Literary Writing
25 pts
—
The beauty of language apart from what it refers to — sentence structure, voice, imagery.
Key observation
Movement
25 pts
—
Arc, momentum, and reader investment — the story must move forward with purpose.
Key observation
Difficult Themes
25 pts
—
Mortality, transcendence, trauma, the sublime — getting under the surface of things.
Key observation
Press Fit
15 pts
—
Does this belong in the Silent Clamor catalog — in register, place, character, and ambition?
Floor: 9/15. Below this disqualifies regardless of total score. Cannot carry a manuscript alone.
Key observation
Key Observations
Submission context and editorial notes — unscored, but carries weight in the final decision.
Score all criteria to plot the manuscript
Scores
Literary Writing Perfect
—
Movement Perfect
—
Difficult Themes Perfect
—
Press Fit Below Floor
—
Press Fit: floor 9/15 · max 15 pts · cannot carry alone
—/90
Total Score
Editorial Notes
Recommendation
Complete the scoring to see a recommendation
How to read the triangle
The triangle plots Literary Writing, Movement, and Difficult Themes only. Press Fit governs as a floor and modifier — it does not appear as a vertex.
A point near the center means balanced strength across all three — the ideal. A point near a vertex means one quality carries the manuscript.
The dashed inner zone marks the minimum threshold. Points outside it indicate at least one failing criterion.
Press Fit below 9/15 triggers automatic Recommend Against regardless of total score or triangle position.