How It Works... Non-Fiction
You send us your full-length manuscript – by email or post – and within one month you will receive a full written report on your work.
Whether the material is a travelogue, an issue-led polemic, a memoir, an autobiography (including ghosted work) or any other idea, these in-depth reports usually run to 3000 words (about 6 pages) and cover –
- Concept and strength of idea in today’s market
- Prose style/execution and bringing out your voice
- Structure – building a narrative from fact
- Breadth of argument, settings, issues and creating life and colour
- Depth and appropriateness of research
- Originality of both idea and form
- Sourcing illustrations/photographs and other pictorial assets
- Potential for serialisation and extraction and making the most of the material in other media
- Detailed, word by word textual analysis of a selection of pages
- A list of other books and research resources that will provide insightful pointers
What we hope to do is show you how to progress with the manuscript and reach the point that could well make your book publishable.
We are also very aware of the market for blogs to books, and work solely published/transmitted on the Internet, and can advise accordingly. The increasing digitalisation of the publishing world is a phenomenon we view primarily for its commercial potential. We also realise it is a phenomenon that can’t be ignored culturally.
Follow-up meetings
It can be helpful to discuss the report in person. We are happy to arrange one hour tutorials to follow up reports and to cover any subsequent questions in person or on the phone
“Jonathan gave me detailed feedback on the first part of my novel.
He not only gave valuable advice on structure, dialogue and
characterisation, he also drew my attention to features that revealed
my personality on the page. The feedback gave me confidence
in developing my ‘voice’ as I redrafted and completed my novel.”
Ben Verrall