Manuscript assessments and poetry feedback
It’s always hard to see the good and bad points of our own writing. Asking friends and family to check out a poem, story, novel, or memoir is generally useless unless all you want to hear is ‘Lovely’ and ‘Very nice’. Asking fellow writers may not work either, because often they’re too busy to do a thorough review or are afraid to offend us by being honest. This can make it tricky to know how best to polish our writing to appeal to readers, publishers, and competition judges.
A manuscript assessment is a great way to get an informed, objective opinion of your work. It’s a detailed report from an experienced writer and editor on the strengths and weaknesses of your writing, with recommendations for improving it.
I had very little confidence in my poetry until I asked Jackson to go through it. [Jackson] told me what was effective and where I needed to put more work in.
Tineke Van der Eecken
Jackson’s work and input was invaluable. They gave detailed, insightful and supportive feedback. … I learnt so much to elevate my poetry, and also was successful in my submission!
Sarita Slater
I have many years of experience providing manuscript assessments and constructive feedback, especially for poetry. I’ve also helped clients perfect novels and memoirs. My clients have won awards and published books.
A good manuscript assessor understands that negativity can feel like a punch in the guts, so they will be tactful as well as honest. I’ve got an advantage in this area: as well as being an award-winning poet, writer and editor, I’m an experienced educator with formal training in constructive assessment.
Jackson’s honest, respectful feedback has helped me to write with more confidence.
Elizabeth Nicholls
Poetry book development
Several times, a client has sent me a sheaf of poems and asked me to pick out the best ones, edit them, and order them into a book—which they have then successfully submitted for publication. I love working with poetry, so this is one of my favourite kinds of work!
I asked … Jackson to help me with task of vetting the new poems I had been working on, and to review the manuscript. What transpired was that some of the older poems no longer hit the mark, that many of them needed serious edits … I liked the new structure Jackson suggested.
Tineke Van der Eecken
I’ve also helped clients choose poems to submit to magazines and contests, with excellent results. I can even suggest where to send your poems and, if you wish, do the submissions for you!
Want to succeed with your writing?
Talk to me.
Please send me a sample of your writing so I can decide whether I’m the right person to help you.
I normally charge a fee for feedback, but if you’re an experienced author whose writing I like, I might be interested in swapping feedback with you.
Image: Ketut Subiyanto
Jackson 