An author completes their manuscript and sends it off to a publisher for publication. The process appears simple, but how do publishing houses decide whether to publish a submitted manuscript? Answer: reader’s reports. Assistants or interns review the author’s provided sample and create a reader’s report that gives a concise overview and evaluation of the manuscript. There are four main parts to a reader’s report: author information, story summary, story and writing analysis, and a final recommendation for the work.
Author information and summary
The first and shortest section of a reader’s report is the author information. Depending on the publisher, it is either formatted as a small paragraph at the beginning or a heading at the top of the page. Generally, this section contains the manuscript title, author’s name, genre, length, word count, etc. The focus of this section is conveying important, quick details that establish the manuscript’s groundwork for the rest of the report.
After the author information is the manuscript’s summary section. This is the real introduction to the manuscript and explains the story’s plot to the publisher. The section’s average length ranges from one to three paragraphs (Pearlson). It should be kept concise and brief, focusing on the story’s action and less on specific character details. This means cutting out as many adverbs from the plot summary and limiting the use of adjectives. As Pearlson describes, “the editor doesn’t need to know that Johnny ran sadly from the castle, just that he ran from it.”
Analysis and recommendation
After the brief overview sections, the analysis section comes next. Usually, it’s the longest part of the report because of the detailed content. After the manuscript’s strengths and weaknesses are evaluated, this section explains what works well and what doesn’t. The feedback can encompass details such as character development, story pacing, plot momentum, originality, clarity, and its predicted audience engagement (Montpas). While manuscripts are destined to have smaller issues such as grammar that the assistant or intern notices, those will be corrected later in copyediting.
The final section is the manuscript’s recommendation for the author and the publisher. This is where the advice to accept, request, revise, or reject the full manuscript is made. Because the previous section acts as the justification for the decision, this section is typically a sentence or two. It gives a brief summary of the analysis and recaps the decision (Pearlson).
Genres
Genre content differs from one another. As a result, readers’ reports can have different focuses depending on the manuscript’s genre. With each genre’s different purpose for its audience, the reports need to reflect those needs. For example, fiction focuses more on plot and pacing while non-fiction may concentrate on the accuracy and structure of the text to assure credibility (Montpas and Clenney).
Importance for authors
Reader’s reports can seem daunting, but they serve the publisher and the author in varying ways. A reader’s report can be stressful for published and aspiring published authors. Not only because of the publisher’s decision, but also because of feedback about their work. That is why the analysis section talks about strengths and weaknesses, so authors know what works and what to improve on. Author Mary Stanley finds readers’ reports helpful and says, “It guides the author.”
Sources:
Clenney, Cheyenne. “A Guide to Reader’s Reports.” University of North Georgia Press – Where Scholarship, Service, and Storytelling Converge., University of North Georgia Press, 29 Jan. 2026, https://ungpressbooks.com/2026/01/a-guide-to-readers-reports/.
Montpas, Natalie. “What Is a Reader’s Report and Why Should You Care?” University of North Georgia Press – Where Scholarship, Service, and Storytelling Converge., University of North Georgia Press, 4 Sept. 2025, https://ungpressbooks.com/2025/09/what-is-a-readers-report-and-why-should-you-care/.
Pearlson, Carly. “How to Write a Reader’s Report.” The Writer’s Workout, 26 Feb. 2026, https://www.writersworkout.net/post/how-to-write-a-reader-s-report.
Stanley, Mary. “How Useful Is a Reader’s Report? Mary Stanley Explains.” Writing.Ie, 9 Apr. 2015, https://www.writing.ie/resources/how-useful-is-a-readers-report-mary-stanley-explains/.
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