Novel Evaluation

from flailing to fabulous

Look at you! You’ve accomplished what 97% of people who attempt fail— you’ve written a novel.

(Whooop! Whooop! Dance party!)

I bet you’re ready to send your novel into the world, build an audience, get a contract, collect royalties, and have book signing lines around the block.

But not yet. There’s still work to do.

WAIT, WHAT?

You finished your novel, typed THE END and then…

You immediately started querying. You sent a query to several agents but received “Thanks but no thanks” form rejections or even worse, it’s been months and you’ve heard nothing.
You have no idea what you’re doing. You already revised your novel – page by page, sentence by sentence – and oh look.. you had this other idea that’s looking pretty good right now. Maybe you’ll start writing that one.
You keep taking it back to your critique group. Your critique group has looked at your novel twenty-seven times and they keep saying things like, “Needs more romance” and two months later “Needs less romance.”
Your are paralyzed with fear. You put your novel in a drawer and haven’t looked at it for months.
You’ve changed as a person and a writer. You’re not writing the same book you started ten years ago and the beginning doesn’t match the end.
You lost your mojo. You had a great idea for an amazing story and you wrote morning noon and night! And then the Murky Middle happened. And then your characters wandered around and did some things and car chase explosion blah blah blah so you slapped a random ending on the end … It was all a dream! Or they’re all dead! Or… Or… Oh hell. You got nothin’.
You wish you didn’t need professional help. Because you know you’re that special snowflake who whipped out a brilliant 300,000 word first draft novel, and any minute now you’re going to get a call from a rock star agent who will sell it at auction to a Big 5 publishing house who is going to buy it for an eight figure advance. All of this thus enabling you to live a life of fame and leisure on the French Riviera.
(HAHAHA. Me too my friend. Me too.)

Whatever it is you’re doing right now, you’re not done yet.

Typing THE END is just the beginning.

So, instead of waiting around for the phone to ring, how about doing the next best thing:

Working your ass off getting a novel that attracts your dream readers or agents?

How much work is that exactly? It’s hard to say.

Does it need a spit shine and polish or a total overhaul and rewrite?

I can’t tell you that until I get my hot little hands on your novel.

Regardless of however long (and however many rewrites) it takes, my goal is for you to walk away with a no bullshit plan in hand feeling like you can do the required work to get your novel in beach body shape.

Let’s get to work!

Roll up your sleeves and together we’re going to turn all these pages you wrote into a kick-ass novel that will have readers demanding a sequel.

I’ve been offered representation by the agent of my dreams.

We've just finished signing the paperwork. Jocelyn’s coaching and editing played a huge role in this success.

— MATTHEW JACKSON

You're ready for an evaluation if...

You’ve written a full draft of a novel. (It doesn't have to be pretty. No judgement!)
You know you’ve got a great story but you're throwing you hands up in surrender.
You’re overwhelmed with all the classes, workshops, and conferences and just want someone to tell you what's wrong with your novel.
You've read all the how-to books on craft and feel like you're wasting your life trying to DIY your way to a bestseller.
You're tired of sending out queries to agents only to hear "Thanks but no thanks" or the worst... nothing at all.
You're spinning your wheels and you keep rewriting the same pages over and over tweaking a word here, a sentence there.
You're losing your mind trying to figure out why your novel isn't working (because you know it's not).

What you’re going to get:

Novel Roadmap Q&A. Before we talk, I’ll send you my Novel Roadmap Q&A. This will get your wheels churning on the foundational elements of your novel (A lot of writers never think about these things!) and give me a place to start digging into your story.
Reading. A full deep read of however much of your manuscript you currently have.
Evaluation. A written evaluation highlighting what’s working, what’s not, and how to fix it.
(The equivalent of a developmental edit.)
In-Document Comments. Feedback, comments and questions within the manuscript itself.
One 60-minute call. After I read and review your draft, we’ll get on a call to talk about feedback and next steps.
Plan. A next step action plan that is unique to your story and gives you a clear path to move forward.
Resubmission: 25-page resubmission after you’ve revised the draft.

** Important **

This package does not include line editing, copy editing, or proofreading.

All pages must be in standard manuscript format: Word document, double spaced, 12 pt. font, one inch margins, Times New Roman. This does not include a copy edit.

Turnaround time for a full manuscript read is approximately 6-8 weeks.

How much does it cost?

Pricing is based on the length of your novel. $0.02 per word.

50,000 words

COST: $1,000

60,000 words

COST: $1,200

80,000 words

COST: $1,600

100,000 words

COST: $2,000

(If your story is less than 200 pages or over 400 pages, drop me an email and we’ll chat.)

Let’s make your novel stand out, connect emotionally with readers, and memorable after the last page.

Take the next step and fill out a quickie application. If we’re a fit, I’ll reach out to set up a free discovery call with you!

(Unless your Facbook profile pic is you licking street signs, or your novel is for your Aunt Edna’s family reunion next summer.)

CURRENTLY CLOSED TO NEW CLIENTS

You made me realize I might really become a writer.

You just blew me away. I’ve spent the better part of 25 years trying to figure out something you saw and pointed out after reading one manuscript. That care and sensitivity to the underlayment of theme, more than anything else, gives me the confidence I can trust you with my work, with the vulnerability I feel as a writer. Not only do you ‘get’ story, you ‘get’ what the writer is doing, even when the writer isn’t sure.

— DEB BOONE