Tales of Fontania
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Advice and tips on getting an assessment of your manuscript in New Zealand.
An assessment is a report, usually written, that points out the problems with a piece of work and makes some suggestions on how you may tackle these. It may also give advice on markets and other relevant factors.
An assessment will enable you to get some distance from your project and see it more objectively. You may be able to do this yourself by putting the project aside for a while and then coming back to it with a fresh eye. If this is the case, then the main benefit of an assessment is to save you time.
Another big advantage of an assessment is that it can help to rekindle your interest in and enthusiasm for a project.
Most assessors charge on the basis of the length of the manuscript. Costs vary but you can expect to pay around $600 to $900 for an average length book.
Be sure you get a quote from the assessor before you commit yourself to the process.
There are a number of people doing assessments in New Zealand. Several belong to the New Zealand Association of Manuscript Assessors (NZAMA) which has a code of ethics and concerns itself with the quality of assessments.
Not all good assessors belong to this association but membership ought to be some indication of quality.