Manuscript Critiques
Every day, I work with writers like you: toiling away alone at a desk, hoping to make your writing dreams come true. You know it takes many drafts to make your writing sing, and you’re willing to do the hard work of revision. You have what it takes.
But you could also use a little help.
Maybe you’re looking for insight from a thorough and trusted reader who can reflect back to you what is working and what just plain needs work in your manuscript. Someone with enough distance to be objective, while offering suggestions to push your writing to the next level.
You’ve come to the right place.
What I critique
I critique only prose manuscripts written for adult readers:
Fiction (long or short form)
Creative nonfiction
Essays
Articles
Memoir
MFA Application Materials
Masters Theses
Query Letters, Book Proposals, Synopses
What is provided
A detailed letter pointing out the aspects of the manuscript that are working well and big-picture suggestions for making the writing stronger.
Written annotations within the manuscript. I think of this as “having a conversation” with the piece, in which I show the writer what I am thinking as I read.
One email exchange or 30-min phone call for clarification or suggestions for next steps.
While I do not focus on line edits, I will point out distracting grammatical/mechanical errors that recur.
How to submit
Please contact me before sending a manuscript. (Unsolicited manuscripts will be returned unread.) In your query email, please share the following information:
Your name & contact info including email address and phone number
Title and genre
First three pages
Number of pages you would like to submit (1 page = 250 words)
Whether it is complete or a portion of a longer work (Sometimes critique of an excerpt is all you need.)
Where you are in the process: for example, first draft with no other readers, draft that has been workshopped and revised, near-final draft you are preparing for submission/self-publishing, etc.
Areas on which you’d like me to focus
Information about time frame (Are you working under a deadline?)
Anything else you’d like me to know before we work together?
If it seems we will be a good fit, I will send a Letter of Agreement outlining the services I will provide and instructions for paying in advance.
Next, you will send a Word doc of your manuscript in proper format, and I’ll get to work.
Timeframe & Fees
Time frame: Depending upon the length of the manuscript and my schedule, I should be able to complete most manuscripts within 1-2 weeks’ time. The conditions in the Letter of Agreement will state the time frame explicitly.
Fees: $75 for up to 10 pages (1 page = 250 words) and $7/page thereafter. I will invoice you, and you can pay in advance by check or credit card.
Rights & Refusal
As a writer myself, I deeply respect the sanctity of others’ original work. The copyright for your original material always resides with you, just as my comments about your work reside with me. (Please do not reproduce my editorial comments or suggestions without my written permission.)
Right of Refusal: I cannot accept every request I receive either because of my schedule or because I don’t believe I’m the right person for the project. If I must decline your project, I will try to make suggestions for other possibilities.
All My Expectations Were Met and Exceeded
I recently took advantage of Kim’s Manuscript Critique Service, and I must recommend it to all my fellow writers. Kim’s was the most comprehensive critique I have received on my writing: plot, dialogue, narrative, point of view, spelling, type-o’s, grammar, punctuation, sentence structure, scene structure, character development, formatting. You name. I got it.
This was what I call a deep critique. All my expectations were met and exceeded.
The single most important aspect of the critique was the feedback I received on plot that can only be obtained when a critic reads the entire novel. For the first time, I got important notes on how the plot unfolded, its strengths and weaknesses, where logic failed, and where plot points were unclear, or needed beefing up.
In addition to the internal corrections and comments made using the review function in Word, I really appreciated the handwritten pages of global comments. This method made editing much easier for me. I could make grammar and spelling corrections on the first pass and rewrites on the second pass. I thoroughly appreciated the many positive comments, too.
Jennifer Trethewey
Author of the House of Balforss series (Entangled Publishing)
From Manuscript to Published Book
Without Kim’s excellent editing skills, keen sense of a good story, and gentle encouragement, Madness to Ministry would still be in the 3rd drawer of my file cabinet!
Nancy Bauer-King
Author of Madness to Ministry (Orange Hat Publishing)
One of the best professional decisions I’ve ever made
Asking Kim to edit my collection of creative non-fiction stories was one of the best professional decisions I’ve ever made. Each of our revisions dramatically improved the draft I first had given her. It’s not often that one person can provide a critique that ranges from detailed restructuring of a sentence to suggestions of how to evaluate and revise each story to convey its individual message and its place within the entire collection. Sometimes this meant cutting and sometimes it meant expanding, but it always improved the writing.
Kim is equally comfortable and effective when editing non-fiction as when editing fiction. She has a deep understanding of how stories are interpreted by readers, and she helped me make my work more accessible. The book will be published in a few months, and I’m certain that without her editing assistance, it would have taken much longer for that day to arrive.
One of the talents I admire most is her ability to be uncompromising in her recommendations, while being supportive and encouraging. She always maintained the distinction between author and editor, resulting in my feeling comfortable those infrequent times when I wanted more detail about a recommendation before accepting it.
Kim’s editing skills and sensitivities have benefited authors at all stages of their careers, including new authors such as myself. I look forward to working with Kim again, and I recommend her most highly.
Myles Hopper
Author of My Father’s Shadow (Ten-16 Press)
Transformational
From copy-editing to in-depth analysis, Kim’s expert eye turned my latest novel into a work of which I’m proud. She provides grammar clean-up as well as editing flow, clarity, continuity, and encouragement, producing a professional work of literature out of a routine novel. Kim does a great job and I highly recommend her expertise to any writer, beginner or veteran.
Tom Hanratty
Author of The Singular Adventure of Charles Goodfoote and The Wicked Affair of the Golden Emperor
A Gift
Kim has a discerning eye and a sharp pencil and every manuscript she reviews is improved. I have been impressed that she is able to help me focus my writing without losing my intent or my tone. That is a gift.
Dr. Bruce Campbell
Author of Reflections in a Head Mirror
.