We’ll connect you with an editor who can read your work with fresh eyes and tell you where to focus your energy next.
You’ve done the hardest part—you finished a book. But now you’re staring at this complete manuscript wondering what it actually needs. Is it the big picture that’s not working? The individual sentences? Something else entirely? We’ll connect you with an editor who can read your work with fresh eyes and tell you where to focus your energy next.
Duration: 2–8 weeks
A detailed assessment of your manuscript’s strengths and areas for improvement
A specific revision plan with clear next steps
Clear understanding of your next steps toward publication
Turnaround: 2-8 weeks depending on manuscript length and editing needs
Your initial call with our Founder to understand your manuscript’s genre, current stage, and your specific goals for the manuscript consultation. We’ll discuss your concerns, timeline needs, and any particular areas where you’re seeking guidance, ensuring we match you with the editor who has the right expertise and approach for your project’s unique requirements.
Your assigned editor will read the first 5 pages of your manuscript prior to this 30-minute call, then walk you through their initial observations and explain their editorial approach for your project. This conversation helps you understand what to expect from the full review process and allows your editor to address any questions or concerns you have about moving forward.
DEVELOPMENTAL EDITING:
High-level feedback on themes, pacing, character development (for fiction), argument strength and clarity (for non-fiction), and overall effectiveness on its own terms. For early drafts.
LINE EDITING:
Sentence-level suggestions to strengthen your unique voice, improve prose flow, and eliminate distractions that could pull readers out of your story. Focus on clarity, rhythm, and refinement. For later drafts.
COPYEDITING/PROOFREADING:
Thorough grammar, punctuation, and consistency corrections to prepare your work for submission or publication. This final polish addresses technical errors and ensures your manuscript meets professional publishing standards. For finished drafts.
Comprehensive written report that summarizes your editor’s findings, prioritizes revision areas, and provides actionable next steps whether you’re focusing on structural changes, prose refinement, or final preparation for submission. These reports vary in length, but most of them range from 10-20 pages.
Live 60-minute discussion with your editor to walk through their detailed report, clarify recommendations, and answer your questions about the feedback. Your editor will help you prioritize revision tasks, discuss implementation strategies, and develop a clear plan for moving forward with your manuscript.
As your first step with Hewes House, you’ll have a 15-minute phone call with our Founder, Josh Boardman. We’ll talk through your manuscript: how long it is, what stage it’s in, and what kind of feedback you’re looking for. We’ll cover questions like:
This call helps us understand your project and match you with the right editor. If we think you’d be better served elsewhere, we’ll tell you—and point you in the right direction.
Based on your consultation call, we’ll match you with an editor who knows your genre and understands what you’re looking for. Your editor will reach out to introduce themselves, send over a contract and timeline, and you’ll submit your manuscript.
Before your editor dives in, you’ll confirm the scope of the edit and set a delivery date. Whether you need feedback in two weeks or two months, we’ll work with your schedule. Your editor will also ask about any specific concerns you have—sections you’re unsure about, questions you want answered, elements you’d like them to pay particular attention to.
Typically, our editors turn manuscripts around in 2-6 weeks, depending on availability and depth of the project.
We read your full manuscript and provide feedback based on the scope you agreed on. For developmental edits, that means a detailed editorial letter addressing structure, pacing, character, and narrative. For line edits, you’ll get in-document comments and revisions throughout. For copyedits and proofreads, your editor will clean up grammar, consistency, and style so your manuscript is submission-ready.
Your editor sends over their complete feedback package: an editorial letter with big-picture notes, line-level comments throughout the manuscript, and two versions of your file—one with tracked changes, one clean. Editorial letters are anywhere from 4 to 12 pages, so they’re thorough; take your time reading through everything before your live consultation, and your editor will help guide you through their feedback so nothing gets lost in translation.
Once you’ve had time to read through everything, you’ll meet with your editor for a live video call to walk through the feedback together. This is your chance to ask questions, dig into their notes, and talk through your revision plan. You’ll leave the call knowing exactly what to do next.
After your consultation, your editor is available via email for two weeks to answer any follow-up questions that occur to you as you dig into revisions. We know l’esprit de l’escalier strikes most painfully during hour-long calls, so feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns you may have following your consultation, either to your editor, or the Founder.
Authors with “finished” drafts who know something feels off but can’t pinpoint what—whether it’s pacing, structure, or clarity—and need an outside expert to diagnose and prioritize
Writers expecting basic feedback rather than comprehensive professional manuscript analysis—our consultation provides in-depth editorial assessment, not quick reads or surface-level suggestions
With Hewes House, you’re not just hiring an editor: you’re hiring our entire infrastructure. We act as your hiring manager (vetting editors for experience and quality), project manager (ensuring timelines and deliverables), and quality assurance team (maintaining consistent standards across all reviews). We handle the matchmaking between your manuscript and the right editorial expertise, provide structured consultation processes rather than ad hoc feedback, and serve as your advocate if anything goes wrong.
When you hire a freelancer directly, you’re responsible for vetting their credentials, managing the project timeline, ensuring quality standards, and handling any miscommunications or issues. Many freelancers inflate their credentials—claiming “Big Five publisher experience” without mentioning they worked in marketing or accounting rather than editorial roles, or listing impressive clients without context about the actual work performed. We thoroughly vet our editors’ editorial experience and ensure transparent qualifications, removing the guesswork and protecting you from credential inflation or misrepresentation.
That depends on your manuscript’s current stage, which we determine during your editor assessment call. Your editor will read your first five pages and discuss your goals to identify whether you need developmental editing (big-picture structure and content), line editing (prose refinement and voice), or copy editing (grammar and final polish). We provide the type of editing that most aligns with your expectations, not a one-size-fits-all approach.
During your founder consultation, we assess your manuscript’s genre, current development stage, and your specific goals. We then match you with an editor who has proven experience in your genre and the type of editing you need. Before the full review begins, you’ll have an assessment call with your assigned editor to ensure it’s a good fit and you’re comfortable with their approach.
Most genres share fundamental storytelling principles, so our experienced editors can work across related categories—for example, an editor with mystery experience can effectively review cozy mysteries, police procedurals, or psychological thrillers. We work with editors experienced across literary fiction, commercial fiction, memoir, business books, self-help, academic writing, and hybrid genres, which covers the vast majority of manuscripts.
During your consultation call, we’ll discuss your project’s unique aspects and match you with an editor who understands the broader category and core audience expectations for your work. If your project truly falls outside our team’s expertise, we’ll let you know upfront and refer you to appropriate specialists rather than provide subpar service.
The consultation includes your detailed report and results meeting where you can ask questions about implementation. If you want ongoing support during revisions, you can book additional coaching sessions or consider our Do-It-Together program for future projects.
Many clients use the consultation to get clear direction, then work independently on revisions. If you need additional editorial review after implementing changes, we offer discounted rates for subsequent consultations on the same manuscript—because we know that good revision often happens in stages, and we want to support you through the complete process.
We may be able to accommodate rush requests depending on current capacity and manuscript length. Rush consultations (1-2 week turnaround) are available for an additional 25% fee. Mention your deadline request during your founder consultation and we’ll let you know what’s possible.
Stop searching through freelancer marketplaces and get professional manuscript consultation from vetted editors matched to your specific needs.
Book your founder consultation call today and experience the difference of working with our team of professionals.