Traditional Publishing Readiness Assessment

A high-level market-readiness assessment to evaluate how well your novel aligns with the expectations of literary agents and traditional publishers

Wondering how good a shot your novel has at traditional publication? Looking for honest, high-level feedback on how it measures up to the notoriously selective standards of literary agents and acquisitions editors?

Our Traditional Publishing Readiness Assessment offers exactly that—a thoughtful, big-picture evaluation by an editor with real in-house experience at major publishers or literary agencies. This isn’t a line-by-line critique, but a focused response to key questions about your novel’s strengths, marketability, and alignment with the expectations of today’s competitive traditional publishing landscape.

You’ll come away with clear insight into how your story stacks up—both creatively and commercially—and whether it’s likely to resonate with agents and editors. If revision is needed, we’ll highlight the areas that matter most.

Think of it as a diagnostic review from an editor with an insider’s perspective on what industry decision-makers are really looking for.

$0.01 (1 cent) per word for manuscripts over 50,000 words. Pricing for shorter manuscripts is available by contacting the Tucson office.

Turnaround time for a Traditional Publishing Readiness Assessment is typically 3 weeks.

To submit your manuscript

Please visit our online Traditional Publishing Readiness Assessment Form, email us at admin@editorialdepartment.com, or call us at (520) 546-9992.

What happens next?

All inquiries to The Editorial Department will be personally fielded by author services director Ross Browne, who will:

  • confirm receipt of your materials
  • gather any further information needed
  • do a no-cost/no-obligation preliminary review, to get a feel for which editor(s) and service(s) best fit your project’s needs
  • provide a written quote with price and turnaround time
  • answer any questions
  • schedule your project with the assigned editor, if you decide to move forward
  • explain and finalize the appropriate billing arrangements
  • provide a firm delivery date and keep you updated on our progress, as appropriate
  • deliver your feedback to you once it’s ready
  • arrange for follow up with your editor by phone or email, once you have reviewed your feedback

Privacy & Confidentiality

We have utmost respect for our clients’ privacy concerns and will never sell, share, or disseminate your contact information. We will treat all materials supplied to us as confidential.

Formal nondisclosure agreements are not required but are available on request. More info is available here.

“I think there are two types of writers, the architects and the gardeners. The architects plan everything ahead of time, like an architect building a house. They know how many rooms are going to be in the house, what kind of roof they’re going to have, where the wires are going to run, what kind of plumbing there’s going to be. They have the whole thing designed and blueprinted out before they even nail the first board up. The gardeners dig a hole, drop in a seed and water it. They kind of know what seed it is, they know if planted a fantasy seed or mystery seed or whatever. But as the plant comes up and they water it, they don’t know how many branches it’s going to have, they find out as it grows. And I’m much more a gardener than an architect.”

George R.R. Martin