Filter Testimonials
Exactly What My Novel Needed
My 15-minute consultation with Katharine Sands was invaluable. In just a quarter of an hour, she identified several ways to strengthen both my query letter and the first ten pages of my novel. Her suggestions—including sharpening my protagonist’s introduction, crafting a stronger opening paragraph, and updating my comp titles—were insightful and immediately useful. I left the conversation energized, encouraged, and with a clear roadmap for revision.
Warren Cook
June 16, 2026
Great feedback and advice for an IP pitch
I met Ivan yesterday, and it was a very positive, inspiring and useful experience – Ivan gave me lots of practical advice and great feedback, and also sent me a list of agents he thinks are perfect for my concept. I’m very happy with the session – it definitely felt like the first day of the rest of my life as a full-time author. Ivan was personal yet professional, and he came well prepared for our meeting. I strongly recommend him to anyone who needs advice on pitching an entire IP.
Camilla Tubertini
June 13, 2026
Helpful, kind and so insightful
I will recommend a session with Taj to anyone struggling in the query trenches! She was so helpful and kind, making the session more fun than I thought a critique would be. Her insight into my story and intention helped me craft my query letter better for my next batch! Thank you Taj!
Samantha Brinson Lee
June 6, 2026
Absolutely worthwhile!
Stephanie was great, very friendly and polite which is always helpful when you’re nervous! She gave me some great pointers. Overall I was very pleased and would definitely recommend her expertise. 😊
KARINA STORER
May 31, 2026
Excellent consultation with Jessica Sinsheimer
Jessica was awesome. She was very thorough with my query letter, giving me feedback on each paragraph. She was spot on with what the query needed. I highly recommend her. Thank you, Jessica and Manuscript Academy! I’ve done a few consultations with you guys and will definitely come back.
Patty Barrue
May 30, 2026
Fruitful Use of Time
Bridget was helpful and provided actionable editorial insights for my pages as well as feedback on my query letter. The psychological comfort of simply getting those materials in front of someone in the industry is of value all on its own, but I appreciated her friendliness and constructive approach to addressing what she noticed. She also shared a few details about the current publishing industry environment from an agent’s perspective which I was interested to hear.
Haley
May 29, 2026
A Much-Needed Recommendation
For my 10-minute meeting, I left it up to Fiona to decide whether we should discuss my query or the first page of my novel. (I really liked the fact that The Manuscript Academy gives the option to let the Instructor decide).
To my surprise, Fiona chose neither in detail, saying both were well done (!). Instead, she asked what had drawn me to write about the topic of my book. Her listening skills put me right at ease.
I had some questions ready, but we focused on this one:
Is my subject matter too difficult/controversial for agents to consider?
Fiona pointed out something I needed to hear before I could move forward with my book. She also offered a practical idea for how to proceed and encourage agents to respond.
For that, I am very grateful.
Kris Doran Williams
May 29, 2026
Exactly the guidance a debut author needs
Erica went through my query paragraph by paragraph and gave me precise, actionable feedback. She spotted immediately that framing the book as ‘first in a planned series’ was weakening my submission, and advised repositioning it as a stand-alone with series potential. She also pushed me to make the protagonist’s personal stakes clearer. It was the kind of specific, craft-focused guidance that’s hard to find elsewhere. Professional, warm, and genuinely useful for a debut author navigating the query trenches.
Hermia Diamanti
May 28, 2026
Delightful and thorough!
Christina was delightful and gave thorough, precise feedback…a combination that, for someone in the querying weeds, was genuinely encouraging. She provided a clear blueprint for revision by building on what was already working, which made the path forward feel both structured and achievable. She was open to questions and gave thoughtful answers, and her industry insight helped me understand where my pages needed to align with what editors and agents are actually prioritizing right now. If you’re a fiction writer at the submission stage looking for feedback that’s both craft-focused and market-aware, I can’t recommend her highly enough.
Mara Jane Bergen
May 28, 2026
So much insight in just 10 minutes
Caitlin was straight to the point while being professional and insightful! Her critiques were specific enough that after applying them to my query letter and first chapter, there is clear improvement in clarity and flow.
Samantha Brinson Lee
May 28, 2026
Thank you Carina Licon & Manuscript Academy
Carina Licon’s feedback and edits are of the highest quality. Very helpful, thorough, and insightful. I will definitely send more of my stories to Carina in the future. Thank you so much to Carina and Manuscript Academy.
Roberto Corralez Andrade
May 26, 2026
Super helpful
Linda is amazing – patient, kind and really insightful critique with steps to update query to make it pop.
Dina Marie Pisani
May 22, 2026