My comments
Please remember that the feedback I send you regarding your work is my personal opinion. I am not able to offer you professional editorial advice, neither can I guarantee that your work will be accepted for publication.
My rates
My rates are based on the time I spend on your manuscript. This includes reading your manuscript carefully, and writing up my impressions and suggestions for improvement. I have worked out what I believe to be a fair rate for my time and this is around US$25.00 per hour.
You, in effect, purchase a block of my time, and I spend that period on your manuscript. This means that the quality of your manuscript and any specifics you include will affect the amount of time I have to spend on critiquing. Ie, if I spend most of the sessions correcting grammar and pointing out continuity errors, there is less time available to critique the plot in detail. Bear this in mind before sending in a first draft manuscript - it is well worth spending some time proofreading carefully before ordering a critique.
Some writers prefer to request a critique without giving any synoptic information - in effect, to gauge whether they have successfully conveyed their themes and other plot or character points. I am perfectly happy to work like this, however you may want to weigh up the benefits of asking specific questions and/or including a synopsis. If I know what you're having difficulty with, I can focus more time directly on those points, rather than on discovering your intentions with the novel.
I also spend a period of time thinking about your story arc and the reader perception of your characterisation and plotting - but I don't include this "mulling" in the cost of the critique. Email correspondence is also not charged, unless you ask me to read and advise on lengthy re-writes. Reading a synopsis is not charged unless the synopsis is excessively long, or you request a critique of your synopsis.
First Impression Critique
This is a basic level critique ideal for trying out the critique service, or for getting some general feedback and advice on your manuscript. I will read through your manuscript only twice, to provide my comments and to check for errors.
You will receive a short report in PDF format, along with my comments in Track Changes in your Word Document.
If you don't use a PDF reader or MS Word, please let me know so that I can arrange alternatives with you.
Detailed Critique
The detailed critique is excellent value for money. I will read your critique several times, depending on the readability of the manuscript, and provide a more in depth assessment along with my general first impressions of your work.
I do my critiquing in layers and this involves an initial read through and edit for spelling, grammar, and clarity. I then go back through the copy more finely, looking at the more technical aspects of constructing the prose. In doing this I might jump around the text to check how aspects fit in together, reading your copy several times over.
I like to take a day or two to mull over your work before providing my report, so this critique can take between three and twenty working days. Clients have found the insight that comes from this process very valuable. However, do let me know if you're on a deadline so that I can cater for your needs.
Depending on the length of your manuscript or extract and the nature of any problems you highlight, you will receive a detailed report outlining areas and suggestions for improvement, advice regarding the style and structure of your writing, characterisation, dialogue, etc.
Full manuscript critiques
For longer critiques, and particularly for critiques of an entire manuscript, I offer a blend of the first impression and detailed critiques. It is generally only necessary for me to read the entire manuscript once, though carefully, which greatly reduces the cost per wordcount of the critique. I make notes as I read, which offers you a "first impression" of the book, in addition to my full critique in "hindsight", looking at whether each element has been wrapped up or left as a loose end. As with the detailed critique, I include advice on style, structure, reader perception, characterisation, and dialogue.
Example critique
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Formats
Microsoft Word
The easiest format for me to work with is a Microsoft Word document. I will provide my comments and suggested corrections in a copy of your document using Word's Track Changes feature. You will then be able to review my comments and accept or reject the changes as you feel appropriate.
If you're unsure of how to use the Track Changes feature, I will be happy to guide you through it.
I will also send you a separate file containing my comments and notes on your work.
Other Word Processing Programs
If you use a word processing program other than Microsoft Word, please send me a single page test file so that I can determine whether I can open your file on my system.
Alternatively, send me your document saved in Rich Text Format (rtf), or as a Plain Text file (txt). These formats are generally readable on any system.
I will return my corrections and suggestions in pdf format (Portable Document Format), along with my comments and notes in Text format.
Lengthy manuscripts
For manuscripts longer than 10000 words, contact me for a quote, together with a sample of approximately 1000 words.
Alternatively, you may wish to start by sending me just the first chapter or two, which you can do using the order buttons.
This is useful for screening your manuscript for that initial submission to agents or publishers, who often don't want to see more than three chapters. I can help you refine your submission, and you can decide whether you want me to look at the rest of your manuscript. At this stage, I can give you a quote taking any previous payment into account.
Elsa has critiqued many of my stories. She has a real eye for plot and character motivation and can see clearly when you've gone astray. Her grammar is spot on as well. Thanks to her, my story "The Rich People's School" recently appeared in the prestigious U.K. based literary magazine, Mslexia. I would highly recommend her.
Lauri Kubuitsile - author of the novella, The Fatal Payout (Macmillan 2005)
Your ability to isolate the pivotal points of the novel and show how they can be improved is nothing short of astonishing.
Michael Woods
It's really great the way you caught small yet significant details... You got me hooked on your services. I will be bugging you again!
Brad Metge
I can't believe how helpful it is to have my work picked apart the way you've done it. What I learned from your critiques about my writing was just as valuable as the hundreds of dollars I spent on "How-To" books on writing.
It's one thing to review the examples from real world examples of literature in those books, but it's entirely different and much more helpful to have the weaknesses of my own writing shown to me. I'm really glad I chose to use your service.
Paul Perron
