Sorry for the late reply. I was away for the long weekend visiting a friend, and while I was there, I bought two sugar gliders! Anyway…

Hi, Tracey. I’m looking forward to reading the book.

Hi, Estella. It turns out there are a number of book doctors out there – though when you look into them, some of them literally doctor (as in rebind) old books, not manuscripts.

Hi, Delta. I’ve turned down a couple of MSs because either the author needed a more or less immediate turnaround, or it was clear that the author just wanted to be complimented or at least not to receive any substantive commentary, so I wouldn’t have been able to do the job to my own satisfaction.

As to sales, so far only one book (part of a trilogy, and I had comments on the concept, so that sort of counts as three *g*) has sold, a number have real potential and are being revised, and – to be honest – the rest have an uphill battle. The trilogy sold elsewhere, though I wish I’d been able to acquire it.

Hi, Anne. Your questions overlap slightly with Delta’s, so take a look at what I told her, too. re: my comments – They’re very specific, usually 8-11 pp on a complete MS, a bit less on most partials. The truth is that I know some authors, even with that kind of guidance, aren’t going to be able to make the book publishable, or at least are unlikely to be able to, but I don’t flat out tell anyone that, because I may be wrong and they may pull it together. What I do talk about very honestly is that the revisions are extensive and challenging, and that it’s the author’s call as to whether to do the work or apply the lessons in my analysis to a new project. I also talk about marketing where appropriate, ie: that something falls between genres or is in fact a different genre from what the author thought. Again, as I said above, it’s all very specific to the individual book, but I try to be both positive as much as I possible while also being honest.

Hope that helps.

Leslie

One of the problems an unpublished author encounters is receiving a rejection without any feedback. Or the feedback is pretty generic and the author is left scratching her head.

How specific are your comments?
If you feel a book is not marketable – perhaps because it is just too boring or odd or … whatever, do you tell the author outright?

Thanks,

Anne

I’m guessing one of the best places to learn more about you would be at your website–except I’m here, not there. Yet.

Have you ever turned down doctoring a manuscript? If so, why? How many mss by unpubbed writers have you doctored that went on to sell and did you buy them or another house?

Thanks for being here!
Delta

Love the picture! I just dropped by to say hello. You should be getting my partial any day now. I’m looking forward to receiving your recommendations on how to improve my manuscript.

Have a wonderful day! Tracey