How to Make Your Manuscript Shine

By Lorraine Zago Rosenthal

As all writers know, publishing is a highly competitive business. Securing representation from a literary agent isn’t easy, and neither is landing a book deal with a small press or a large publisher. 

Although agents and editors expect to invest their time and effort into revising a fiction manuscript, they generally—and understandably—prefer taking on novels that don’t require a major overhaul, so it is always in authors’ best interests to submit the highest quality version of their work. But how does a writer achieve this goal? Is it necessary to enlist the assistance of a freelance developmental editor, a copyeditor, and/or a proofreader?

Not always. Although hiring a publishing professional can certainly be beneficial, not all writers, for various reasons, choose to do so—but that doesn’t mean their work will have no chance of success. There are other ways to prepare a manuscript for submission, including:  

Request Honest Opinions From Trusted Sources 

After investing months or years into the solitary pursuit of writing a book, authors might emerge from behind their laptops, feeling confident about their product but unsure if others will also cherish their literary baby. The judgment of fiction is subjective, and while one agent or editor can quickly dismiss a novel, others might love it. 

But despite the inevitable uncertainty of what is “right” or “wrong” with a manuscript, it is important for authors to solicit unbiased opinions before releasing that manuscript into the query world. In lieu of hiring a developmental editor, authors can solicit reactions from other writers, family members, friends, former/current teachers, a book club, or anyone whose knowledge and opinion is respected by the author.

This feedback is crucial, because writers tend to be so close to their work, they can overlook nuances that readers won’t. For example, although a protagonist shouldn’t be flawless, an author might unintentionally depict the character as unlikeable and therefore cause a reader to prematurely close the book. 

Ultimately, authors must be led by their instincts and creative vision when deciding if and how to revise a novel, but if a manuscript is evaluated by several people, and most of them criticize the same aspect of the plot, dialogue, or character development, then the author would be wise to consider that agents and editors might feel the same way.

Proofread, Proofread, Proofread

After an author signs a book deal with a publisher, the author collaborates with an acquisitions editor to finalize the story for publication. The manuscript then moves to eagle-eyed copyeditors and proofreaders who meticulously analyze and correct factual references, spelling, grammar, punctuation, and consistency. 

Even so, an author seeking a book deal should realize the importance of presenting a mostly error-free manuscript to agents and editors. No one will expect an unpublished, three-hundred-page manuscript to be perfect, but a writer’s attention to detail increases the quality of the novel. Authors must keep in mind that relying on spellcheck isn’t enough, and they should repeatedly proofread their manuscripts.

While self-editing is valuable, writers should never undertake the entire proofreading task completely alone. As explained in The Psychology of Typos, “When we’re proofreading our own work, we know the meaning we want to convey. Because we expect that meaning to be there, it’s easier for us to miss when parts (or all) of it are absent. The reason we don’t see our own typos is because what we see on the screen is competing with the version that exists in our heads.”(1)

Aside from hiring a freelance copyeditor or proofreader, authors can seek help from their pre-submission readers, who will hopefully notice that a comma is in the wrong place or that a minor character described as petite at the beginning of a scene is tall at the end of that scene.

Listen

It is easier to hear a writing error than to see one. According to C. Townsend at Appalachian State University’s Writing Center, “If you read your writing out loud, you will catch considerably more sentence-level errors than you would otherwise. We can hear grammatical errors more easily than we can see them; that’s just how our brains work.” (2)

Authors who are rightfully weary after staring at a screen while conjuring up settings, characters, and plot twists can rest their eyes by employing a simple shortcut: Microsoft Word’s “Read Aloud” feature, which, fortunately, has several voice options that sound quite human—and can be used for more than detecting errors. Hearing a story rather than seeing it can also aid in determining if descriptions flow well or dialogue sounds natural. 

Although an intriguing, well-written query letter might grab an agent or editor’s attention, that interest will probably fade if the author’s manuscript doesn’t reflect the same level of professionalism. Writers give so much time and energy to their novels that it is more than worth the extra effort to make sure those manuscripts stand out from the slush pile. 

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1 On Second Thought. “The Psychology of Typos.” Medium. May 1, 2018.
https://medium.com/@OnSecondThought_27622/the-psychology-of-typos-985d5a391853

2 Townsend, C. “Reading Out Loud.” Appalachian State University Writing Center. June 16, 2020.
https://writingcenter.appstate.edu/news/reading-out-loud

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Lorraine Zago Rosenthal is the author of Other Words for Love (Random House); New Money (St. Martin’s Press); Independently Wealthy (St. Martin’s Press); and Charmed (Tribeca Press). Her latest novel, Always and Forever (Tribeca Press) was published in November 2025. 

Lorraine was born and raised in New York City, and she is a graduate of the University of South Florida. She earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology and master’s degrees in education and English. She currently lives near Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband. 

You can visit Lorraine online at www.lorrainezagorosenthal.com and connect with her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lorrainezago.

ALWAYS AND FOREVER

Three decades ago, a tragedy ignited a chain of events that devastated two New York City families and still haunts them today. Even their youngest members, Suzanne Starek and Jay Darnell, haven’t been left unscathed.

Suzanne is at the end of her twenties and has been plagued by misfortune, including her parents’ ill-fated union and the abrupt demise of her promising childhood career. Although she treasures her lifelong bond with Jay, being his best friend isn’t enough. She has spent years hiding her feelings for him and trying to understand her mother’s cryptic warning to keep him at a distance.

Suzanne wavers between staying safe and reaching for love while she helps Jay cope with his own mother, a glamorous and troubled widow. But when a clash between the families reveals shocking truths, Suzanne must decide how she will move forward from the heartbreaking past.

BUY Always and Forever gehttps://www.amazon.com/Always-Forever-Lorraine-Zago-Rosenthal-ebook/dp/B0FJ7JNSQ9

https://www.amazon.com/Always-Forever-Lorraine-Zago-Rosenthal-ebook/dp/B0FJ7JNSQ9

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Category: How To and Tips