Rhonda McKnight

Writing books that touch the heart of women, one story at a time.

The Manuscript Critique is for you if you have written an entire manuscript or a good portion of your manuscript and would like in-depth feedback. The manuscript critique is a higher level process than the evaluation, because in addition to identifying strengths and weaknesses in character, story structure and marketability, I will also analyze for key writing and story elements as follows:

  • Opening hook/inciting incident
  • Pacing
  • POV (point of view)
  • Dialogue
  • Use of dialogue tags vs. beats
  • Distinct character voices
  • Adverbs
  • Passive verbs
  • Backstory
  • Description
  • Showing vs. telling
  • Balance between narrative and dialogue
  • Unique use of prose and identification of cliché statements
  • Realism in character emotions
  • Voice
  • Scene structure–goal, motivation, conflict
  • Redundancies

What you will receive:

A red-line edit throughout the document in Microsoft Word for the elements listed above. This service does not include rewriting.

Rewriting is included in the Substantive Edit service.

I will email you your completed project at a predetermined delivery date by 9 p.m. eastern standard time on that date. If a hard-copy red-line is your preference this will require a printing and postage fee to be determined based on the size of the project. I will tell you where to mail your project if you choose this option.

Please also note that your project WILL NOT be proofread. (Proofreading includes spelling, punctuation and basic grammar.) Proofreading should be done as the final check of your manuscript. You should never pay for this during the critique or substantive edit process. (See Proofread Only service at the end.)

Normal delivery of critique projects will be within 14 days of acceptance, 21 days for projects over 80,000 words and 21 – 28 days for projects over 95,000 words. (Although they can rarely be accommodated, you may contact me for “rush job” prices.)
I am a very fair person. If I determine that your project was in excellent condition and I had very few suggestions for improvement, I will refund half of your fee, so that you may spend those monies to have your project copy edited.

What you will pay:

I charge a flat rate based on word count and you may submit a Full or Partial Manuscript. If you cannot afford a full manuscript critique, keep in mind a partial critique can really help identify weaknesses in your writing that you can correct moving forward. A partial critique may also be helpful in identifying weakness in your story.

  • Word 1 to 20,000 words: $200
  • 20,001 to 30,000 words: $350
  • 30,001 to 40,000 words: $500
  • 40,001 to 50,000 words: $600
  • 50,001 to 60,000 words: $750
  • 60,001 to 75,000 words: $850
  • 75,001 to 85,000 words: $950
  • 85,001 to 90,001 words: $1050
  • 90,001 to 95,000 words: 1,1200
  • 95,000 to 100,000 words: $1,300

Please contact me for pricing on projects over 100,000 words

The price for a second critique of the same project will be negotiated based on your submission, but generally if noticeable improvements have been made, the price will be cut by 20% of the regular price. Repeat customers will also receive a 10% discount on a new project. A 10% discount will also be applied to your next project when you refer me to another customer. (Limit one discount per project.) Your referral will receive a 5% discount as well.