Lynk Manuscript Assessment Service
OUR TERMS AND FEES
Lynk’s
assessment service is designed to provide a constructive critical
analysis of the work so that a manuscript may be developed to its full
potential.
A highly favourable report may be shown to publishers, but does not
constitute a formal recommendation. Where appropriate, a Lynk Letter
of Recommendation is provided with the report. Post-assessment advice
may be provided to authors free of charge. Twenty new authors have
found publication after undergoing this process, while several others
are currently in negotiations with publishing houses.
We provide assessments for all genres of fiction (novels, novellas, short-story
collections) and all fields of non-fiction, poetry, plays, screenplays and
writing for children.
Sean Doyle, the director of Lynk, is a published author and
a book editor with over 10 years’ experience in the publishing
industry.
Conditions of Assessment
1. Lynk encourages authors to email their submissions, as this saves on time and on post one way. If you would like to do this, please ensure that you have saved your manuscript and supporting material as Word documents, and that the file is no more than 3 MBs in size. Unless formatting is essential (eg. in a picture book), please ensure that the document is unformatted. As our assessors always work with hard copy, emailed submissions attract a printing fee of 10 cents per page. (For each page with a colour drawing on it, please allow $1.50 to print.) Please note that only those manuscripts for which adequate pre‑paid return postage has been included with the assessment fee, or which are accompanied by self‑addressed packaging of adequate size and adequately stamped, will be returned. Use STAMPS ONLY when providing return postage (printed receipts for postage are only valid on the day of issue). Submissions that do not meet these requirements will be held for six weeks and then discarded if adequate postage or funds are not forwarded.
2. Submissions should be 1.5 line-spaced and typewritten on A4 paper, printed on one side only. Manuscripts should be unbound (use elastic bands if desired). We will not assess hand-written material.
3. Each submission should include, along with the manuscript: a title page, a short synopsis (300 words or less), a market-position statement (200 words or less – sample provided upon request) and a writer’s bio (200 words or less).
4. Reports will be sent to authors after their manuscripts have been assessed.
While every care is taken with manuscripts submitted, we regret that we cannot
accept responsibility for any loss or damage.
5. Reports are not to be published without our approval, and quotes and/or
extracts must not be used out of context. Only a report in its entirety may
be sent with a manuscript as a submission to a publisher and/or a literary
agent.
6. Lynk Manuscript Assessment Service reserves the right to return manuscripts
and payment at its sole discretion without further correspondence.
7. Although an assessment will (where appropriate) contain advice on editing,
an edit of the manuscript is not provided as part of an assessment. Lynk also
provides a complete copy-editing service, which authors may request separately
to this manuscript assessment agreement.
8. Lynk assessors will remain anonymous at all times.
9. Authors may use a pseudonym. To ensure the objectivity of the assessment,
the author’s true name should not appear on the manuscript. Authors who
submit material with their true name in a header or footer will be deemed to
have waived their right to anonymity. However, please do write your true name
below – this is for Lynk’s records only, and shall be retained
at the Lynk office.
10. Authors must retain a copy of their submitted work, as its security remains
their responsibility.
Please read the Conditions of Assessment above
before completing this form.
Assessments will not proceed until Lynk has received this document fully completed
and signed, and until payment has been processed.
I have read and agree to be bound by Conditions 1 to 10 above.
Furthermore, I declare that this manuscript is my own original work.
I declare that this document has
not been altered after downloading and contains the same conditions
as that in Lynk’s
printed contract, and by setting my signature to these conditions, I
am bound by the conditions in Lynk’s printed contract.
I seek critical appraisal of my work to help determine its worth, and will
not dispute the professional opinions expressed in an assessment should I find
them not to my liking. I realise that new writers cannot assess the level of
talent or competence they have thus far attained. I seek an assessment to help
me understand what I can realistically expect from my writing. In the event
that there is anything I am unable to understand in my report, I am free to
discuss it with the Director, but I will expect no apologies to be made for
critical comments made by an assessor in a report, and I accept that no refunds
will be made under any circumstances.
MANUSCRIPT COVER SHEET
Signature:…………………………………….
Date …………………..
Name: Mr/Mrs/Ms:…………………………………..
Pseudonym (if used):……………………………….
Address:…………………………………………………………………………………………………
State:……………… Postcode:……………….. Telephone:…………….Email:…………………...
We request information on the author’s age to assist in the assessment process. Please circle your age group: under 21, 21–25, 26–35, 36–45, 46–55, 56–65, 65 +
Title of Manuscript: ……………………………………………………………………….
Genre of fiction or field of non-fiction: …..………………………………………………
Manuscript word count: …………………………………………………………………..
1. Assessments of completed manuscripts
Please use the following table to calculate the
fee applicable to your writing project:
(a) NON FICTION or FICTION
Up to 30,000 words: $330 $.….
Up to 80,000 words: $410 $…..
Up to 100,000 words: $460 $…..
If manuscript exceeds 100,000 words,
add $3 per 1,000 words over $…..
(b) PLAYS, SCREENPLAYS, POETRY MANUSCRIPTS (up to 70 poems):
Assessment fee: $450 $…..
(c) CHILDREN'S FICTION/POETRY:
Up to 10,000 words: $250 $….
Up to 30,000 words: $330 $….
Picture book text
(up to 2,000 words): $200 $….
(d) Postage for return of manuscript
(adequate cover please) $….
TOTAL FEE APPLICABLE: $….
Method of payment (please circle):Cheque. Postal Order. Bankcard. Mastercard. Visa.
Credit Card No:…………………………………………….. Expiry Date:..…/……/……
Cardholder's Name: ……………………………………………..
Please make cheques payable to Lynk Manuscript Assessment Service.
2. Early Interventions
Up to 10,000 words: $250
10,000 – 20,000 words: $290
20,000 – 30,000 words: $330
Click here for details of this service.
3. Publishing Services
– Copy editing
– Mentoring
– Consulting, and
– Assistance with self-publishing.
All of these services are available at a flat rate of $45 per hour.