Hoping to snag the attention of a publisher?
Did you know they rarely read a manuscript submission through to the end if the story fails to hook them.
Planning to self-publish?
Have you heard of the DNF book review? It stands for Did Not Finish and no author wants that feedback in a public forum.
All that time you spent writing that amazing plot twist, that life-changing reveal in the final chapters, that ending that requires a box of tissues, will be wasted unless your early pages hook the reader. That, dear author, makes the start of your story more important than the ending.
With ten years industry experience (five novels published with Simon & Schuster and Head of Zeus, in the UK) I self-published my 6th novel–House of Wishes–to better understand the indie literary landscape and offer a more balanced view of publishing.
With the tricks and tips I’ve picked up working withe some of the best editors in the business, I’ll bring a fresh eye and objective analysis to your first pages. I will:
- Focus on the presentation and structure of your chapters with a view to submitting to a publisher.
- Assess the work’s strengths and weaknesses, in particular that all-important inciting incident.
- Comment on and provide feedback regarding your writing style, grammar/ punctuation, structure, pace, imagery and character development. (POV, tense, dialogue tags, character.)
Cost per critique: $150 (incl. 30 mins one-on-one over the phone.)
Critique – scope of work
- Critique includes reading and general assessment of the first 30 pages of your manuscript, followed by a 30-minute, one-on-one over-the-phone discussion dedicated to the critique.
- The critique differs from a full manuscript assessment and does not involve editing/proofing. Specific issues such as grammar and spelling may not not automatically be corrected but will form part of the discussion and general feedback during the face-to-face session. (This is a better learning strategy as the author understands rather than simply accepts the correction.)
- Open to anyone (completed or partial manuscript) who can submit work (up to the first 30 pages – A4, 12 pt Times New Roman font, 1.5 line spacing with 1 inch margins) with the following information as a cover sheet: working title and genre, intended market (mainstream print/digital only), no. of POV, word count (actual or anticipated), plus an outline/synopsis/blurb of no more than one page (optional).
Email me via my Contact Page and let’s chat.