The Author’s Checklist: An Agent’s Guide to Developing and Editing Your Manuscript by Elizabeth Kracht is an a-to-z guide to early-career authors full of excellent and succinct tips on all aspects of developing and editing the manuscript. Personally, I would have loved to have more practical examples of many of the items discussed (for queries but not only). I would have also preferred to have the tips gathered around an author’s timeline of developing, editing and submitting rather than the rather dry a-to-z format. But even with these reservations, this is a very useful tool-book for all aspiring writers out there. The a-to-z format allows a hurried reader to go straight to the issues he or she cares most and extract the most valuable information.

This is an honest review in exchange for a free copy of the book from NetGalley.

Posted on Amazon.

The Author's Checklist
An Agent's Guide to Developing and Editing Your Manuscript
by Elizabeth K. Kracht

New World Library

Nonfiction (Adult) , Reference

Pub Date 14 Feb 2020  


I am reviewing a copy of The Author’s Checklist through New World Library and Netgalley:


In The Author’s Checklist we are reminded that even good manuscripts are going to have weak spots, and that there’s a large gap between what authors think are ready for publications and what agents and other in the publishing profession believe are ready.






Elizabeth Kracht does tell us that there is good news though, most of the problems seen with these manuscripts can be fixed easily once the readers sees and understands the problems. The weak spots can be made stronger, leading to a better Manuscript.





Elizabeth Kracht points out that many manuscripts have the same issues so she begins to make a short list of pitfalls, in short easy to read chapters.


The Author’s Checklist covers everything from Acknowledgements, to World Building. The book is written in laymen’s terms, allowing for anyone to understand the book.


I give The Author’s Checklist five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

This book is full of a lot of wonderful advice and information, but unfortunately the structural choice to arrange in in alphabetical order instead of groups of related topics made it maddening to parse. If you read it cover to cover, it feels scattershot and unfocused, moving from thoughts on punctuation to query letter writing. It doesn't feel like a reference book (in which the alphabetical strucure would make sense because it's meant to be consulted on a specific topic as needed. It's such a poor structural choice that it made me question the value and veracity of the advice therein.

After many thousands of hours reading and editing book proposals and manuscripts, literary agent Elizabeth Kracht has collated an excellent A to Z compendium of expert advice, covering everything from Acknowledgements through to Worldbuilding.
I found the entries on Character Arc, Book Proposals and how to write an irresistible Query Letter particularly useful.
This is a reference guide for any author in any genre who wants to build a full-time career as an author.

5 stars
This book delivers exactly what the title promises: a checklist of what to have in a manuscript.
It is short but precise, which makes it easy to read and reread.
It offers great advice to strengthen, fictional and non-fictional, manuscript before submitting to an editor. I think it should be read before and while writing a novel.
The chapters are well organized, in alphabetical order, which I find extremely useful in a guide such as this book.
It's one of the rare times that I sit still through a nonfictional book without being bored. It goes thoroughly into a lot of details such as the design of the breaks within the chapters, to the way the author can structure her/his plot.
I've read a lot of books in my life, and I've caught some of the errors the author was talking about, and I don't want to look snob but, they do take away from the quality of the book.
I'm definitely buying the printed version.
Thank you netgalley, the publishers and the author for my ARC to read and give an honest review.

A very useful guide about writing and querying organized alphabetically by topics. It has information for fiction and nonfiction including memoir-specific points. I liked that I could jump around to find the information most useful to me at my current point in the journey. It doesn’t go super in-depth but can help you figure out what to research further. I will be referring back to it as throughout my process.

This is exactly the book I needed right now as I navigate through writing my first novel. So so helpful and easy to understand. I would definitely recommend it to any writer, experienced or beginner. There's definitely something for everyone, and it has helped me see the flaws in my structure, and help me tie my plot together better. The only thing I found hard to follow was that it covers fiction & non-fiction. I think for me personally, having a more tightly focused guide would be a better choice. but this was a great starting point for me as a newbie. Thank you so much NetGalley and New World Library for an advance copy.

There are several shocking revelations in Elizabeth K. Kracht’s book The Author’s Checklist: An Agent’s Guide to Developing and Editing Your Manuscript, but in short: most manuscripts “just aren’t ready for submission.”

Most require: greater attention to prose, the inciting incident moved forward, sharper internal conflict, a deeper consideration of themes, and more focus on plot development, structure, tension, dialogue, formatting, and setting. Even spelling.

Kracht’s book is designed to intercept an author’s manuscript: giving the writer a checklist of 220 questions to consider before hitting send. For a debut writer, this checklist is essential.

Each chapter defines the topic, describes hazards, and provides advice, insight, or instruction. Topics include query letters, author platforms, voice, overwriting, rejection, pacing, formatting, and permissions. I found the sections on filter words, chapter arcs, and settings particularly useful.

The text is brisk and clear, and each chapter concludes with interrogatives, such as: “Have you cut the pleasantries out of your dialogue?”

I thought the published books cited for illustration were too narrow and repetitive, but that aside this is an illuminating and practical tool to consult rigorously not only at the end of production, but at the start of every new draft along the way.

The Author’s Checklist would also be useful reading for beta readers, book reviewers, and anyone seeking a literary vocabulary to critically discuss a book’s merits and flaws.

Helpful and insightful, it shows how writing is a challenge but having a game plan will help one succeed if one is willing to put in the work necessary.

Tips to get your manuscript ready to send to an agent are good, but I prefer book where the tips are ordered topically rather than alphabetically. Dialogue, Plot and Show v Tell should all be sorted out long before you start writing the acknowledgements.

This is a short-and-sweet guide to strengthening one's writing prior to submitting a manuscript to an agent. It's easy to follow and offers practical advice for both fiction and nonfiction writers. I read a lot of how-to manuals on writing because they often inspire me to improve my own work. This one is no exception. I especially enjoyed the lesson on removing filter words to heighten the sense of POV. The appendices at the end are a nice bonus.

I plan to keep this manual handy as I work on my next manuscript.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an advanced's ready copy in exchange for an honest review.

Elizabeth Kracht's The Author's Checklist is a valuable addition to the world of writing craft books and excellent addition to any library's writing section.

I found this to be a frustrating read. I do understand that manuscript analysis is an extremely difficult topic to generalize about and to give a definitive direction on something without having an actual manuscript to critique. But I think that the scope is too wide--separating it into fiction and non-fiction would have perhaps made it more useful for writers of each persuasion. At the same time, there's also not enough detail or examples to fully explain how and why things like pacing, tension, and voice may not be working in a manuscript; there also weren't a ton of examples of letters, synopses, proposals, etc., that could really give a good guideline for an aspiring writer. Lastly, organizing the book alphabetically is limiting in that it doesn't show what should be prioritized or when in the writing/publishing/querying process.

This book is a must read for all aspiring authors and writers wanting to learn more about the craft. The chapters are very well written and the author provides very useful information. I’d highly recommend it for my students.

The Author's Checklist is the perfect book to answer all your questions about that manuscript you're trying to get published.
In this short, no-nonsense book, author and agent Elizabeth K. Kracht, goes through each element, in alphabetical order, that can affect your success in finding an agent, and getting a publisher. She covers everything from Audience & Marketing to Formatting to writing a Query Letter.
The advice is practical, and she often provides examples. At the conclusion of every 'chapter' she provides a checklist for you to tick off.
I found this book to be extremely informative and eye opening. I think I've highlighted at least half of it.
I would highly recommend this book to anyone who is trying to get a foot in to the publishing world, especially if you keep getting rejected and you're wondering why.

This excellent, highly readable book offers sound, solid advice from pro on how to write and publish a novel. Presented topically and in alphabetical order, this book would be a terrific resource for authors writing their first (and maybe second) book. The author covers a wide range of both practical and artistic subjects, including current grammatical usage, story arcs, world building, publicity, query letters, and filter words. Checklists are included at the end of each chapter. These lists would be helpful to all authors, even those who have published several books.

Even as a published author, I found this book interesting and useful. Though the book is aimed at novice writers, I benefitted from reminders about using filter words and story arcs. The author also helpfully covers how to incorporate text messages as part of a novel and addresses other new tech tools writers come across and use. Some advice is given for non-fiction books and memoirs, but the focus is on fiction.

Some of the material is repetitive, due to the alphabetical arrangement of the book. Overall, this was a concise and solid book of what you need to know and practice to get a book published.

This was not what I was expecting, but learned so much from it. It guided me to think of things that had never occurred to me before, which then set me down a path that I think any and all writer's would benefit from. It made me look at authors from the point of view of agents and editors which I found very helpful.

I voluntarily offered to review this book with no obligations and my opinions are honest!
This was a good reference book.
I like how there was a breakdown on each subject.

A very detailed guide on how to prepare your manuscript/book proposal/query letter for the publishing industry. Everything is covered in this book from formatting, to character and plot development, and overall editing and structure.

As someone who has toyed with the idea of writing a book, Kracht's checklist is a bit of a deterrent. It's not enough to just have a good idea and whip up a draft. It takes strong technical writing skills and attention to detail that is probably very difficult for those who are more "ideas people." I guess I may have underestimated the process...and what a daunting process it is.

This checklist has invaluable information that any author (whether new or experienced) would appreciate. It certainly was a wake up call for me in that the skill of writing is more important than just having an interesting storyline.

This book was quick to read, understand, in bite-sized paragraphs, which I appreciated.

Unfortunately, that is where the positives end.

I have a lot of thoughts -- as someone who's worked with industry professionals, and even in the industry for a brief amount of time -- that I need to untangle, but I'll try to be as clear as I can. I would also like to note that the author obviously knows a lot more than me; these are just my personal thoughts and feelings as I read this.

This might be a good reference book for beginners--or for those who know next to nothing about the industry. That I see. But for people with a greater understanding, this book does nothing new. At all. Furthermore, literally everything in this book can be found on the internet--FOR FREE--in a quick google search. I'm not just convinced with the viability for this book when there's so much information out there already. Information, too, that goes into much deeper (and in my opinion, more objective) into the topics very briefly covered here.

Mostly, I wanted MORE detail. It lacked a lot of nuance that I felt should have been in a book like this. Ultimately, this is a rushed book that's simply just a vague overview of what writers should know before submitting.

I don't see many people wanting to spend the money on this book when the internet is at so many people's fingertips.

This book might be handy for some readers. But also pointless for a lot of others.