Cornerstones: Helen and Monica are open for submissions!
Could yours be the next bestseller that needs that unique twist and extra push?
Dear authors,
We hope you are well and that you had a lovely Easter weekend! We're delighted to announce that our senior editors, Helen and Monica, are available to take on new editorial projects when they return from their breaks. Both have their head down editing at the moment, so Kyrie and Kate will be assessing manuscripts this week to pass on to them.
Monica Chakraverty is the Editorial Director at Cornerstones, having joined last year to head up the scouting programme. She has over 20 years’ experience as an editor in the publishing industry, with a number of titles topping the Sunday Times Bestseller List. She worked as an Editorial Director at HarperCollins for many years, commissioning and editing her own list, and also has previous experience working for Picador, Profile Books, Faber Academy, and Dorling Kindersley.
Helen Corner-Bryant spent a number of years in editorial at Penguin before setting up Cornerstones Literary Consultancy in 1998. In 2016, she opened Cornerstones US, creating the world’s first transatlantic literary consultancy. Cornerstones is known for teaching self-editing techniques, providing feedback on all types of genres, scouting for agents, and launching many writers. Helen is a guest lecturer and Honorary Research Fellow of the Centre for Publishing, Department of Information Studies at UCL, and previously lectured at the Columbia Publishing Course at Oxford University. She is co-author of On Editing: How to Edit Your Novel the Professional Way (John Murray, 2018) and director of the Edit Your Novel online course.
How will the process work?
If your manuscript suits what Helen and/or Monica is looking for, we’ll quote you for a certain amount of hours with them (priced out at £150 per hour +VAT) depending on what the MS needs. Helen works by doing a deep developmental markup, brainstorm, and editorial letter, while Monica prefers mentoring hours or a manuscript assessment -style approach.
What are Helen and Monica looking for?
Helen’s wishlist includes women's, crime, psychological thrillers, historical, dark YA, and warm, funny MG. Monica’s favourite genres are historical, literary, reading group and non-fiction. She’s looking for off-beat characters, twisty plots and stories that explore identity.
Both are looking for manuscripts that are high-concept and nearing submission stage.
If I’m chosen, will my manuscript be submitted to the Scouting Programme or sent to agents?
No, this is not included in this package and there's no guarantee that your manuscript will be recommended to the scouting programme, however if it is at submission level Helen and Monica will know. You can find more about the Scouting Programme and how it works here.
I’d like to work with Helen or Monica but I’m not sure if my manuscript is there yet – what should I do?
Feel free to send your work through, along with an idea of what you are looking for! We’ll give it a read-through and suggest some alternatives that may be helpful. We always love reading your opening ten pages and synopses.
If you’re interested in submitting, do send through the following to our website:
The opening ten pages of your MS
A one-page synopsis
Your title, full word count, and genre
We can’t wait to see your submissions!
Very best,
The Cornerstones Team