APPRAISAL SERVICES
Critically Write - East Midlands Arts' Appraisal Service
Critically Write is an appraisal service for writers wishing to receive a critical evaluation of their work be it a novel, short stories or poetry. The service calls upon a team of established and professional writers who recognize the importance of supporting new and emerging talent. Each manuscript submitted for consideration will receive an initial reading by an appropriate appraiser.
The appraiser will then decide to carry out either an initial or full critical appraisal on the manuscript:
An initial appraisal will offer brief comments regarding the strengths and weaknesses of the manuscript and some suggestions for possible areas of attention to strengthen the writing submitted.
If your manuscript is considered for an initial appraisal you will be asked to forward a cheque or postal order for £10 (£5 concessionary*), made payable to East Midlands Arts. Your manuscript and the appraiser's comments will be forwarded to you in due course.
If the manuscript is suitable for a full critical appraisal the appraiser may wish to conduct a more in depth assessment. A full critical appraisal will specifically address the manuscript's literary strengths, intrinsic qualities and potential for publication. The fee for this service is £20 full (£15 concessionary*). You will be requested to forward a cheque or postal order for this service made payable to East Midlands Arts. East Midlands Arts will pay the remainder of the appraiser's £150 fee for this service. In due course your manuscript will be returned to you accompanied by the detailed appraisal.
An evaluation is not intended to be an absolute statement regarding the worth of a piece of writing. It will be objective and well informed but nevertheless only one person's opinion. The purpose of the service is to enable serious writers to gain a fresh perspective on their work and to test out their sense of what they are trying to achieve against that of an experienced practitioner. Unfortunately, it is not possible for appraisers to enter into further correspondence once an appraisal has been completed. The scheme cannot accommodate rewrites in response to a critical evaluation and due to budgetary limitations, only one manuscript per writer can be considered under the scheme in any financial year.
It is important to note that appraisers take a great deal of care when evaluating manuscripts and it may, therefore, take at least eight weeks for the manuscript to be processed under the scheme. Applicants are asked to consider this point before submitting a manuscript for consideration.
Whilst every care will be taken in ensuring the safety of manuscripts, East Midlands Arts cannot accept responsibility for any loss or damage that may occur - so do not send your only copy.
For full guidelines and an application form for the Critically Write Service, please send an sae to Lisa Pacynko, Assistant Officer - Arts, East Midlands Arts, Mountfields House, Epinal Way, Loughborough, Leicestershire LE11 0QE.
The Script - The Poetry Society's Critical Service
The Script provides the opportunity to have your work carefully read and assessed by a poetry professional. It has been devised to encourage you to think about what you read and write and to clarify your thoughts on how you would like to develop your interest and skills in writing poetry.
Their team provide sympathetic and constructive advice based on a close reading of the text with the aim of helping new poets appreciate their own strengths and weaknesses. When submitting work be prepared for an honest and rigorous response. Bear in mind that the appraisal is not intended to be a definitive comment on your work - it is the individual opinion of a person with experience worth listening to.
The fee for a submission of up to 100 lines is £28, or £22.50 for Poetry Society members. This fee covers:
* An appraisal of your work by a poetry professional;
* A personal Prescription of ideas, books and organisations which might further help you develop your interest;
* A series of Information Sheets outlining different forms of poetry and providing guidelines on the submission of work to publishers.
Please note that it is impossible to enter into correspondence with the tutor appraising the work.
If you would like to submit your poems under this scheme then contact: The Script, The Poetry Society, 22 Betterton Street, London WC2H 9BU for an application form and guidelines.
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