Manuscript Evaluation Service

A Professional Response to Your Unpublished Work

Please note: any manuscript submissions receieved between December 11 and January 3 will be processed after January 6, 2025.

The Manuscript Evaluation Service assists writers at all levels of development who would like a professional response to their unpublished completed manuscripts. The service is available to all Saskatchewan writers (you must be a Saskatchewan resident) 16 years and older, and uses the evaluation talents of SWG SK-based published members. 

Please be aware that submissions to the Manuscript Evaluation Service are digital. 

Writers must submit their own work directly – submissions cannot be made by a third party (such as a parent,  teacher, or friend). 

What you can expect 

You will receive a written evaluation that includes the following: 

• an editorial assessment of your manuscript in progress (this could include comments on plot, character development and voice, structure, places to cut or expand, form, grammar, theme, etc.); 
• a summary of the strengths and weaknesses in terms of publishability; 
• advice on steps that you may take to further develop your manuscript or advice on marketing and publicity; and
• a response for up to three specific questions that you may submit with your manuscript separately.

Your manuscript will be evaluated anonymously by an author published in the same genre of writing. The entire process is anonymous, the evaluator will not know who you are nor will you know who they are. 

Depending on the length of your manuscript and the availability of evaluators, the entire process may take six to eight weeks or longer. You may use this service only once every 12 months. The availability of this service is contingent on an evaluator willing to evaluate your manuscript.

The SWG emphasizes that use of its Manuscript Evaluation Service will not guarantee publication. Please also note this is an evaluation service, not a page-by-page/line editing service, and only overall comments will be made. Do not expect corrections or editorial comments on the manuscript itself.

Eligibility guidelines

1. You must be a Saskatchewan resident;
2. You must not have used the service within the last 12 months.

How to submit

1. Please fill out the submission form below AND submit all the following in ONE Word document (files cannot be over 5MB):
    
   • An anonymous (leave your name off) letter with up to three questions for your evaluator to consider;
   • Your manuscript (please remove your name from the manuscript cover page). Please refer to our “submission guidelines” below to ensure everything is formatted correctly.
2. Pay for your evaluation by calling 306-791-7740 or send a cheque to PO Box 3986, Regina, SK  S4P 3R9 once the Program Coordinator confirms they've receieved your manuscript.
    

Manuscripts must be submitted in the following manner:

• All work must be original and human-generated from start to finish. We do NOT accept submissions of any kind that were written, developed, or assisted by AI tools such as ChatGPT.
• submissions must be in English;
• all material must be typed in body-text fonts like Times New Roman, Courier, or Arial;
• font size should be 12 pt;
• pages must include 1" margins;
• pages should be numbered sequentially;
• double-space prose (entire manuscript)—poetry may be single-spaced; 
• if you are submitting a poetry collection, please make sure each new poem starts on a new page;
• if you are submitting a picture book manuscript, please send in a text-only manuscript; do not include photos or illustrations of any kind.

We do not accept manuscripts over 100,000 words; if your manuscript is larger than that, please consider further edits before submitting.

Submission Form

Payment

Please wait for confirmation of acceptance of your manuscript before making payment. We will reach out to you within a week to inform you, and we will give you a call to take payment.

Payment can be made by cheque, or over the phone with a credit card. 

Please note that your fee represents only a portion of the total fee received by the evaluator. 

If you request a specific evaluator 

Your manuscript will be evaluated by an anonymous published author unless you request a specific author. If you wish to have a specific author evaluate your work, please speak to the Program Coordinator . This evaluator must be a published SWG SK-based member. We cannot guarantee this evaluator will be available to evaluate your work. SWG staff will approach the requested evaluator and have their consent to evaluate your work before you submit to the service.

For more information, please contact:

Program Coordinator
T: 306.791.7749 | E: swgpr@skwriter.com