Manuscript Services

Posted by Michelle

The Bay Area Book Doctor offers several manuscript evaluation and critique services to fit different needs and budgets–from an exhaustive critique to a “first 50 pages” package.

Package One

Written critique of the first 50 pages of your manuscript
Are your opening chapters doing everything they should to engage the reader, introduce characters and conflict, establish setting, tone, and point of view, and move the story forward?
Does the pacing lag at any point in the first 50 pages?
Do the opening chapters make it clear why this particular story is being told at this particular time, from this unique perspective?
In other words, have you given the agent, editor, or reader-at-large every reason to keep reading and ask for more?
If you’re in the early stages of your novel, or you are preparing to send your sample out to agents or use it for fellowship and residency applications, this package is for you.

If you purchase the First 50 Pages critique and later decide to purchase a complete manuscript evaluation, a $149 credit will be applied to Package Two or Three.

$249

Contact me to ask about availability.

Package Two

Initial phone consultation
Comprehensive written critique of your manuscript, addressing plot, characterization, tone, point of view, structure, theme, writing style, and anything else that is relevant to your book
Phone, video, or in-person consultation to discuss the critique

$1450

Contact me to ask about availability.

Package Three

Initial phone consultation
Written critique of your manuscript, addressing plot, characterization, tone, point of view, structure, theme, writing style, and anything else that is relevant to your book
Phone, video, or in-person consultation to discuss the critique
Written evaluation of your revision
Phone, video, or in-person consultation to discuss revision

$2250

Contact me to ask about availability.

Michelle helped me enormously with my novel. She’s kind and generous, but she’s also a tough critic. By seeing things that I could not, she gave me big-picture notes on plot, character, point-of-view, and dialogue. On my manuscript, she marked where the problems were and then wrote out solutions. She also tried to make sure that the book stayed mine. She never imposed her personal style but wanted me to find my own. I cannot recommend Michelle enough. She is a wonder!

~Jennifer Paddock, author of the forthcoming novel The Weight of Memory

Not yet ready for a one-on-one critique? Subscribe to the Guided Workbooks for Writers and receive a $50 discount on any consulting package. *Consultation must be purchased within six months of subscription.

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Please note: Packages 2 – 3 are for a manuscript of up to 325 pages (double-spaced on one side of page, 12 pt. font or larger, at least 1 inch margins).

About The Book Doctor

Michelle Richmond is the New York Times bestselling author of The Year of Fog, No One You Know, Dream of the Blue Room, and the award-winning story collection The Girl in the Fall-Away Dress. She has taught in the MFA programs in creative writing at the University of San Francisco, California College of the Arts, St. Mary's College of Moraga, and Bowling Green State University. In Spring of 2012, she will hold the CJ Chair at Notre Dame de Namur University. She is the publisher of Fiction Attic Press.

Manuscript Services

Package One

Package Two

Package Three

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About The Book Doctor

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