A manuscript evaluation is a roadmap to a book’s future. It can sometimes replace a developmental edit, and it provides the author constructive critique on every element of their book, including (as needed) structure, tone, consistency, voice, flow, titles, permissions, and sensitive topics. It also answers the author’s specific questions. I include publishing advice in my manuscript evaluations for authors who want it.
Read MoreSelf-publishing carried a stigma back in 2008 when the traditional New York publishing house W. W. Norton published my first book, Gumbo Tales: Finding My Place at the New Orleans Table. What a difference sixteen years, and a whole lot of technology, made in the publishing world. In the current market, anyone with a story to tell and access to a computer and a bank account can publish a book and find an audience. Authors like me come to self-publishing for many reasons. In her (self-published) workbook, The Publishing Workbook for Independent Authors: Your Step-By-Step Guide to Professional Book Design, Production, and Distribution, self-publishing guru Carla King lists six possible reasons for self-publishing, and all of them resonate with me.
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