Our Services
The Writers’ Advice Centre is open to everyone writing for children whether they be complete beginners or already published authors. We will look at all types of writing for children. This could include picture books, early readers, short stories, novels for older children, non-fiction and poetry.
The advice services that we offer can be broken down into four different types:-
- Manuscript Appraisal Service
- Ideas Appraisal Service
- Telephone Consultancy Service
- Copy-Editing Service
For details of our Home Study Course and Mentoring Scheme please click here.
1. MANUSCRIPT APPRAISAL SERVICE (from £75.00)
We have been offering this extremely popular service since we launched the Centre back in 1994. It is suitable for authors who are seeking advice on a completed, or part-completed, piece of writing.
Once you have submitted your manuscript to us you will be assigned a suitable editor About Us . Your editor will carefully read your work and prepare a full, detailed and frank report. There is no fixed length but this is usually around ten pages. The report is presented in an official Advice Centre folder and we try to respond within 45 working days – ie. just over two months. We can provide a faster response for 50% of the standard fee added onto the overall cost.
Topics covered in the report will include presentation, targeting, subject matter, theme & plotting, structure & style, characterisation & dialogue, viewpoint, approach, choosing a publisher and a suggested list of further reading.
This particular service does not include proof-reading or copy-editing, but it will sometimes be necessary to mark your work with the dreaded red pen so it is best not to send your one and only copy!
Manuscripts do not need to be expensively prepared and packaged – so long as they are clear and in hard copy format (ie. not on disc) we are happy to read them.
A reduced fee for a manuscript resubmitted within four weeks of receiving a report on the same manuscript is available.
If you would like to make use of this service please go to Fees
2. IDEAS APPRAISAL SERVICE (from £75.00)
This service is ideal for authors who are brimming over with ideas and want general feedback before spending time developing them into completed manuscripts.
You can submit up to five ideas for the one fee. Each idea synopsis should be two pages or less and a short extract of writing for each idea should also be submitted (no more than a single page).
The report will be brief – no more than a page on each idea – but to the point. Your editor will comment on the feasibility of the idea itself and offer advice as to where it might fit in the children’s book market.
If you would like to make use of this service please go to Fees .
3. TELEPHONE CONSULTANCY SERVICE (from £1.20 per minute)
We are always happy to chat with writers on the phone and to answer email enquiries. However some people want to have more lengthy discussions without feeling rushed by the inevitable pressures of a busy office environment.
We offer a one-stop telephone consultancy service in the form of a dedicated advice line. The advantage of this service is that for the first time clients can control how much they want to spend. The costing is on a per minute basis and the time spent on the phone is entirely up to the individual. It could be as little as five minutes or less, which works out a lot cheaper than the standard £50 that we previously charged.
Managing Editor, Louise Jordan, is the expert on the other end of the advice line and she has set aside four afternoons a week to take calls – Monday to Thursday, 2pm – 5pm. This means that you can call in the knowledge that Louise will be able to give as much time to your questions as you wish.
Please note that if you are unable to call during these hours it is possible to make an appointment to talk on the advice line at other times.
4. COPY-EDITING SERVICE (from £150.00)
We are now able to offer a full copy-editing service. This could include anything from simple corrections to grammar and spelling, to complete re-structuring of manuscript content.
The term ‘copy-editing’ means different things to different people, and writers’ expectations, as to what this service provides, vary hugely. Anyone interested in having their work copy-edited should submit the relevant manuscript to our office and we can then give a ‘no obligation’ estimate on cost. Do be aware, though, that the work of a copy-editor is extremely time-consuming and our prices will reflect this.
If you would like to make use of this service please go to Fees
General Information
Although we have links with both publishers and agents we do not automatically make specific recommendations. It is important to remember that children’s publishing is an extremely competitive industry. Publishers are businesses, not charities, and they will only take on work which they feel will result in high sales.
At The Writers’ Advice Centre we are only too aware of the demands of the industry and will not make false promises of success. To do so would reflect badly both on us, as a service, and on the author concerned. When appropriate we are certainly able to suggest specific publishers and agents, but for us to do this a manuscript needs to be as near perfect as it can be, both in marketing and editorial terms, when it reaches us. This is rare. What we can do, in the majority of cases, is work on a manuscript with you and guide you through the complex market that makes up children’s publishing.
Success
Obviously in those rare cases when a manuscript is suitable for submission we will do everything we can to ensure that your work gets published – including forwarding work ourselves after discussion with the author. For success stories click here