Services

27 August 2022

BASIC LEVEL FEEDBACK REPORT

This is the basic entry-level service that involves me assessing the first 30 pages of a novel. Such sample pages, from the beginning of the novel, should be in Word format, and 1.5 or double-spaced. From my experience of handling thousands of debut authors' fiction over the last fifteen years, it is more often than not the case that any systemic problems within a novel will reveal themselves within these opening pages. The opening pages of any novel are vital in grounding the novel and establishing an early narrative. If these early pages do not appeal or make a mark, then neither agent, nor editor, will be willing to plough through the remainder of the novel in order to see if your writing eventually redeems itself.

Effectively, this Basic Level service would suit any author who is about to start submitting his/her work to agents/editors, as the opening pages, synopsis, and a covering letter from the submissions package.

I will focus on any issues that I detect, which I feel need addressing, be it characterisation, plotting, narrative flow and space, dialogue, scene setting, or telling/showing. The aim is to help authors to arrive at a point where they can confidently submit their work to the publishing world.

When I come across any technical issues, I will highlight them, and then provide suggestions for the author to consider, when the time comes to redrafting his/her work. I believe strongly in self-editing as a powerful tool for the author to utilise, particularly if such self-editing is guided and informed by objective feedback from me. The process of self-editing will not only improve the manuscript at hand, but will also inform all future writing projects.

I will provide a limited, but hopefully useful reading list, to which I may refer in the feedback, especially where I feel the author may need further information or explanation. As part of the feedback, there will be the opportunity to have telephone contact to discuss any matters arising: such sessions to be arranged at mutually convenient times. Once I receive your work, I will guarantee to reply within five days, possibly sooner.

With all my services, I aim to give good value for money, and I trust you will find my fees extremely competitive and the service highly professional. The fee for this service is a standard £140 sterling. If this option suits your requirements, then once you have confirmed your choice with me by email, I will provide you with a start date, and details of how to pay the fee by bank transfer. If the author then wishes me to continue with support and editing of the whole manuscript, then I would offer a reduced fee for such services.

EXTENDED FEEDBACK REPORT SERVICE

Submit fifty pages of text to me, about a fifth of a standard novel, in Word format, 1.5 or double-spaced, with a brief covering letter, and a one-page synopsis. This expanded service will be charged at a standard £200 sterling. As above, I will concentrate on any problem areas, so that the author can address such issues, whether it be characterisation, plotting, narrative flow and pace, scene-setting, dialogue, or telling/showing. That should help you to focus on those areas which may need extra attention in any subsequent self-editing.

Where appropriate, I will conduct a line by-line-edit where I identify any systemic issues - this will allow the author to focus on any grammatical or punctuation problems, which will need to be addressed prior to submitting to agents/editors. I will also provide general advice on how to approach agents and publishers, and a Reading List to help you in the self-editing process. I will reply within 14 working days.

Additionally, following receipt of my report, I offer a one-to-one telephone consultation, of up to 30 minutes duration ( they often last an hour!) to discuss any issues. There will be no extra fee for this consultation. However, such consultation will have to be booked in advance to ensure that the appropriate time is available.

As above, once you have chosen this option, then let me know by email, and I will furnish you with a start date, and ask that you forward me the required attachments before this start date. I guarantee feedback within fourteen working days of that start date. I will also provide you with details of payment of the fee by bank transfer.

If the author wished me to continue with support and editing, then I would offer a reduced fee for such services.

MANUSCRIPT ASSESSMENT AND EDITORIAL SERVICE

I also offer a bespoke editorial service that would involve substantive as well as line-by-line editing. This might involve help in shaping the novel, but will in no way interfere with your particular “voice”. I never attempt to change the authorial voice, because that is what will make your novel yours, and yours alone. This service is offered via email correspondence and, where appropriate, supplemented by a 30-minute telephone consultation. The cost of this service will depend on the length of the novel.

Complete Draft Assessment of up to 49,999 words - £450 (includes 30-minute telephone consultation by arrangement)

Complete Draft Assessment of 50,00 to 79,999 words - £550 (includes 30-minute telephone consultation by arrangement)

Complete Draft Assessment of 80,000 to 100,000 words - £650 (includes 30-minute telephone consultation by arrangement.

Complete Draft Assessment of novels in excess of 100,000 words, will need to be individually priced.

Please contact me by email to confirm that this option is your choice, and I will then be able to confirm a date when I can commence, and forecast how long the project may take to complete. At this stage, I will also confirm the fee and provide you with payment details.

These services are offered to authors, agents, and publishers alike.

NON-FICTION PROPOSALS

Because of the specialized process for the submission of non-fiction proposals, I would like said proposal forwarded to me in Word format, 1.5 or double-spaced, including research detail, specialist knowledge of the author, intended market, contents page, and a sample chapter. I would then provide feedback on the format, wording, and presentation of the same, likely readership and potential publishers. If the proposal is particularly strong, with good supporting evidence and research, and is well written, I may be able to effect introductions immediately. A basic fee of £180 is charged for this feedback and advisory service.

RESIDENTIAL OPTION

I have a three-bedroom wooden lodge which authors can rent, set in a village community in West Wales, near Cardigan. It would be available for rent in early spring and autumn, as a Writer's Retreat, for authors to develop their manuscripts/conduct research, in perfect peace. However, there are mobile and internet connections to the outside world!

It can be booked for £50 per night, which would include bedding and towels, plus electricity. The lodge has a fully-fitted galley kitchen, equipped with electric cooker, air fryer, kettle, toaster, fridge, and coffee machine, The lounge/dining room is equipped with television, DVD and CD player, and a good library of CD's and DVD's. A shower room completes the accommodation package, which would comfortably house two adults and up to three children.

It's a culturally diverse region, with an array of concert venues, music events, cinemas, and tourist attractions, plus some wonderful walking opportunities on the three county coastal paths and the Preseli Hills.

If an author would like assistance during the stay, with any editing or developmental work, then I can provide this at the rate of £40 per half day. If you contact me, then I can provide photographs of the accommodation, and discuss what your needs would be during your stay. Call on 0790 677 3831 using WhatsApp.

David Llewelyn has a brilliant eye for spotting talent and a wonderfully deft hand when it comes to helping writers find their voice and hone their work. His passion for good writing is infectious, and his inimitable blend of frankness, encouragement and support would be a boon to any aspiring author

Having worked with David for close to ten years, I can say with great confidence that he is one of the sharpest editors I know, and has an exceptional eye for spotting new talent.

He has a rare insider's knowledge of how an agency works, and if he ever tells me that he has found something special, then I know that's exactly what it will be. Any writer who is looking for a long term career would be incredibly fortunate to work with David on their book.

Getting a first novel published is tough, and it takes tenacity, patience, self-belief and a refusal to be deterred by inevitable setbacks. An author also needs a champion, someone who has all the above qualities and more; someone who believes in your work as much as you would like to believe in it yourself. There aren’t many such people around, but one of them is David Llewelyn.

When we first talked, I had collected eighty rejection slips from agents. David was a Reader for Conville and Walsh, with the unenviable task of trawling through the infamous slush pile for neglected diamonds. He was extraordinarily good at it. He picked up my novel, The Breaking Of Eggs but failed, at that point, to get any agents interested. He then did what I believe no other reader in the country would have been prepared to do. He continued to battle on my behalf, without reward, for a full year, until he found a taker. Without his bloody-mindedness, The Breaking of Eggs would probably not have been published.

Getting a second novel published is often no easier. I did struggle with my second novel, initially in terms of content, later with characterisation. David was an endless source of encouragement and ideas throughout this period. David suggested detailed and practical ways of improving it. My second novel, Trading Futures was then published in the spring of 2016 by Picador. Again, without David’s involvement, that may not have happened.

David Llewelyn will not take on authors unless he has belief in the quality of their writing. Unlike other consultants he will not pocket your money and give little in return. It may still not work, of course, but you will never get less than 100 per cent commitment from him.

David has the most brilliant eye, picking out exceptional authors from the so-called “slushpile” time and again. But there's so much more to him than that. He is able to see what's working and what isn't, what needs to be done to bring writing to the place where an agent can look at it with real interest. If Dave recommends something to me, it goes straight to the top of my reading pile.

David is one of the most kind hearted and skilled talent spotters in the publishing industry. Whenever he tells me that he is excited about a new writer, I immediately stop what I am doing and start reading.

I owe everything to David. He was my first champion, and it was his support and advice that kickstarted my transformation from aspiring writer to successful author. His judgement is impeccable, his enthusiasm tireless, and his wisdom and knowledge second to none. He remains the first person I seek to impress with my writing and I treasure his friendship above all.

Image By Vjmpatil - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=41511756

I really couldn't have done it without you.

David has the wonderful talent of unerringly recognizing a great story in the raw. He instinctively knows what readers are going to love, whatever the genre. When he comes upon a manuscript that he knows has potential, he is the proverbial British bulldog, and won't stop worrying at it until he and the author have it in the shape he knows will sell. Well.

I was rejected by multiple agents until David read my manuscript, and after working on it with me for two years, he bypassed the “gatekeepers”, who didn't want it, and took it straight to a major publisher, who loved it. "If David reads your manuscript and likes it, you are charmed".

David saw promise in this novel years before it grew into itself. He encouraged me to persevere and I owe him my thanks.

Without David Llewelyn I would have been dead in the water. Finished. There comes a moment, for even the most determined author, when there has been one too many rejections and disappointments. David breathed life back into me and my writing. At my previous literary agency, the fabulous Tibor Jones, he is known as "The Book Whisperer". It is a title well-earned. Get this incredible man of words on your side, and you stand a chance. He makes dreams come true.

Between the writing of a first book and the finding of its publisher, there will be someone you've never met who becomes special because he is the first person to respond positively. For me that person was the professional reader, David Llewelyn, a man with the kind of enthusiasm that brooks no self doubts.

Somewhere along the way a writer needs the help of a guide and editor. For me, David is one such person. He is an astute talent spotter and editor. He is committed to good writing and has a tireless capacity to work with writers. In my own case I had virtually given up on a book, which had done the rounds without finding a publisher. David helped me understand why, and worked closely with me over months to get it ready to send out again, this time successfully.

You gave me a hell of a lot to think about, as well as work to do on my novel. It was a great master class.

It was you who spotted me at the very beginning of this journey, and helped to give me the confidence to write the whole story, and believed in it when others said it had no place in the market. I hope you realise that you are a breath of fresh air to us writers.

Thanks to your reader's report, you gave me the courage to keep going, and here, at last, is my book.

You championed my script when I sent you fifty pages last year, and I am grateful to you for that.

You were ever so kind in sending me a small sum to offset the costs. Out of 500 copies printed, I have now sold 400 in 12 months.

To David Llewelyn, who had a long career in publishing, and has generously advised me in a field that I now nothing about

Special thanks to David Llewelyn... whose belief kept me going

To say that a writer needs to believe in their work, sometimes for years, cannot be overstated. It helps immeasurably if you are sent, by chance, fate, or faith someone to champion your work and invest their heart and energy in your protagonist's story. David Llewelyn, you are the definition of a scholar and a gentleman, and I count my lucky stars that you came into my writing life. Thank you for reading and guiding Margaret's journey over many drafts.

She's airborne. Thanks again for your invaluable help to get it launched

Acknowledgements

Also, thank you to.....David Llewelyn who read edits of the manuscript and made insightful suggestions.- Richard Hines, No Way But Gentlenesse Bloomsbury, 2016

Thanks also to David Llewelyn.- Peter Nichols, The Rocks Heron Books, 2015

David Llewelyn saw promise in this book years before it grew into itself. He encouraged me to persevere and I owe him my thanks.- Ariella Cohen, Sweet Breath of Memory Kensington Books, USA, 2016

David Llewelyn, literary scout and editor, helped breathe life into the story. - Brenda Squires, The Love of Geli Raubal Parthian, 2016

To David Llewelyn, literary consultant, without whose persistence Dasha's story would never have been told. - Juliet Butler, The Less You Know The Sounder You Sleep Fourth Estate, 2017

To David Llewelyn and my mum Pamela Rodwell, who formed the core support group who made this happen. Thanks for everything. - Tam Rodwell, Daredevil Dads Crux Publishing, 2018

David is that rare thing in the literary world, a facilitator who knows the business inside out, but who has managed to retain his qualities as a human being.Once he has begun working with you on your book, he will automatically become a friend. From being an author writing in isolation, and often in despair, you will have found a companion on the journey who cares about the book as much as you do - Lynn Bushell, Painted Ladies Sandstone Press , Feb. 2019 On sale at all good bookshops......and Tate Modern