be receiving a detailed review of their entire manuscript that includes considerable commenting in the following areas:

• Personalized cover letter from the editor
• Extensive comments on the following focuses:
  • Grammar, Punctuation, and Formatting
  • Narrative, Flow, and Content
  • Sources and Citations (non-fiction)
• Suggested Genres
• Suggested Editorial Service + 1,000-word Sample Edit

Now, let us break down in a bit more detail the different parts of the critique that follow the opening cover letter.

Grammar, Punctuation, and Formatting

This section will include more grammatical and stylistic suggestions that can include anything from proper punctuation usage, how best to separate paragraphs, helpful understanding of particular spelling, capitalization usage, etc. when it comes to religious terms (per the Christian Writer’s Manual of Style), and more. All grammatical and stylistic recommendations come from the Chicago Manual of Style.

Narrative, Flow, and Content

This section will include suggestions as well as inspiring comments on how well the author’s story reads. Comments can include anything from how smoothly chapters flow from one to the other, how well the author stays on track with their subject matter, dialogue usage between characters in fiction pieces, how well the plot of the story (fiction) or subject matter (nonfiction) is paced, development of characters, and more.

Sources and Citations

This section is mainly for authors who have written nonfiction works that reference or quote outside sources. As a helpful note, for any author who quotes or references any books, articles, websites, sermons, or other sources outside of their manuscript, citations are necessary to not only give credit where credit is due, but also to help avoid any potential permission issues that could arise upon publication. An editor will help point out any references or quotes that need or may need a citation while also offering help on how best to craft their citations per the Chicago Manual of Style.

Suggested Genres

To best help an author place their book where it will be easiest for their target audience to find it, genres are recommended for the manuscript being critiqued. At least three genres are recommended for each manuscript.

Suggested Editorial Service + 1,000-word Sample Edit

Finally, a critique will conclude with a recommendation on the level of editing an editor believes would work best for the manuscript and will demonstrate the recommended edit through a 1,000-word sample edit taken directly from the author’s manuscript. As a helpful note, the 1,000 words chosen by the editor is the only part of the manuscript edited for the Editorial Critique. The entire manuscript will not be edited through this service as there are separate services for complete edits.

Please note that no two Editorial Critiques are alike as they are personalized for each author’s unique manuscript. Editorial Critiques can be completed for both fiction and nonfiction works (no poetry).

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