Filter Testimonials
Ivan was full of encouragement and thoughtful advice! He gave me the positive feedback and strategic pointers I needed to polish my story for submission. Grazie Ivan and Manuscript Academy!
Adrienne Baumann
April 20, 2025
Linda was curteous, professional, kind, and thoughtful, and as helpful as she could be while recognizing this is a subjective industry. It was clear she’d put time and thought into analyzing my piece (sadly, I’ve had agent chats before where that hasn’t been the case). Thank you!
Adam Jarvis
April 20, 2025
Thanks to Jessica and Julie for the wonderful community and resources that they’ve built at The Manuscript Academy!
After experiencing my first live Query and Pages Panel, I met with agent Alice Speilburg of Speilburg Literary Agency for a ten-minute in-person consultation. Alice was kind, approachable, and very generous with her time, providing me with thoughtful insights and actionable advice on my query. Taking this next step has motivated me to rework my query and get back to the trenches with more confidence. Thank you, Alice!
If you’re looking for first-class, accessible continuing education, community, and support as a writer, you’ve come to the right place!
Sue Dobson
April 20, 2025
Kelly was very helpful and kind! She gave me a lot of good advice for editing my query letter with a lot of practical tips that I can follow. Her advice was both specific to my letter and general for edits that I can make when fixing it. I’m feeling a lot more confident for my query letter and am very grateful for her help!
rebecca ierullo
April 20, 2025
Jessica was HUGELY helpful in working through my query and first ten pages. She was able to share clear insights into what was working and what could be strengthened in my query from an agent’s perspective. I so deeply appreciate her actionable advice and kind communication. I took notes on everything she said — and the day after our call, I submitted my revamped query package to a new round of agents. I received a submission request for my full manuscript within two hours! Great experience and, fingers crossed, great results already. Thanks, Jessica!
Sarah Goehrke
April 20, 2025
Jessica was thorough, thoughtful and efficient with my 10 page, 15min consultation. I would definitely recommend her!
Felix Barber
April 20, 2025
I enjoyed my meeting with Vanessa and found her feedback on my query and first ten pages to be really insightful and encouraging. I’ve been workshopping my query and first chapters for quite some time and it was wonderful to hear that aside from a few tweaks (adding a few sentences with details for the reader) she thought the idea was fresh, the query well done, and the writing strong. This confirmed to me that this story is ready, unique, and marketable, and now I can wait with more confidence for the agent who will feel that special spark.
Michelle Sanchez
April 20, 2025
I’ve paid for services like this in the past, but always felt disappointed in the end. This time, we were able to discuss what the main issue was, and at least in the opinion of one agent, it wasn’t my writing. It was my query letter and perhaps my approach to agenting. So at least I can walk away and hone in on this point. So in this sense, I would recommend people check the services from Manuscript Academy out. Definitely helped me feel less crazy and deflated.
Colin Culbreth
April 20, 2025
My meeting with Alice went well. She is kind, encouraging, gives positive feedback on both my errors and what I’m doing well. I was also able to discuss a revision of chapters. Afterwards, I felt motivated to rewrite my query and revise my manuscript. Alice Speilburg is a 10 out of 10 in my book.
Carol Dean
April 20, 2025
I always go to Manuscript Academy when I’ve done all I can on my own and want guaranteed expert help. Agents and editors are the trusted ones out in the cutthroat industry everyday so understanding their perspective is priceless. With my synopsis critique, Renee gave me insight that pointed me in the right direction not only for this activity but also for my manuscript in general. I had been struggling with confidence about if all the scenes / characters in my story really needed to be there, and her feedback addressed this without her knowing! Renee is patient and clear and a fantastic resource for any writer hoping to sharpen not only their writing skills but also their overall approach to the classic, three-act story structure. Look at her website for additional tools and services!
Susana Kuehne
April 20, 2025
ReneeÃs expertise was invaluable in shaping my query letter for agents. Her feedback was precise, insightful, and encouraging, showing me where to enhance emotional impact and sharpen the pitch. Her guidance brought out the best in my query, leaving me confident and ready to approach agents. She went above and beyond expectations. Highly recommended!
Rand Briggs
April 20, 2025
Ismita’s written critique and live consultation were professional, succinct, and insightful. Literary novels aren’t easy to pitch because there’s no blueprint for them. Ismita, as an agent who prominently represents literary fiction, clearly understands this. I’d recommend a consultation with her to anyone brave (or crazy) enough to shop a debut literary novel in the current marketplace!
Edward Huddleston
April 20, 2025