Editorial Assessment
What is an Editorial Assessment (EA)?
Commonly referred to as an EA, an Editorial Assessment is a high-level story review.
Story or content reviews assess the overall plot and evaluate whether plot points blend together, feel plausible, increase tension, and whether a plot map is intact, etc. They also look at general characterization, pacing, tone, and reader engagement, as well as genre suitability.
An Editorial Assessment will also look at elements of craft like passive structures, consistent narrative perspective, and typical methods of storytelling.
"High-Level"
I am looking at the story as a whole, and the deepest my remarks will go is on a chapter level.
Feedback is provided in both a technical evaluation and a story-specific evaluation. My remarks focus on the question, "Is this story working?" and if not, where can it be adjusted to make the story flow for optimum reader engagement.
All feedback comes from a "teaching angle" with examples from your manuscript.
The key to remember with an editorial assessment is that this is generalized, and does not address, necessarily, specific scenes within the manuscript.
EA vs. Developmental Edit
An EA is often much less in-depth than a developmental edit. Dev Edits will often go to the scene level, sometimes line level, and will include more specific feedback. Instead of "This character is not consistent in terms of her conflict" the feedback might be more like "This character conflict would be more consistent if you move this forward and push this to another section."
Comments in the manuscript, with an EA, are fewer. The accompanying editorial letter is shorter and more globalized.
Who Needs an EA?
Generally, an EA is more useful for two types of authors: The beginning novelist and the established author, as both are looking for overall appeal.
A beginning novelist will find an EA useful, most frequently, in terms of craft feedback or learning how to connect plot elements. In this case an EA is a teaching tool.
An established author, who has craft mastered, benefits from high level feedback or specific feedback on specific areas. When craft is mastered, an EA can often be a cost-saving option.
