Manuscript Appraisal Services

If you are an author with a manuscript intended for publication, you will benefit greatly from the range of services offered by Angel Key Publications. One of our premium services is a Manuscript Appraisal. A careful, systematic review of your draft that is meant to greatly improve the chance of your book’s success among publishers and the reading public.

The Manuscript Appraisal is a systematic, objective study of the marketability of your book, as well as an assessment of the revisions needed to ensure that the book is of the highest quality. Successful books almost inevitably have gone through revisions based on a Manuscript Appraisal.

There are many reasons why you would want to subject your manuscript to a professional review. One reason is that while you are familiar with the contents of your book you may not be as knowledgeable about the publishing industry, or about the market for books like yours.

We help you tailor your book to fit well with the needs of your subject and genre audience. Another reason why an appraisal is indispensable is that it gives you objective feedback from a professional who is new to your manuscript.

As the author or editor, you have probably worked on your book for months, possibly even years. That level of immersion often means that you are unable to be objective in assessing your own work. An impartial reading will reveal flaws in structure, style and content that you may have missed. It is our job to identify mistakes and suggest alternative approaches so you can make suitable revisions to your manuscript.

The Manuscript Appraisal, therefore, is an important requirement for assuring the quality and consistency of your book.

Angel Key Publications as a qualified company in the industry employs professionals who appraise books in many genres under the broad classifications of fiction and non-fiction. Our expertise covers children’s literature, novels and short story compilations, biographies, travelogues, reference books on science, technology and business, and textbooks for kindergarten through tertiary education.

Submitting Your Manuscript

We strongly encourage authors to submit their draft books for a Manuscript Appraisal. If you wish to use the services of our talented and experienced team of appraisers, please follow the guidelines below when sending us your manuscript.

Guidelines for submission:

• All documents must be submitted electronically by email to info@angelkey.com.au
• All submissions must be in Microsoft Word or Adobe InDesign format.
• The email, with attachments, should be no larger than 3MB.
• The subject line of the email should be the title of the book followed by author name (e.g., Why Did I Do It? by Anna Green)

Along with the manuscript, the email should have, as another attachment, a Word document that includes the following information:

• The proposed title of the book.
• A brief summary (two or three sentences) of the book.
• Brief author biography (two or three sentences).
• Publishing history of the author and any relevant honours or awards received by the author (such as writing awards).
• Where the author thinks the book would sit in the marketplace – i.e. books similar to this one, authors who write on the same topic, the intended audience for this book.
• Whether this manuscript has been sent to other publishers.
• A short synopsis (of no more than 300 words) of the manuscript.

Once we receive your submission, you will be sent an automatic email acknowledging receipt. Within another two weeks, you will receive another email about the terms of an appraisal, including our fees. Once your payment has been received – by cheque, credit card, or bank transfer – we will commence the Manuscript Appraisal. If we do not contact you within two months of payment, please call our office to check on the progress.