Why do I need a report on my manuscript?
If you are proceeding happily towards publication, with a publishing deal all set
up, then you probably don’t need any help from us.
If, on the other hand, you have been struggling to get anyone to
comment on your work, let alone to offer to publish it, then maybe we can
help. Why not let our
professional editors assess your work in a Reader's
Report or a fuller Editor's Report, so you’ll know just where you stand?
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Can you get my work published?
We are not publishers. Neither we nor anyone else can guarantee that
you will get your work taken on by a publisher. What we can do is
offer as much assistance as we can and the promise that our comments will be
honest and professional. Then it's over to you. Persistence is
essential, but it’s a sad fact that some writers will never make
it into print.
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Is it very hard to get published?
Manuscript submissions do heavily outnumber published books, but you should remember that
over 100,000 books are published annually in the UK, and more than 120,000
in the United States. A great many authors do get their work into print. The advice most frequently encountered in books on writing is that you
need to be very persistent. We
agree with this. Improve your chances of avoiding
rejection by
ensuring your work is in the best possible shape before you send it off.
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How can you help with finding a literary agent to represent me?
We have very good contacts with UK literary agents. If we are impressed with your work, we may
be able
to recommend it to an agency which is looking for new writers. Some of
these agencies specialise in particular kinds of books. They will have to
make the decision whether or not to offer to represent your work.
Apart from that, I’m afraid we can only suggest looking in
our UK and
US agency listings, the
Writers' and Artists' Yearbook
or
The Writer's Handbook and making up your mind whom to
approach on the basis of what individual agencies specialise in. In general, the newer agencies tend to be more interested in new
authors, whereas the older-established ones often have full client lists. See
our page on Finding an Agent. Make sure you follow the
agents' submission guidelines.
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Why should I wait for
weeks to discover what you think about my work?
We do not think it reasonable for you to wait when you are
commissioning a service from us. We will give you a quick answer and follow this
up with a date for the work to be completed by our freelance editor. If you want to
commission our Editing,
Manuscript Polishing or
Rewriting services (which do take longer because of
the work involved), you’ll be given a date for the work to be completed. See
the individual services pages for details of
our turnaround times. These can vary, but we do our best to keep you up to
date with the latest information.
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How do I know WritersServices aren’t going to rip me off, by praising
my work just to get me to pay for their services?
It takes
time to build trust but we have been providing editorial services since 2001.
You can check the credentials of everyone involved with WritersServices and also
look at our Endorsements page. We are publishing professionals and use only experienced
freelance editors. Our intention is to build an ongoing relationship with the
writers’ community. We can only do this by providing a quality service and
by being honest with you about your work.
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How do I
know that my writing won’t be used by someone else?
It’s
as well to add a copyright line to your manuscript, but your work does not
need to be published to establish your copyright. WritersServices takes the greatest care to employ only reputable
editors to work on any material submitted to us. We guarantee
that your work will be safe with us. If you ever did have a problem with
somebody taking your ideas we might even be able to help you, as we would have a dated archive copy of your manuscript
to help you establish your copyright.
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What do I get for my money?
You will get a professional service, rapidly delivered via email. Each service will conform to the description laid out
in the individual Services pages, so look there for the detail. Offering our services
through the Internet means that we can provide both outstanding value for money
and a speedy response.
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How is this service different from the traditional way of sending manuscripts to
publishers?
We do not undertake to publish your work, or guarantee publication. What we will do is to help you with a professional assessment of your
manuscript, with editing, rewriting or whatever service you choose. You will
then be able to approach publishers and agents with a much better chance of
getting your work taken on. We may be able to show your work to agents, if we think it is likely to interest
them, provided you have not opted out of this
possibility on the order form.
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Are you tied to a publisher or agent?
No, we are not tied in to a publisher or agent. We are here
to help you prepare and present your work to publishers and agents. We work
for the writers, but we can let agents see the reports on your work if you agree
to let us do so.
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Why not just send my manuscript to a publisher or agent?
You can certainly submit your work directly to a publisher or
agent. If you have
already done so you may have experienced frustration with the delay and the lack
of response. Publishers and agents are overwhelmed by their 'slush piles', so
many of them no longer make any attempt to read unsolicited
manuscripts. You may still feel you need some help to prepare and target your work.
That is what WritersServices was created to do. Look at
Making Submissions.
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I write books for children. Is this service only for books for
adults?
Our children's editorial
services use specialist children's editors.
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Can I choose which freelance editor my manuscript is
sent to?
We're sorry, but you cannot choose. Our editors are working
as freelances and we cannot be sure of their availability or workload at any
particular time. The information you provide about your manuscript will help us
to ensure that it goes to the right editor.
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Is WritersServices a vanity publisher?
No. We are not a publisher: We are a service for
authors and writers. We do, however, offer a service called Self-publishing, where the
design and production work, together with the book distribution, are managed
by WritersServices on behalf of the writer. See our
WritersPrintShop, which offers masses of
information about self-publishing.
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Do you handle scripts?
Yes, we have a
scriptwriting assessment service, which deals with scripts, screenplays and
plays and which is provided by a highly
experienced editor.
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My manuscript is
handwritten, how can I get it typed?
If you can't handle this job
yourself, or don't wish to do so, you can use our
Manuscript Typing services
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How
can I get my poetry published?
We have an article on this which may help.
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What are your fictionalised accounts of
the services?
They are fiction and provide an illustration of how each
service might work. Find them listed
here.
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