Olvar Wood provide professional, detailed manuscript appraisals of books and short works in all genres, including childrens books, biography, non-fiction, crime, speculative fiction, poetry and even academic theses or articles. Our assessors are experienced writers and readers whose goal is to help you make your book the best it can be.
We pride ourselves on our detailed reports. While other appraisal services offer 2 or 3 pages of feedback, our reports average 10-12 pages of personal feedback. We will also mark up sections of your manuscript with comments and suggestions. Your marked-up pages will be returned to you with your report.
We're also very proud of our open and responsive approach. Our assessors are not anonymous; we stand behind the assessment we make, and are more than happy to meet with you to discuss the report after it's complete.
More Information ...
Click on the titles to read about the different aspects of our unique appraisal services.
How much will it cost?The cost of your appraisal will depend on the length of your manuscript:
Short Works:
per 5000 words$100.00
Book-length works:
up to 40000 words$400.00
up to 50000 words $450.00 every 10,000 words over 50,000 $50.00 Friends of Olvar receive a 15 % discount.
QWC, ACTWC, NRWC and Gold Coast Writers Association members receive a 10% discount.
What Does an Appraisal include?Each appraisal includes:
- a synopsis of the work;
- a detailed evaluation of the work's strengths and areas for improvement;
- suggestions for ways in which to address those areas that could be further improved;
- suggestions for further research or reading;
- a clear statement of whether we believe your work is ready for submission to a professional publisher or agent;
- An opportunity to follow up your report by meeting with your assessor (in person or email/phone).
Can you get my work published?Obviously, we cannot guarantee that you will get published just by getting your work appraised. So much depends on you: not just how well developed your project is to begin with, but how you use the feedback you get to develop your work even further. However, we do enjoy excellent working relationships with a number of leading literary agencies and publishers, and can offer advice and make recommendations if we feel that is suitable. We cannot damage these relationships by recommending work that is not yet of a publishable standard. What we can guarantee is that your appraisal will be an honest and professional evaluation of your work, with detailed suggestions as to how to further develop the project.How long will it take?It will take us up to two weeks to assess a short work, such as an essay or short story up to 5000 words.
It will take us up to six weeks to read and assess a book-length manuscript of up to 80,000 words.
It will take us up to eight weeks to read and assess a book-length manuscript of up to 120,000 words.
If your manuscript is longer than 120,000 words, please contact us for a timeframe.
Manuscript formattingWhile we're not all that fussed about the way you format your manuscript, as long as it's clear and legible, you might find the following guidelines useful. These are fairly standard guidelines used throughout the international publishing world for both short and long fiction.
- Double spaced and single sided printing.
- 12 point Times New Roman font.
- A header on each page that includes your surname, the title of your work, and the page number. These should appear in the following format: Tolstoy/Anna Karenina/2.
- Paragraphs should be indented, except for the first paragraph of a chapter or new section, which should be left aligned.
- Each new chapter should appear on a new page.
- The title page should include:
- Your name, postal and email addresses, and any other contact details, in the top left corner.
- The approximate word count in the top right corner.
- The title of the manuscript, centred, about halfway down the page.
- Your pen name (whether it's the same as or different to your real name) centred beneath the title.
FundingAlthough Olvar Wood Writers Retreat does not supply or receive funding itself, you can apply for funding to support your visit to Olvar Wood through the state-based arts funding organisations listed below. If you are a postgraduate student at a university, you can apply to use your discretionary funds to attend a retreat or workshop. We are happy to provide letters of support or other documentation for your application upon request
Questions & SubmissionsIf you'd like to ask more questions about our service, please send us an email at:
If you'd like to submit your manuscript for an appraisal, please contact us first to schedule your appraisal. Then post your manuscript, along with your contact details, to the address below. We will contact you as soon as it arrives:
PO Box 252
Palmwoods QLD 4555
AUSTRALIA
Some Comments from Previous Clients
"Thank you a million times over. Your feedback is exactly what I was after – insightful and constructive. It all rings true. You have found the elements that have been bothering me about the story. I am now excited to rework it." (T Layton)
"You've been penetrating in your comments, and I appreciate that. And there's enough encouragement to keep me going! You've given me plenty of food for thought, and homed in on the bad habits that keep rearing their heads despite my best endeavours - and on the aspects of the novel that I was already uneasy about." (B McKenzie)
"Just letting you know I heard from [author/friend] after she received her manuscript appraisal and she is very happy with the outcome. I think this is testament to the way you handled the whole thing - [author] was feeling pretty dejected before she posted the m/s to you. You've been so even-handed that she is able to take on board the hard things you've had to say and feel encouraged by the positives, to the extent that she will go back and revise it. You've been able to give her the tough news in a way that she was immediately able to recognise the problems, relate them to her writing and herself, and feel it was possible to make it all better. Somehow you've worked a small miracle - to leave her fragile writer's self-esteem more or less intact, without molly-coddling." (Friend of a client)
Olvar Wood Writers Retreat. Queensland, Australia