Once your manuscript is complete, it has to satisfy more than just you. (Trust me, it never does.)
It must also satisfy several people you may never meet, each asking a different question at a different stage of the publishing process. Individually or collectively, their judgements may decide the fate of your book.
Stonecurrent Press has created Stonecurrent Five Hats, a 100% free, self-managed manuscript assessment game for writers. It works whether you are seeking a traditional publishing deal or planning to self-publish.
Five people, five different questions
The Reader asks: Would I continue?
The Reader is concerned with attention, clarity and expectation. Does the opening create enough interest to keep reading?
The Editor asks: Is there a coherent book here?
The Editor looks beyond individual sentences to examine the manuscript’s structure, purpose and internal logic.
The Bookseller asks: Where does it belong, and how would I recommend it?
The Bookseller considers positioning. Where would the book sit, who would recognise it as being for them, and how might someone describe it?
The Marketer asks: Who needs it, and how will they discover it?
The Marketer examines the route between the book and its intended readers.
The Sceptic asks: What assumption could undo the whole case?
The Sceptic is not there to dislike the manuscript. Their task is to identify the untested assumption, weakness or contradiction that everyone else may have missed.
Each perspective is looking for something different, and every judgement must be supported by evidence from the manuscript.
Convening the Five Hats Board
On the final day, you return as Chair and convene the Five Hats Board.
The purpose is not to collect five green lights and submit. Nor does one unfavourable report automatically condemn the project. The purpose is to weigh the evidence and decide what the manuscript really needs next.
That might mean revising it, obtaining outside help, submitting it, redirecting it—or deciding that it has reached the end of its useful journey.
The final decision remains yours.
How the Solo Edition works
The Solo Edition includes:
- seven guided emails delivered over six days;
- a separate stage for each publishing perspective;
- downloadable worksheets;
- five evidence-based reports; and
- a final Board Resolution and three-action plan.
The complete game is free. There is no payment, lite or trial version, and no requirement to purchase editorial services from Stonecurrent Press.
Stonecurrent Press does not receive your manuscript, notes, answers or final decision. Those remain with you throughout.
Play Stonecurrent Five Hats
If your manuscript has received enough general opinions, it may be time for a more disciplined conversation.
Play the Stonecurrent Five Hats Solo Edition
The Writing Group Edition is coming soon.