What is the Manuscript Reading Service?
Please read the information on this page thoroughly before submitting your manuscript. If you have any questions not covered here, please contact us at [email protected].
The Manuscript Reading Service is an opportunity to have your manuscript read by a professional writer who will provide you with a detailed evaluation of content and technique, as well as suggestions for further development of your work. This service is available to WGA members and non-members within Canada.
The Manuscript Reading Service is run as a blind service in which author and reader are anonymous to one another.
What does the Manuscript Reading Service Provide?
The Manuscript Reading Service provides anonymous feedback on your manuscript from an experienced reader. The reader will provide a comprehensive report (minimum of 3 pages in length) that provides feedback and evaluation on the quality of the writing. Their report will including feedback on the writing technique, content, and possibly suggestions for potential areas of improvement to help with the next draft of your manuscript.
Please note that this is not intended to be a copyediting or line-level editing service (for definitions of the various types of editing, check out https://www.editors.ca/hire/definitions-editorial-skills). Rather, the intent of the Manuscript Reading Service is to offer general feedback on the quality of the writing.
Readers may include comments within your manuscript to supplement their report (often to help illustrate the feedback in their report), but this is not a requirement of their contract and will not always be included or necessary.
How to Submit Your Manuscript to the Manuscript Reading Service?
Electronic manuscripts (Words .doc or .docx format) can be submitted by email to: [email protected].
Please Note: We are no longer able to accept print/hard copy manuscripts.
If you have any questions about submitting your manuscript, please email us at [email protected] before sending your manuscript.
When submitting a manuscript, please include the following documents:
Manuscript
Manuscripts should be in a standard, readable 12 pt. font (e.g. Times New Roman or Calibri; black font colour, etc.)
Keep images/photos to a minimum (too many images can make the file sizes too large, and the readers will be focusing on the written work)
Pages must display page numbers and be numbered sequentially.
Emailed manuscripts must be a Word file (.doc, .docx).
Submissions must be in English.
Prose manuscripts should be double-spaced.
The author’s name must not appear on the manuscript itself.
Readers may include comments in the manuscript to support their feedback report. Keep an original copy of your manuscript for your files.
In a separate Word document, provide a cover sheet with the following:
Author name
Author contact information (email, phone number, address)
Word/page count of manuscript
Genre of manuscript (e.g. literary fiction, creative nonfiction, science fiction, young adult novel)
Optional: Any additional notes on content, such as if the manuscript deals with sensitive or graphic subject matter that may be uncomfortable for some readers (this helps us ensure that we select a suitable reader for your manuscript).
Optional: If you have any specific questions you wish the reader to address, please type them on an additional separate Word document. Please note the number of specific questions the reader can address is limited (ideally, we recommend limiting it to 3 – 5 questions focused on key areas of concern to the author).
Reading Fee and Payment
All fees for this service are paid to the manuscript reader.
The Manuscript Reading Service is subsidized for Writers’ Guild of Alberta members. WGA members receive one subsidized use of the Manuscript Reading Service per program year (April 1st to March 31st), in which the WGA pays a portion of the reader fee on behalf of the member, as detailed in the Fee Structure table and related notes.
Non-members are welcome to use the service, but have to pay the full reading fee without subsidy (e.g. for a manuscript of 20,001 – 50,000 words, a non-member would have to pay the full $300 to cover the reader’s fee).
Similarly, WGA members who wish to use the service more than once within the same program year can do so provided they pay the full reader fee for any subsequent submissions after the first (subsidies are limited to one per member per program year).
If the manuscript and cover sheet meet the submission requirements, your manuscript will be added into the service and you will receive an email confirming receipt of your manuscript, cover sheet, and (if applicable) question sheet. The email will include a link to the payment page where you can pay the reader fee by credit card.
Alternative methods of payment can be arranged if you prefer to pay by e-transfer or mail a cheque.
Fee Structure
Prose
| Size | Subsidized Fee* | Unsubsidized Fee* |
|---|---|---|
| Under 3000 words | $75.00 | $150.00 |
| 3001 to 6000 words | $90.00 | $180.00 |
| 6001 to 10,000 words | $105.00 | $210.00 |
| 10,001 to 20,000 words | $120.00 | $240.00 |
| 20,001 to 50,000 words | $150.00 | $300.00 |
| 50,001 to 80,000 words | $175.00 | $350.00 |
| 80,001 to 100,000 words | $415.00** | $590.00 |
| 100,001 to 130,000 words | $475.00** | $650.00 |
Poetry
| Size | Subsidized Fee* | Unsubsidized Fee* |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 24 pages | $75.00 | $150.00 |
| 25 to 64 pages | $105.00 | $210.00 |
| 65 to 100 pages | $150.00 | $300.00 |
Dramatic Scripts
| Size | Subsidized Fee* | Unsubsidized Fee* |
|---|---|---|
| Up to 29 pages | $75.00 | $150.00 |
| 30 to 60 pages | $105.00 | $210.00 |
| 61 to 100 pages | $150.00 | $300.00 |
*All fees for this service are paid to the manuscript reader, plus a matching subsidy amount contributed by the Writers’ Guild of Alberta (up to a maximum subsidy of $175). For example, if the author submitting the manuscript pays $150 for an evaluation on a prose manuscript of 20,001 – 50,000 words, the manuscript reader receives an honorarium of $300.
Please note: the WGA is only able to subsidize one manuscript submission per member per year. Members are welcome to submit more than one manuscript within a 12-month period, but subsequent submissions within that period would not receive the subsidy and as such the fee would be double (e.g. for a second manuscript of 20,001 – 50,000 words submitted in the same year, the author would have to pay the full $300 to cover the reader’s fee).
**If your manuscript is longer than 80,000 words, the WGA will subsidize up to $175 of the manuscript reader’s fee with the difference being paid for by the author. Hence the increase in fee for the 80,001 to 100,000 word and 100,001 to 130,000 word tiers for longer manuscripts.
We are unable to accommodate manuscripts that exceed 130,000 words.
What Happens After You Submit Your Manuscript
After receiving your manuscript and cover sheet, staff will review the documents to make sure they meet the submission requirements for the service. Once the manuscript is accepted into the Manuscript Reading Service, you will receive an email to let you know that will include the payment link.
Once payment is received, we will begin matching your manuscript with an ideal reader. As soon as we have matched your manuscript, we will email you to let you know and with an estimate on when to expect their report. Typically, we allow six to eight weeks for a reader to read a manuscript and submit their report.
Reasons a Manuscript Might Not Be Accepted
If there are any questions or issues with your manuscript submission, someone will contact you to clarify the information or attempt to rectify the issues. Possible reasons that may delay or prevent your manuscript from being accepted into the Manuscript Reading Service include:
- The manuscript contains identifiers that would potentially identify the author to the reader.
- The cover sheet is missing or incomplete.
- The manuscript length doesn’t match the cover sheet or exceeds the maximum length that the service accepts (as per the fee structure table above).