So you’ve written a short story, part of a novel – or the whole thing! Before you start sending it to publishers, it might be a good idea to get it assessed by an expert.

That’s where a manuscript assessment comes in. It’s an invaluable way to get feedback on your work to see where your strengths are and where you can improve.

We can offer manuscript assessments for writing aimed at children, young adults or adults. We do not provide the service for picture books. Your writing needs to be directed to readers aged 9 and above.

Our manuscript assessment will cover all the essential elements of your writing such as style, structure, character development and plot development.

We will also provide comment on the bigger picture items such as:

• Have you written a good story?
• Will publishers like it?
• Will people want to read it?

Who will assess your manuscript?

Cathie Tasker is a fiction editor with over 25 years experience. Her specialisations are in science fiction, children’s and young adult fiction and genre adult fiction.

She is also a judge for the Aurealis Awards, fantasy novel section. Cathie trained as a librarian, in literature, and in marketing. Her academic qualifications are: libraries and literature (BA in Library Science & Literature), children’s literature (half of a Graduate Diploma in Children’s Literature), and marketing (Graduate Diploma of Marketing).

She worked in public libraries for seven years, and has spent over 25 years in book publishing, both in editorial and marketing, in children’s publishing, and in adult fiction and manuscript assessments. Her publishing background has been at Scholastic Australia, HarperCollins and now at Koala Books.

Dr Rose Moxham writes for adults and children and has published short stories and two young adult novels. Her most recent work is a novel, Teeth Marks (Allen & Unwin), April, 2007.

She has served as a judge for the NSW Premier's Literary Awards (2000) and on the committee of the NSW Premier’s Reading Challenge.

Rose has designed, developed and delivered undergraduate and post-graduate courses in writing and editing (non-fiction and fiction) at the University of Technology, Sydney (UTS) and Macquarie University since 1997.

She has vast experience in manuscript assessment and has reviewed peer textbooks on writing techniques (eg, Hazel Smith, The Writing Experiment, Allen & Unwin 2004) and mentored various authors.