Can it sell?

I’m going to be offering a new service to NaNoWriMo participants this year! If you’re writing for National Novel Writing Month, I’m offering to check your manuscript’s saleability.

Let me explain.

There’s no point to copyediting a first draft. The manuscript is going to change too much before it’s a final product ready for submission.

So…what’s helpful for first draft NaNoWriMo manuscripts? A general critique. Maybe a list of stylistic/technical/editorial issues to watch out for while you revise. And an acquisition editor’s perspective on whether your book is on the right track. Is it a publishable concept? What would make it more interesting/viable/sellable?

I’ll be offering this service at a rate of $10 per 10,000 words. I’m happy to look at a chapter, an outline, or an entire novel.

I realize there are communities for peer editing and critiquing, and I fully support the peer effort. But if you want a professional opinion, I’ll be fair, constructive, and honest.

 

Taos Toolbox, day 0

Yesterday I met up with two other workshop participants in Albuquerque and drove them up to Taos, and then up up up some more to the Angel Fire Resort. After some kerfuffle, I got settled in and met up with the whole group for orientation and dinner.

We’re at 8300 feet or so up here, and I felt it more than I expected to, but less than would be worrisome. My manuscript is up in the first day’s round of critiques, and I made sure that I’d re-read the other two manuscripts before bed. I don’t sleep well my first night in a new place, but a couple random coyotes sang me to sleep. When I peeked out the window in the middle of the night, the stars looked low and close and bright.