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It all began with a Fearless Manuscript Review. In early 2003, unknown and unpublished author Gary Renard sent Fearless Books a manuscript entitled The Disappearance of the Universe for a full assessment. By late 2003, that title had been developed for publication under the Fearless imprint and went on to become a metaphysical best-seller. After 25,000 copies of the Fearless edition were sold, the title was taken over by Hay House, which now has over 200,000 copies in print, in 20 languages worldwide.
D. Patrick Miller, founder of Fearless Books and Literary Services, has been assessing and editing fiction and nonfiction manuscripts for over 25 years, and has given hundreds of authors priceless advice on refining and preparing their work for publication. He has also provided editing and assessments directly to major publishers including Viking, Crown, Warner, Doubleday, Avon, Simon & Schuster, J.P. Tarcher, Hay House, New World Library, and others. He also works as a literary agent, knows a number of other agents, and can help promising authors make publishing connections. Finally, Patrick has been publishing independently since 1997 and knows the ropes of conventional publishing, print-on-demand, e-books, and other forms of publication.
No other editor or literary service can offer this breadth and depth of expertise. If you’re wondering whether your manuscript has what it takes to succeed — and what you can do to improve its chances — investing now in a Fearless assessment is the smartest literary move you’ll ever make!
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What is a Manuscript Review?
A review is a full, publisher-level assessment of your work in progress, including sample editing and comments on the manuscript plus a comprehensive letter of review. This letter offers further observations on what’s working in your project and what could be improved. The Manuscript Review is a crucial step that’s important before you pay for line editing, because it can save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars.How? Most line editors provide only a technical correction of spelling, grammar, and syntax in your existing manuscript, charging by the word from beginning to end. They are not assessing the manuscript’s potential to succeed as a published book. To provide that kind of assessment requires publishing expertise, and very few people offering line editing services are also veteran publishers.
Too many writers invest in copy-editing prematurely, often spending several thousand dollars on a full line edit of their manuscripts before necessary developmental work has been done. First-draft manuscripts are often in need of restructuring or restyling, which the author can sometimes do with skilled advice. So it is much smarter to follow a publisher’s advice on how to shape and refine your early draft before engaging the services of a line editor. This can not only save you money, but will make you a better writer.
Editing, Coaching, and Publishing
After your project is reviewed, Patrick will recommend the most efficient and least expensive method of editing. If he feels that he can do it at that point, he'll offer a significant discount and begin the edit right away. If you do your own first revision and come back later for editing, the editing fee will be discounted at that time.
In some cases, a Review is the beginning of a coaching relationship for the continuing development of a project. An assessment and/or editing may also be the start of an Assisted Publishing project, which takes you all the way to a finished book in print and/or digital formats under your own imprint.
(You can download the free e-book CHOOSE YOUR PUBLISHING OPTION for a current & comprehensive survey of all the publication alternatives.)
An assessment deals with both the literary quality and publishing potential of your work. The aim is to help you achieve a greater sense of accomplishment as a writer, and find the most efficient and rewarding route to publication. Almost any kind of book project can be assessed or edited, with the exception of projects of a highly technical nature.
How long does a Review take?
For standard-length projects, allow six to eight weeks from the time of submission and payment to the return of a manuscript with comments, sample editing, and the letter of assessment. Short or partial manuscripts will be assessed more quickly.How do I submit a manuscript for assessment?
Write to info@fearlessbooks.com and you'll receive a reply with instructions for submitting payment and submission of your manuscript in Word as an e-mail attachment. For a novel, please submit a synopsis of the storyline; for nonfiction projects, a table of contents and/or a brief chapter outline is helpful. With any work, you should submit a cover letter in the text of your e-mail, describing the history of the project to date, your writing experience, and what you hope to achieve by being published.See the rate schedule below for costs of reviewing a long manuscript, short or partial manuscript, nonfiction proposal, poetry, and query or cover letters.
Basic Rates and Conditions for Manuscript Reviews
$1495-$1995.00 is the fee range for assessing a book-length manuscript (50,000-100,000 words). Manuscripts of more than 100,000 words are subject to a surcharge of $200 for each additional 10,000 words. All manuscripts should be accompanied by a synopsis (for fiction) or table of contents and chapter summaries (for nonfiction) of the entire project. Payment can be made online, and submissions are accepted as Word files submitted via e-mail.
You will receive a written review of 1500-2000 words, providing a professional opinion of your material’s strong points, weaknesses, marketing potential, and overall impact. The assessment generally includes some sample editing and margin comments on the first 50 pages of Word manuscript files. Explicit "next steps" advice is given to help you improve your work on your own. If it's determined that your work is ready for line editing and the full written Review would not be useful, you'll receive an estimate for the total editing project. In that case, the initial Review fee can serve as a partial deposit.
$900-$1400.00 is the fee range for reading and evaluating complete or partial manuscripts of fewer than 50,000 words, such as novellas, children’s picture books, middle-grade novels, short stories, nonfiction articles, and so on. The written assessment will be about 1000 words.
$995.00 is the standard fee for a Proposal Assessment, reviewing a cover letter and/or query, chapter outline, and short writing sample for a nonfiction project. This assessment helps with the refinement of nonfiction proposals intended for agents and editors, but it is not a revision itself. For a proposal revision, write for a customized estimate.
$500.00 is the standard fee for reading and reviewing a poetry collection. A poem or group of poems comprising up to 200 lines total will be assessed for $250. Inquire about custom rates.
$225.00 is the fee for a "Quick Look" at a manuscript sample of 2500 words or less. Click here for details.
PLEASE NOTE THAT RESERVATIONS ARE NOW BEING TAKEN FOR REVIEWS AND ASSESSMENTS. If you would like to reserve a start date for the next available Fast Assessment or Review, write info@fearlessbooks.com for the current schedule and reservation information.
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Before founding Fearless Books in 1997 to continue the publication of his writing, D. PATRICK MILLER sold three solo projects to major publishers: Viking, Henry Holt, and Dell. He is now the author of over a dozen print titles and 25+ e-books, including these titles in general circulation: Understanding A Course in Miracles (Second Edition, Fearless Books, 2021); How to Be Spiritual Without Being Religious (Hampton Roads, 2018); The Forgiveness Book (Hampton Roads, 2017); and Living with Miracles (Tarcher/Penguin, 2011). As a collaborator, ghostwriter, or principal editor, Patrick has helped other authors prepare manuscripts for such publishers as Viking, Doubleday, Warner, Crown, Simon & Schuster, Hay House, Hampton Roads, and John Wiley & Sons. His poetry has been published in a number of magazines and several anthologies. Patrick provides professional manuscript consultations to literary agents and publishers as well as published and unpublished authors working in fiction and nonfiction. He also helps many writers publish independently through the Fearless Assisted Publishing program, and provides professional representation to selected authors.
