As director of the Scouting Programme at Cornerstones, some of our best manuscripts are referred to me, and I read submissions as an agent would. I can then offer feedback to an author in a way they’re unlikely to receive from a publisher or agency, and can help them develop a successful submission package.
For a manuscript to be scooped up, it needs to feel finished in a way that an agent will instinctively respond to. Occasionally there might
