Author services

We offer a range of consultancy services, tailored for authors who are building their writing careers.

Manuscript review

Literary agents shouldn’t charge you for reading your manuscript. That’s a guiding principle in the industry, because you want your agent to earn money from selling your books, not reading them.

One consequence of this philosophy, though, is that agents rarely have the time to send anything other than a form rejection, leaving you clueless as to what the problem with your manuscript is. Publishers – being even less inclined to commit time to sifting the slush pile – often have a blanket “if you don’t hear from us in three months, it’s a No,” policy.

This reality of publishing life makes it difficult for the aspiring author to find out what professionals really think of their work. What needs to be done to make the manuscript better? Is the writing up to standard? How commercial is it? Is the problem about an elusive “fit” to the market, or is the problem more fundamental? Sometimes you need a professional opinion.

For authors wanting a professional assessment of their work in progress, we can help. We offer a critical review of the key aspects of your manuscript, guidance on what’s needed to improve your submission, and advice on how to optimise your submission package to an agent or publisher.

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Coaching

Sometimes you just need to talk to someone who will really listen and understand – a mentor who can help you see where you should focus your effort. Sometimes you need an accountability champion to help you reach your goals, or a sounding board for your ideas and plans.

Teika provides a coaching service for authors who need someone to help steward their dreams into reality.