Associates Jeremy Page and Jonathan Myerson advise on fiction and screenplays. They can be contacted at  jeremy@thewriterspractice.com and  jonathan@thewriterspractice.com

We specialise in literary and commercial fiction, young adult fiction, narrative non-fiction, plus film and TV scripts. We advise on all stages of book development from a simple outline to a full-length manuscript. Larger editing projects, copy-editing and book fixing, are also undertaken (subject to contract).

The basis of our service includes a written report and a fully annotated manuscript (This is done via track changes and new comment on a Word document) We also offer a mentoring service, which can be from synopsis to finished manuscript (schedule on request). We pride ourselves on the quality and swiftness of the feedback from our small team of professional associates (see below). Because of the varied nature of the work, all fees have to be personally agreed and met before work commences. We want you to be completely happy with what we offer.

Fiction: We are happy to advise on manuscripts of up to 100,000 words: in return you will receive a fully annotated manuscript and a 2500 word report.

Fiction report covers:

Storytelling– plot, back-story, pace and dramatic effects

Style, language and coherence of tone

Bringing out your voice and individuality

Form and Structure – a close look at tense, grammar and narrative techniques

Characterisation – plus showing or telling through action

Dialogue – strengths, weaknesses and tips on believability and the use of dialect

Theme and Content – what are you really trying to say and where exactly are you taking the reader?

Impact– shocking interludes and creating suspense

Help with the work’s relevance to today’s market, it’s literary worth, and a list of other novels/books which will provide insightful pointers.

We endeavour to show you how to progress with the next draft, which could well make your novel publishable. We are also happy to engage in further clarification via email, once you have had time to digest the report. This is part of the service and free of charge.

Non-fiction: We are happy to advise on travelogues, issue-led polemics, autobiography, biography; in return you will receive a fully annotated manuscript and a 2500 word report.

Non-fiction reports cover:
- Concept and strength of idea in today’s market
- Prose style/execution and bringing out your voice
- Structure – building a narrative from fact
- Breadth of argument, settings, issues and creating life and colour
- Depth and appropriateness of research
- Originality of both idea and form
- Sourcing illustrations/photographs and other pictorial assets
- Potential for serialisation and extraction and making the most of the material in other media
- Detailed, word by word textual analysis of a selection of pages
- A list of other books and research resources that will provide insightful pointers

There is also a growing market for blogs to books; we can advise accordingly. The digitalisation of the publishing world provides writers with more commercial potential than ever. We will always be happy to answer questions that might arise from our reports and manuscript assessments, free of charge.

Screenplays: With two full-time, award-winning dramatists among our associates, we can offer assessments of screenplays – for both TV and feature films. We do not approach screenwriting with any rigid theory, whether ‘Paradigms’ or ‘Mythic Journeys’ or ‘Three Acts’. We aim to simply assess and appreciate your screenplay on its own merits. To find what excites you about the story, and help you bring it out.

Our 2000-word report, returned within a month, will help you with:

Scene structure – there are tricks to getting there

Characters – make sure your cast list is tight, focused

Dialogue – often less important than what they do

Conflict – drama does not exist without it

Imagery – film is an intensely visual medium

Pace – storytelling is key, the basis of any good film

Focus – every drama needs a protagonist

Sub-plot – not every film needs one, maybe you do, maybe you don’t

Formatting – in today’s market this is essential

Saleability – we can help you with where to try and place your movie

What we hope to do is show you how to write the next draft which could further your script down the long road to production. We can also advise on the many pitfalls to be avoided along the way. As ever, we are always willing to further clarify any points or answer any queries via email, following the report and annotation.

We also offer script development for film companies subject to contract.

Fees: For a guide price, a report and fully annotated fiction or non-fiction manuscript (up to 100,000 words) will cost £465. For full-length screenplays we charge £320. We also offer a mentoring system, where, for instance, a novel can be assessed in quarters, with the price (and length of reports) being divided accordingly. A £100 surcharge is added to accommodate an initial synopsis and all additional correspondence. In the first instance please email us with your enquiry and we’ll let you know what we think is the most suitable course of action, which associate to place you with and the appropriate fee structure. Payment can be by cheque (payable to The Writers’ Practice) or by bank transfer (details supplied on request), and must be received before the report is produced.

Jonathan Myerson runs the Creative Writing MA at City University London, as well as masterclasses at the National Film and Television School. He has written more than thirty original plays for radio as well as episodes for Citizens and Westway, which he also briefly produced. His recent radio work includes the first radio dramatisation of Doctor Zhivago Number 10, now in its third series, about a fictional British Prime Minister and his staff, and an updated version of The Way We Live Now. He has written screenplays for film and television and episodes for The Bill, EastEnders, Medics and Holby City.
The Canterbury Tales was his first animated film as writer and director – he was nominated for an Oscar and went on to win a BAFTA, four Primetime EMMYs and many other awards all over the world.
He has written two novels (Noise, Your Father), both published by Headline Review. jonathan@thewriterspractice.com

 

Jeremy Page is a prize-winning novelist, screenwriter and teacher of Creative Writing. His first novel, Salt, (Penguin), was shortlisted for the Commonwealth Writer’s Prize for Best First Book and the Jelf Group First Novel Award.  His second novel, The Wake, (Penguin) won the fiction prize at the East Anglian Book Awards, and was shortlisted for the New Angle Prize.  He is also a scriptwriter, adapting his own work and writing scripts for UK film and TV companies including Channel Four’s emerging talent scheme.  As a script editor, he has worked for fifteen years in the script departments of the BBC, Channel Four, Film Four and independent film and TV. He currently teaches on the MA Creative Writing programme at UEA as an associate tutor. jeremy@thewriterspractice.com

 

Amanda Brookfield is a best-selling novelist; she is described as the queen of relationship fiction. She is also a journalist and short-story writer. She has written fourteen novels and is published in the UK by Michael Joseph at Penguin. Foreign rights sales to her books currently include Norway, Germany, Latvia and Holland. Her latest novel, Before I Knew You, was released to critical acclaim in March 2011. amanda@thewriterspractice.com

Lynne Bryan is the author of two novels – Gorgeous and Like Rabbits, both published by Sceptre – and a collection of stories, Envy at The Cheese Handout, published by Faber & Faber. Her stories have appeared in many anthologies and have been broadcast on the radio and one – A Regular Thing – was adapted into an award-winning short film. Her work has been supported by the Arts Council, the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and the Society of Authors. She has an MA in Creative Writing from UEA, where she was taught by Malcolm Bradbury and Angela Carter. She is a regular tutor for the Arvon Foundation and has taught Creative Writing at UEA. lynne@thewriterspractice.com

 

Terms & Conditions

1. All work via email please.

2. Please advise if you want a particular associate.

3. We will advise you on exactly when you will receive your report back.

4. Nothing will be entered into until you are completely happy with the fee and all arrangements.

5. For the fee, we undertake to provide a written, independent critique. While we always endeavour to be as helpful as we can to new writers, the fee covers the read and report only as described.

6. Your work will always be treated in the strictest confidence and the copyright of your work is yours and remains yours at all times.

7. The copyright of the report remains with The Writers’ Practice – but we’re usually more than happy for you to quote the report to agents and publishers and on personal websites, as long as you clear it with us first.

8. We will only make a recommendation to our agent, contacts or publishers if we feel your work is potentially publishable, and obviously with your full agreement first. However we will never be able to guarantee the response.

9.The agency is not responsible for projects undertaken by the consultancy, and authors contracted to the agency will be under no obligation to seek any advice from the consultancy. However, work deemed suitable and with the agreement of the author will be passed to the agency for consideration, while there might be occasion for work to be passed from the agency to the consultancy. Again, authors will always be ultimately responsible for their work, and any decisions surrounding it. No contract will be entered into without the prior agreement of the author.