Posts Tagged ‘book critiques’

I love the name ‘Book Doctor’. Whenever I think of it I see an image of a book in my head with a stethoscope hanging around its cover and a green hat perched on top. Just like the man below in fact..if the man were a book!

Essentially a Book Doctor is just a fancy way of saying someone who critiques your writing on your behalf. Even if you’re a professional writer already, a book critique must always be outsourced. It’s very difficult to look at your own work from an objective ‘on the fence’ point of view.

Writers tend to become quite possessive over their words, metaphors, similes, characters and scenes. Even when it makes perfect sense to cut a particular scene or phrase, we like to hold them firmly with both hands and not let go.

If, however, the advice comes from a Book Doctor it’s much easier to hit that delete button. And even though we may shed a small tear to see our favourite character chopped from the book completely, at least we’ll know there’s a good reason to say goodbye.

To be in with a good chance of landing a book deal from a publishing company, or getting an agent to take on your work, a book critique of your manuscript is greatly advised.

A good Book Doctor will look at various elements of your work, including but not limited to:

• Does your book include believable characters with enough layers?
• Does the descriptive vocabulary of your book engage all five senses of a reader?
• Does your book depict a thorough sense of place?
• Is the pacing of your book correct?
• Does the dialogue of your book read well, or is it wooden in places?
• Is the general theme of your book obvious?
• Does the book content suit the target market?
• Is it evident whereabouts in the bookshop this novel will sit, ie, the genre?
• Is the plot of your book consistent?
• The layout and presentation of your manuscript
• Do your scenes convey a believable and relevant atmosphere?
• Grammar and punctuation of your book.

If you’re lucky your Book Doctor will also throw in an edit of your book at the same time, but be aware that many ‘critiquers’ charge separately for this service.

So there you have it – I hope this post has given you a broader understanding of the role of a Book Doctor. It isn’t about finding out if your book is ill. It’s about making sure that your book is the healthiest it can possibly be!

Love & Light

The Word Queen xxx

PS. I offer a FREE EDIT with all book critiques.