I have now received editorial evaluations for both books which were very positive.
The editorial evaluation format from iUniverse is very user-friendly. The editor sends you a multi-page document containing their comments on various topics (the basics; title; marketing text; opening; basic premise and tone; point of view; structure, plot and pace; setting; characterization; dialogue; basic punctuation and grammar; and general comments about the manuscript). The evaluation finishes off with their trade mark "Editorial Rx Referral".
On each topic listed above, the editor has a series of standard questions they answer about the book (yes or needs work), and then they give a narrative answer, citing examples from the book. I found this very valuable. For both books I received lots of constructive comments which I plan on integrating into the manuscripts.
Any complaints? You betcha. And I've shared this with iUniverse. They have a program called "Editor's Choice" where editors at iUniverse identify good, solid books to get their "gold seal of approval". Both of my books were recommended by the editors for this program. However, there's a catch. You have to submit to their recommendations (i.e. have your book copy edited, or have your book line edited, etc.) and pay very big bucks to their organization to have the job done.
Don't get me wrong, I know that copy editing and proofreading are very expensive propositions (see one of my first blog entries). And they are worth every penny. iUniverse's services are not out of line with industry prices for the same type of service and I'm sure their editors are worth the money. I just wish I had several thousand dollars to pay for these services......but self-publishing is costly enough.
So, I'm going to incorporate as many of the changes as I can that were recommended by the editors and get both manuscripts re-submitted asap!
Over and out!
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