Testimonials And Reviews

Noelle Was Terrific!

Noelle first offered valuable suggestions on what to add—and what to cut—from my query letter. She then reviewed the first ten pages of my novel, providing guidance on how to enliven the writing and offering advice on developing deeper descriptions of my main characters.

Hannah was professional, insightful, and kind.

She was able to pinpoint my blindspots and suggest some tweaks that will go a long way in making my opening pages as clear and polished as possible. She also offered up additional comp titles with similar subject matter and POV. Speaking with an industry professional to clear up my doubts gave me the confidence I needed to move forward with querying.

Invaluable!

The time flies, but it is invaluable to have direct feedback. I am so grateful to Jessica for walking me through her thoughts and reactions. The session provided clarity of what was working and what wasn’t and directed me in how to keep workshopping certain query lines I was struggling with. She even caught a grammar error in my first few pages that I’ve glazed over 100 times- so grateful!

Great Feedback!

Noelle gave me such great feedback on my query! She was so nice and very constructive. She helped me talk through the changes I should make and what I should keep, and overall made me feel way more confident about what I’m sending out to agents. Thanks again!

Super clear feedback

I had a great call with Erica about my query and first 10 pages. Even though I signed up for the call very last minute, she asked beforehand if I had any specific questions to focus on. She walked me through her feedback for my query paragraph by paragraph and gave me suggestions for places I could improve. Also, I had trouble connecting to the meet on my desktop, and she still spent the full 15 minutes with me, which I really appreciated.

The Best

Kiana was exceptional! She was very thorough and gave me the most useful advice and concrete actions that helped me completely revise my entire query letter. I’m looking forward to working with her again in the future! THANK YOU KIANA!

Clear-eyed Consultation w/ Erica

My 15 minutes w/ Erica were so helpful! She emailed the day before to ask if I had any questions or topics we should be sure to cover; she was mindful of using our time well, and she was overall friendly and positive. I left w/ 3-4 clear, actionable items to revise on my query and pages. I highly recommend Erica!

Ismita Hussain One on One

I thoroughly enjoyed my one on one session with Ismita and learned a lot. She is rigorous, knowledgeable, and still manages to be friendly. I would recommend her without hesitation.

A Jessica Felleman Rave

I had my one on one zoom meeting (Query/10 pages) with Jessica a few days ago and couldn’t be happier with her feedback. Her insights into my query and pages were spot on. She let me know potential problems clearly but in a generous way that was not intimidating or overwhelming. Jessica is professional and approachable and I would recommend her sessions 100%.

Sometimes the first 30 pages need a boost

So far, I have received over 50 rejections to my query letter package for my middle-grade fantasy, ORANGEWORLD.` I’ve tweaked the query and first page over the past year with the help of the agents and editors from Manuscript Academy such that the most recent batch of rejections have been very encouraging and downright positive. But still no takers.

For that reason I decided to refocus on the first 30 pages and work with a seasoned editor to make them “sing.” Krista Vitola is an editor at Simon and Schuster and specializes in Young Readers. If you read her bio, you will understand my choice. Plus she was familiar with my story, having already done a query letter review for ORANGEWORLD earlier in the year. (It’s about a troubled boy who enters a magic pumpkin where every day is Halloween in search of this father’s spirit.)

So I figured it was time to slice and dice the first 7 chapters / 30 pages, and I’m glad I did.

I wish we had longer to talk. There’s not enough time in 30 minutes to cover everything, but with the written editorial notes Krista provided me a week before our appointment, I knew well in advance what I had to do. Even before our meeting, I followed her written advice and took a crack at getting to the inciting incident sooner in the first chapter, so by the second chapter readers would be well into the story. I moved scenes around. I cut extraneous dialogue. I relocated flashback memories.

We used the 30 minutes to discuss the new changes I had already made, just to make sure I understood her written notes correctly. And now I’m on my way to check and see if the changes made affect the rest of the story. Yes, there is more work to do, but it’s better than sending in the same 30 pages and facing more rejections, right?

Getting an outside point of view from a professional and paying for it, gave me the impetus to do what’s necessary to make improvements. Let’s just hope the next 50 responses from agents include several requests for “fulls.”

Krista Vitola gets an A+.

Most Impactful Ten Minutes

Wow. I was at a point in the querying process where rejections were coming in without much context, and I’d been overanalyzing my submission components to death. Ten minutes with Amy provided clarity on impactful revisions, and more than that, the path to get my arms around a fix that I feel SO excited about. Amy is deeply insightful, direct and kind. My book has a brand new opening, and I couldn’t be more grateful for the opportunity to learn from Amy’s expertise. Thanks Manuscript Academy team for creating that possibility!

A Private Workshop

I watched an online interview with Natalie Edwards, who was discussing marketing trends in publishing. She was analytical, saw multiple big pictures, and clearly understood the views of the various—sometimes competing—stakeholders of the book business: editors, agents, writers, number crunchers, et al. So it was a gift to have Natalie discuss my query and the first ten pages of my manuscript. She gave me wonderful suggestions that helped me see where and how my book might fit in the world she knows so well. Natalie’s not just insightful and smart, she’s also kind, encouraging, and delightful to talk to. It was a beneficial, enjoyable meeting I didn’t want to end.

With Gratitude!

I very much appreciated Hannah’s feedback and advice. I’m going to work on building my platform, halt my queries for a few months, and cut back on my word count. I’ll tighten up my first paragraph to show more emotion and add more about my growing platform in my next round. I’m glad I’ve only queried fifteen agents so far and feel hopeful about my direction.

Thanks for offering these sessions.

Clear Guidance from a Trusted Voice

Eric went above and beyond in preparing for our consult. He even sent thoughtful written notes ahead of time, which wasn’t included in the package but made a big difference. He brought insight, clarity, and genuine care to the conversation, and helped me see where my project fits in the market with much more confidence. I really appreciated how focused he was on helping me move forward with intention.

Appreciative of Actionable Feedback

Caitlin gave me specific, actionable ways to improve my query and first pages. I am grateful for her honed insights and expertise in a world (publishing) that is very enigmatic to me. Book with Caitlin for a valuable consultation!

Informed critique

Kelly was generous with her time, asking first whether there was something I especially wanted to review. She had performed a close read of my material and made specific suggestions to help me improve my writing. Her encouraging critique pointed me toward the specifics of the revision I’d need before agent submission. Thanks, Kelly.

Meet Turned Workshop

Vanessa Aguirre saw my query and the first ten pages of my novel, and my meeting with her was incredibly valuable, primarily because Vanessa has a keen eye and shares thoughts with concrete, clear precision. A half hour later, I was at the computer tweaking the novel and nodding at Vanessa’s suggestions, which enhanced what I put on the screen. Additionally, Vanessa is a warm, kind person—and an engaged listener. Our chat was a terrific editorial workshop.

Super Helpful+

Stephanie went through my query and the first part of my manuscript with insightful commentary throughout. She left me with an amazing, detailed guide to give me direction as I revise. Her critique was both helpful and encouraging and I’m returning to the manuscript with excitement and energy. Whatever you need advice on, I would definitely recommend booking with Stephanie.

Kind & Insightful

After many rounds of critique, revision, and even a professional(!) edit, my picture book still wasn’t firing on all cylinders. What I needed was sharp, industry-focused feedback to help steer me in the right direction. My 10 page read + 15 minute call with Kaitlyn Sanchez did the trick. Kaitlyn’s critique helped clarify where I need to tighten my story, while practical and actionable feedback empowered me to lean into an emerging interest in verse. Our conversation gave me the boost I needed to dive back into another round of revision! I will definitely seek Kaitlyn’s input on future picture book manuscripts.

Best investment I’ve made for my first novel for adults

Jessica jam-packed our short time together with practical advice to revise my query, giving insight into what agents need to know to place my work in the market. She told me exactly how to get to the heart of my characters quicker in my first pages. Thank you Jessica for a clear path to readying my Christmas novel for submission!

Clear, straightforward feedback

Renée gave valuable and clear, straightforward feedback, which was exactly what I needed. I was really impressed by the in-line comments and the editor letter. I would have had no idea that certain parts were unclear or that there was a structural issue (that was easily fixed). Renée identified the issues and offered solutions. She seems genuinely passionate about helping writers improve.

Tamara Gets It!

Tamara was both helpful and constructive. She reviewed my query letter and had substantive feedback, much of which I’m incorporating right now.

She is kind, thoughtful, funny and highly knowledgeable of what agents are looking for, what to incude and not include.

It was well worth it to meet with her.

Joe Garrett

Time Warp

Hannah Strouth delivered a compact workshop on the query letter, comps, the market, trends, writing, voice, characterization—in just thirty time-bending minutes. Her needle-sharp suggestions for my query were so clear and actionable that I would have been satisfied after the meeting if that was all I got. But on top of that, I received wonderful suggestions for the first thirty pages of my manuscript. Every writer knows their characters is, but making sure the reader knows them as well can be tricky. Hannah used both a microscope and a telescope to see what worked and what needed something to bring my protagonist into full focus. From what she read, she could see what I was seeing—and led me to where I could let in more light.

Hannah is also a kind, warm person. Our conversation was perfectly delightful. [Picture a platoon of positive/thumbs-up Emojis here.]

Just What I Was Hoping For!

Chelsea gave me honest, thoughtful feedback on my fifty pages. Not always easy to hear, but presented very kindly and with many suggestions for improvement. This is the most helpful feedback I’ve received for this book, which is a rewrite of a story that I recently got my rights back from the publisher. Now I can see it with fresh perspective and make some changes that will entice and satisfy readers. Thank you, Chelsea, for giving me the pointers I needed to make this a great story. I was so happy with her work, I booked her for another project this month!!!

A Push in the Right Direction

Written Query Critique: Alyssa Jennette was friendly and helpful. She said my query was more like a synopsis, but a query needs to express the full shape of the story, and the stakes of the main characters. She suggested an area on which to focus. I highly recommend Alyssa Jennette.

Tremendously helpful!

Kelly gave me very specific guidance in revising my query letter to make it more effective. I am extremely grateful for her input!

Encouraging, Helpful & Very Professional

Stephanie’s comments were so helpful. She was direct and honest but really encouraging, too. I was able to see how I had too much clutter (description) around the important events and that I needed to push the most important event to the top. Revising those pages was such a pleasure because I felt so confident after getting such clear notes. She also gave me some help with the query letter that I have already used, too. I highly recommend Stephanie Stein!

Beyond Encouragement—Actionable Vision

Molly Cusick’s critique of my picture book and query was both thoughtful and immensely practical. She didn’t just highlight areas for improvement—she offered concrete examples of how changes could look, giving me a clear vision for enhancing my work. Molly made it clear that my text was strong as is, but her insightful suggestions showed me how to add new layers and make the story even more marketable. Her balance of encouragement and actionable advice was exactly what I needed, and I’m deeply grateful for her help.

Disarming and well prepared

Booked a LIVE Query + 10-Page Read + 15-Minute Consultation with Ivan Taurisano. Never met him before and was slightly scared to be showing my text to such a pro. Forgot about being scared within 7 seconds of talking to him. He’d read my pages three times! The revisions he suggested will be easy for me to make, but I wouldn’t have thought of them on my own. I’m absolutely sure he improved my project, and he did it with kindness and efficiency. If you get the chance to book him, you absolutely should.

Excellent Feedback!

Wow, the amount of insights and information that Carina was able to share during our critique session was impressive! She quickly explained the rationale for each change and it made our query and first ten pages sing. You can tell how well she understands the industry, the market, and what’s needed to enhance the manuscript to make it sell.

Game-changing Feedback!

My query and 30-page critique with Christina Lopez was a game-changer! After some unsuccessful queries, I began to worry that my manuscript was not marketable and was prepared to receive an honest critique of its weaknesses. Christina gave me excellent feedback, confirming I’m on the right track. Her suggestions for improvements in my query and manuscript were clear and actionable. Her positive feedback and encouraging style has renewed my determination to keep going. Just what I needed when I needed it!

Made the opening pages much stronger.

Molly was a tremendous help. For my first ten pages review, she helped me identify a critical missing element to help me hook a reader from the start. That identification helped me build an entirely new goal/ conflict for the main character.
Her feedback has been invaluable.

Positive, experienced, constructive feedback from Jemiscoe Chambers-Black

In the last few months as a member of the Manuscript Academy, I have been fortunate enough to book live consultations with Jemiscoe Chambers-Black a brilliant literary agent with the esteemed Andrea Brown literary Agency. I am a children’s picture book author/ illustrator, seeking guidance with my queries and my storytelling dummies.
Jemiscoe brings her positive, constructive feedback to the table, offering insight that motivates and inspires. I am so grateful for the opportunity to share my work with this fascinating accomplished woman , she has opened my eyes with her experienced creative vision. She also has a great sense of humor and is easy to communicate with. I highly recommend her!
Ellen Carroll
www.ellencarroll.com/art-portfolio

Expertise Shines Through

Larissa’s advice was amazing, and her expertise shines through. She was able to pinpoint things that my beta readers couldn’t and delivered her critique with kindness and generosity. She is excellent to work with. I’m very thankful to Manuscript Academy for the opportunity to consult with her.

Great editor, highly recommended.

I’ve worked with Ivan three times now on picture-book projects, and each has been exceptionally beneficial. I may have some sense that something isn’t working or could be better, and Ivan not only pinpoints the issue but also helps problem solve. His development and line edits have been invaluable. Fun, friendly, generous with his time, expert in his advice; I really couldn’t ask for anything more.

Direct and Supportive

Eric went above and beyond in his consultation. He gave me helpful notes on my materials that were both encouraging and highlighted aspects that could be stronger. Our actual video call built on his notes and he helped me shore up the weaker parts of my materials and take them to the next level. This included helping me to brainstorm ways to deepen the stakes of my pitch and I’m very grateful for the idea that came from it. I highly recommend Eric!

Great feedback with a very caring approach

Last Thursday, 8/21, I had a schedule phone session to discuss my query and the first ten pages of my manuscript with Kelly Van Sant. It is never easy to speak with a complete stranger about one’s writing/work, but Kelly definitely settled any nerves I had brewing with her caring approach. Kelly’s feedback was definitely beneficial and I appreciated the way she gave me actual ways to address her concerns with my opening pages and my query. I highly recommend scheduling a meeting with Faculty Member Kelly Van Sant to writers seeking professional advice with someone who has a great deal of experience in the publishing industry.

Sincerely,
Ruth Zavitsanos

Fiona was so helpful!

Fiona’s knowledge of the current market was invaluable to me in this meeting. I was seeking direction and Fiona gave that to me. She’s an experienced agent, easy to talk with and generous in giving advice.

A light bulb came on!

Katherine Sands was so lovely, supportive, and generous. She not only gave me detailed and incredibly helpful edits on paper, but she helped me talk through them over the phone. At one point something she said about the overall pacing of the book and what would turn it from an interesting story to a page turner made the lightbulb go off in my head! Now I’m rewriting with a different idea in mind and the words are flowing out like lava. Thank you, Katherine!

Finally someone who gets it!

Christina’s 10 page critique on my novel was both positive and constructive with some clear suggestions as to what to work on. I was heartened by the fact that her comments showed that she understood what the novel was about and the message I was trying to get across. Not easy when your work crosses genres! Thank you so much Christina for your valuable advice.

Fantastic Query and First 10 Page critique

Alyssa gave me a lot to think about in our session. Her notes were clear, and given in a very supportive manner. The critique was absolutely fair, and very helpful. She immediately zeroed in on a few small items that had larger connotations, and we had a great conversation about how to handle these.

Your Manuscript Will Thank You

I have been working with Ivan for nearly a year on several picture book manuscripts and have worked with other agents as well. I have also been in writers’ groups. Ivan has not only far exceeded other’s knowledge and expertise, his suggestions are inspiring and his kindness and honesty encourage me and are so supportive, I leave my meeting excited to continue my writing journey. If anyone ever wonders who to turn to or are stuck choosing between agents or editors, Ivan will bring warmth, integrity, and vision. A manuscript I have been working on is ready to query and has turned out so good, I can’t wait to send it to agents. I feel more confident in the story than any other story before it, and that is all because of Ivan.

So helpful

Renee got clear, useful feedback to me early. She let me know what was working in my query letter and what wasn’t, then showed me possible fixes.

First time caller

I’ve been considering a consultation for a long time but was hesitant. After a lot of research on the plans and facutly I landed on the “LIVE Query + 10-Page Read + 15-Minute Consultation” with Emma Peters. I am so glad that I finally took the leap – so worth it. Emma was fantastic. She asked insightful questions and gave some actionable advice on my query/pages – then made some suggestions on what to look for in agents. Above all she was so encouraging about my writing – that was the lift I didn’t expect but really needed. Thank you, Emma and the MA for making these available.

Great Insights!

Katharine Sands is a joy to work with. She provides a wealth of information and insider insights. Katharine understands agenting and the current publishing process and shared her knowledge as it specifically applied to my project. I’ve attended writing workshops (some of the best in the country) and learned much about writing, but Katharine’s knowledge took me in a different direction–the business part of writing/publishing. Her written critique was thorough and provided me with a road map. If we were rating, I would give her a 10 out of 10!

Specific Detailed Critique for My Query

Molly was incredibly helpful and so nice! She gave me specific notes on my query and I was able to take her advice and really understand what I needed to change or clarify. I am about to sign up for a longer critique with her so she can review my picture book dummy.

Thank you!

Christina provided a written 10 page critique of my manuscript and I am very pleased with what I received. Her edits and comments were so thoughtful and prescriptive, which has given me such a good sense of how to move forward with edits. She offered a great balance of encouragement with really detailed, constructive feedback, and I really appreciate her knowledge and attention to detail.

Thanks again, Christina!!

Absolutely Amazing: Emma was Insightful, Professional, and Completely Got Me.

I went into my 30-page review with Emma wanting to know one thing: if the work wasn’t good, tell me. I wanted a professional to look at my work and tell me honestly, go or no go. I didn’t want fluff, just the truth and honest critic. I knew with 30 minutes I wouldn’t get a beat for beat breakdown of the book and that’s not what I wanted anyway. What I got was far more than feedback. I got someone who understood my work, read my work and appreciated me as an author.

Emma is sharp, generous with her insight, and just flat-out amazing. In what was supposed to be just 30 minutes, she saw the heart of what I was trying to do and helped me see it even more clearly myself. She’s the kind of editor who meets you where you are, then helps you go further than you thought you could. I can only hope that when the time comes to choose an editor for my book, I find someone as good. That is, of course, if I can’t get Emma herself.

Overall we didn’t focus much about plot, or the 30 pages. We talked about what I was trying to accomplish with my work. She saw the themes and reflected them back with clarity and respect. I’ve never felt more understood in such a short conversation, especially from someone who wasn’t a friend or family member. It was like someone opened the gates to the path I was on, gates I had been standing in front of, not sure I had the ability or talent to open. Now I feel the path is mine.

If you’re serious about your work and want someone who will take it seriously too, talk to Emma.

Thank You, Emma

Worth It!

Molly was amazingly helpful and encouraging. I’m super grateful for the opportunity to have a former agent/acquisitions editor read my work. The opening pages are so important for hooking an agent and she helped me to see what needs enhancing to give my manuscript its best shot. I’ve already had many critique partners and beta readers, but Molly was able to read with an editorial eye and this was exactly what my manuscript needed to take it to the next level. It was definitely worth hiring her for editorial letter and in-doc comments!.

New Tools in My Toolbelt!

My consultation with Krista Vitola gave me a new vision for how to set the stage at the beginning of my MG novel. Krista’s calming presence quieted my anxiety as we talked. She is gracious, approachable, and kind. We batted ideas around, and I appreciate her so much! I now have new tools in my toolbelt to make this manuscript even stronger. I’m grateful for her time and encouragement!

So Helpful!

Stephanie “got” what my book is! Their suggestions for the opening pages were spot on and they were a delightful person to talk to.

Efficient and generous

Booked a LIVE Ten Minute Consultation over Zoom to improve my query. I chose Kenshole, because of her history with agenting talking animals stories. New to the format of this type of consultation, I was unsure what could come of only ten minutes. All the info she had, was my 375 words query letter. But she was incredibly efficient, pointing out red flags and explaining them, plus shared good comps (better than the ones I had). Highly recommended experience.

Writing Wizard in My Corner

Alice honed my query letter with excellent suggestions for content and structure. She listened well, understood my intentions, and refined my query letter to make it more readable, concise, and effective. She had obviously carefully reviewed my submission so she could provide insightful comments, making the most of our short time. I now have a clear understanding of how to modify my letter to make it more effective. Her demeanor is genuinely kind, friendly, and attentive. I highly recommend her to anyone looking to improve their writing with constructive advice from an experienced, caring professional. I definitely felt like I had a writing wizard in my corner. Thank you for this transformative opportunity.

Linda is spectacular!

Linda Camacho was absolutely wonderful to work with. I cannot praise her enough for the amount of help she gave me in such a short amount of time. Linda was so kind and friendly it really took away the anxiety for my first meeting. She was extremely knowledgeable on breaking down my query letter and focusing in on aspects to make my story stand out. I really felt like she was on the same wavelength with me and understood where I was going with the points that I wanted to highlight for my letter. She was a joy to work with and I cannot recommend her enough to struggling writers. If I need more help in the future I will be definitely reaching out to Linda for guidance. She was by far one of the best people I have had the experience of working with and your company is very lucky to have her on staff. Thank you, Linda, for all your help.

Stefanie Takes a Story From Good to Great

It’s remarkable how in only 10 minutes Stefanie was able to cut to the heart of my story and suggest a small edit with a big impact. She was very kind and began with the positive features of my story before jumping in with potential changes. Overall worth the money! 10 minutes was the perfect amount of time for discussing the first page of my children’s book.
Thank you Stefanie!

Cleaned up my word count!

The critique was helpful and thorough. I felt like the feedback was useful in guiding me to make improvements. She also helped cut my word count down by a ton giving me space to improve my ending!
Also the team was very responsive when my submission would not go through.

Constructive, actionable feedback

With just a few short pages, Carina understood what I was going for, praised what she thought was working, and gave actionable and constructive feedback on how and where to improve. The authors who have the opportunity to work with you her lucky indeed! She really helped me see where I could keep the reader’s attention, and what aspects of the manuscript I should highlight to show its commercial appeal to potential agents and editors. She is also very kind and constructive with her feedback.

I wanted to write this review to let other writers know how helpful working with her has been to me, and that it will be time well spent.

“Professional, Precise, and So Helpful”

Liv’s feedback took my query letter to the next level. Her suggestions were smart, concise, and made a real difference. I appreciated her thoughtful approach and how easy she was to collaborate with. Highly recommend her expertise!

Collaborative query experience was amazing!

Baker was personable, knowledgeable, helpful, and generous with his time and efforts. I appreciated the experience of talking with him about the query itself and the overall industry, and once he’d rewritten the query, I was incredibly happy with the finished product. I haven’t started submitting yet but I feel like I’ll be in a much stronger position when I do. Many thanks, Baker!

Short sweet and succinct

Krista gave such good suggestions, along with a positive voice.

24 Karat Gold Katharine

My 30 pages + query consult was terrific. Helpful constructive feedback, enthusiastic comments about the strengths of the query and manuscript and proposal, and solid suggestions for tweaks. Thank you Katharine!

Kudos to Katharine

My query +proposal +pages consult was all I could have wished for. Enthusiastic comments about the strengths of the work, constructive suggestions for tweaks, some guidance on changing the order of info in the query, and a connection to a local to me resource. Her feedback was very helpful.

Stellar feedback

My session with Tamara went great! She took the time to familiarize herself with my query ahead of time, was organized and efficient with her points, and gave some very useful feedback.
It was well worth it!

Excellent investment, great feedback

Jessica was extremely helpful during our 10 minute consultation. She was able to provide analysis and feedback that I hadn’t considered, and that has allowed me to shape the story in a clearer direction. It was time and money very well spent. Thank you Jessica!

I Bow to Erica Bowman

Erica Bauman is such a delightful human that just chatting with her would have been a lovely experience on its own, but during our ten-minute meeting to talk about my novel’s first page, she shared insights that astounded me—and helped me greatly. Erica possesses a remarkable x-ray vision that saw into the characters and beyond that opening scene. What I’m particularly grateful for is her suggestion to start the action just a few moments before I had. Thanks to Erica, a quick-fix ultimately enhanced the entire chapter significantly.

Very Insightful!

Manuscript Academy delivers another great Live Query + 10-Page Read + 15-Minute Consultation! Ruqayyah Daud provided great feedback into what was working well and the few areas she thought we could improve. Plus, she shared excellent market insight on how to position our work even more!

Positive and upbeat.

In our ten minute consultation, Liv Ivanov gave great suggestions on how to consolidate and clarify my query letter, something that can be challenging for a Sci-Fi novel! All her suggestions were positive and encouraging.

Targeted, Thoughtful, Game-Changing

Working with Fiona was an absolute game-changer for both my picture book manuscript and query letter. She brought a thoughtful, insightful eye to my work and offered feedback that was not only clear and specific but also deeply encouraging.

Even though she recommended not changing the manuscript (which I had previously revised with the help of another wonderful consultant, Emily Daluga), Fiona gave me essential, targeted advice on my query letter—pointing out that it read more like middle grade than picture book and offering concrete suggestions to fix that. Thanks to her guidance, I believe my query now truly reflects the heart and tone of my story.

Fiona’s insight made all the difference. I honestly believe her input could be what helps me land an agent for this project. I’m incredibly grateful for her time, expertise, and generosity, and I highly recommend her to any writer looking to take their work to the next level.

—Elyssa

Generous, Insightful, and Story-Shaping Notes

Working with Emily was an incredible experience. Her editorial letter was packed with deep, story-level insight that helped me see my manuscript in a completely new light. She asked smart, thoughtful questions about character motivation, world-building, and emotional stakes—always in a way that was constructive, not prescriptive.

Emily gently challenged me to clarify my character’s arc, add more intentionality to plot points, and strengthen the emotional payoff of the ending. She even suggested ways to enhance the story visually through art direction—a level of detail that made the world of difference in my re-write.

Her notes didn’t just point out what needed fixing; they helped me understand why it mattered. I walked away feeling energized and equipped, with a clear path forward and renewed excitement for my project.

If you’re looking for an editor who brings both heart and precision to your work, I can’t recommend Emily highly enough.

—Elyssa

So encouraging!

Anjanette was very clear in her suggestions and gave me wonderful advice! I really appreciated her input and insights.

Ivan the Great

Ivan is fantastic. I’ve talked to other agents and editors, and Ivan leaves me feeling heard, appreciated, and knowing the right path to take without feeling like I must take his advice. He always lets me know that this is my story and I am free to make creative decisions. Still, it is clear how well-versed his is in children’s literature, the editing process, and the publishing business. He knows what’s happening out there in the current market because he lives it every day. Right now, I am choosing which story to query and polishing the query letter, and he is right there with me. I appreciate every consultation so much.

Masterful editor, will be back!

AMAZING!!!! If I have further editorial needs, I’ll definitely be in touch with Baker.

Targeted editing help much appreciated!

Baker’s edit was great! He really picked up on the nuances of my book. I can’t thank him enough.

I can’t thank Baker enough!

I sent a query out to [agent]’s office yesterday, and this morning he requested the full manuscript! I can’t thank Baker enough!!! I definitely owe him a bottle of something nice.

Impressive Query Results with Baker!

I’m happy to say that, while I got absolutely no bites on my first round of querying, after working with Baker I now have four full manuscripts out for review! I am so thrilled!

A very encouraging query evaluation

Crafting my query letter was very stressful. I have some confidence in my storytelling, but I’m one of those folks that couldn’t sell an extinguisher to a man on fire. Emma Peters’ evaluation of my query gave me confidence even as she pointed out areas for improvement. Well worth the investment. Thank you, Emma!

Exactly What I Needed!

Samantha’s critique was targeted, specific and spot on. She emailed the critique before the due date with a warm and professional email. While she shared positives, the critique was largely focused on ways I could improve the piece which allowed me to immediately go back in and make changes. Although she only read the first 50 pages, her feedback helped me see problematic patterns throughout the manuscript and ways to fix them. Thank you so much for the excellent critique, Samantha.

Comments from a grateful author

Carina’s 50 page critique exceeded my every expectation. Her insights on worldbuilding, plot, and character arc were extremely helpful and very insightful. The line edits improved pace and voice but were done in line with her overall suggestions and the vision of the novel itself. I would highly recommend her services to anyone considering a review of their book.

Nailed it!

Excellent! Kelly Van Sant was right on point. I got the written critique and she gave me insights that others had not. Worth every penny.

Actionable Feedback for My Genre Blender!

Chelsey was great! She offered detailed feedback during our conversation that I am actively using to revise my first act. I asked the MA crew to identify a good match for my consultation, and they recommended Chelsey. She provided an actionable and thoughtful critique of my first thirty pages and my query. She asked questions about my work and had tailored feedback for me that helped me understand how to work with my novel, which blends several genres.

Clear, straightforward feedback that instantly transformed my opening pages

Erica Bauman provided me with clear, concise feedback. She was very conscious of the amount of time I had booked, and she used that time efficiently–exactly as I had hoped. I specifically requested frank feedback–I just wanted brass-tack advice without sugarcoating. She provided me with two very clear tips (regarding POV and chaos/confusion). I was able to incorporate these in just one hour of futzing with my manuscript and it improved things 10x over. I would definitely recommend her services.

Rhyming Picture Book

Savannah provided a succinct and professional critique of my manuscript/query letter and made a helpful recommendation to increase the clarity of the illustration notes.

Erica was so kind and helpful. I left our call feeling inspired and with a clear direction.

I’m so glad I booked a consultation. Erica was so helpful and gave me specific feedback regarding the query and first ten pages that left me feeling like I had a clear direction of where to go next. I left our call feeling inspired to jump back into the query and manuscript, rather than feeling daunted.

Timely advice and feedback for PB project!

Alyssa’s feedback was just what I needed before submitting to a publisher. She asked my specific concerns and deftly suggested a few edits and answered my concerns about clearly conveying the underlying message, from the perspective of both the art and words.

Critique

Monica went above and beyond with her critique of my query and first 3 chapters. Her insight and advice was on point and helped me see what needed to be addressed. She was very kind and answered all my questions. I would definitely ask her to critique my book again

Great Graphic Novel Feedback

Thanks Rachel for such a great review of my first 10 pages. Having my graphic novel manuscript reviewed by your professional eye definitely helped me make a revision plan, and the encouragement was so very nice. I feel ready and confident to get this manuscript into shape now!

Kelly “Gets” It

Unlike the majority of rejection letters that I’ve received for my middle-grade fantasy, Kelly Van Sant provided detailed feedback that focused on both my query letter and my first page. The goal of our meeting was to figure out why I wasn’t receiving “fulls” but only polite compliments.

Kelly totally zeroed in on my premise, and I felt like she totally “got” my setup, stakes, and themes. She suggested minor tweaks to the query and a refocus on the main character for the first page. Plus she answered all my questions. Our time spent together was well worth it.

Great reading and advice

Sheila’s great. She quickly helped me revise my query and gave thoughtful and helpful feedback to my first ten pages. I highly recommend her!

The consultation with Bridget provided me with a clear direction for my manuscript and cleared out any insecurities with answers to my questions.

Compassionate Critiques

Linda Camacho exudes consideration in her critiquing sessions. Not only did she show genuine interest in my project, but also as me as a person. In both sessions I had with her, she spent time to understand my manuscript by asking clarifying questions in addition to providing her thoughts. My query transformed under her guidance, and she offered much needed encouragement, insight into the industry, and advice in regards to my first ten pages. I am grateful for her time, and especially for how she treated me with empathy and not just another box to tick off in her busy schedule.

I can’t thank her enough

Bridget was thoughtful, kind, and thorough in our consultation meeting. I am confident that her feedback will be invaluable in my querying journey!

The query letter pro

Thao opened my eyes to opportunities to improve my query letter which I am certain I would not have otherwise identified. She was kind and helpful. Thank you so much, Thao!

Well Done Dawn

Kaitlyn Sanchez said my picture book manuscript was well done. I’m so happy to hear this from a respected agent after I worked for years on my story. She gave me insights on how to edit my work to possibly increase an editor’s interest. This seasoned agent was very approachable and upbeat, yet so professional. This is the second time she gave me feedback on my work and I’ll seek her advice again soon. Thank you.

Helpful!

Renee’s advice made a lot of sense, and she answered all of my questions. Overall, she was patient, professional, and very approachable. My query is so much better because of her help.

Thorough Review of Query Letter

Alice Spielberg was generous with her thoughtful review of my query letter. It was so helpful to have feedback from a real agent to let me know where I was getting it right and where I could improve. 10/10 recommend!

Sharp query editor

Enjoyed my 15-minute Query/First Ten Pages review session with Alice Speilburg. Alice was very insightful and supportive. Cut through a lot of the problems I’ve had, especially with my query. I’m in much better shape because of it. Would highly recommend.

Excellent!

Excellent!

Renee was kind, professional, knowledgeable and on-target.

Worth every penny.

Thanks!

Excellent feedback!

This was one of the best consultations/critiques I’ve had with Manuscript Academy. While I enjoy the face-to-face consultations, I found this written critique to be the most useful so far. Ms. Fountain provided me with great insight into areas I can improve my writing style, the flow of my novel, and create a more engaging storyline. Having notes and concrete examples to review is extremely helpful. I would (and most likely will!) book another critique with Ms. Fountain.

Clear direction…

The consultation was very helpful and I now have a concrete plan for my manuscript.

A Wayfinding Star

Ivan provided clear, actionable ways I could improve my query and first page, while being kind and encouraging. Writing can feel like you’re adrift in the dark on an endless ocean. Unsure if you’re paddling in the right direction, going in circles, pursued by pirates, driving right into a storm… Even in a short 10-minute meeting, Ivan provided valuable feedback that gave me grounding and orientation toward my goal. Definitely recommend a consultation with Ivan.

Approachable and helpful

Anjanette’s comments on my ten pages were clear and made a lot of sense, and, in some cases, eye-opening. She was also patient with my questions and open to explaining a lot to me.

Fantastic Feedback!

Ivan Taurisano is very personable and easy to talk which set a fun tone for the critique. His spot-on advice and feedback made my query letter and first ten pages even snappier and more engaging. I highly recommend a Manuscript Academy consultation with Ivan!

Extremely useful advice

Christina is a helpful, very knowledgeable resource. I met with her for 15 minutes to discuss a query/pitch and the first pages of my manuscript, which I had to pitch live a few days after the meeting. She listened carefully to what I needed and gave me clear, spot-on advice. When our time was up, I felt much more prepared. I will definitely seek her out next time I need help!

Ivan was businesslike but relaxed. He had read my manuscript carefully, and his suggestions were helpful. I would be happy to work with him again.

Query Questions

Last week I had a 10 minute review of my query letter with Bridget Smith. She was pleasant, kind, funny, and most of all very helpful. The time goes super fast and she packed a lot of great tips into it. She told me what not to change, what wasn’t needed, and what to beef up a bit. Though we only talked about my query letter, her comments have me thinking of ways to better my pitch and synopsis as well. Very happy with how it went. Thanks, Bridget.

From “Okay” to Outstanding!

Emma gave me an amazing written critique on the first 50 pages of my vampire/witch romantacy. She gave me suggestions and shared her insight to improve every page, and to take the pages to the next level! I can’t thank her enough for her kind words and helpful comments. I highly recommend Emma for her talent and real interest in my project.

5 star experience

It’s my first time seeking out critique from industry in preparation for stepping into the query trenches so I had the typical apprehension of stepping into the unknown. There are so many avenues for aspiring authors to shell out money for services, unregulated and no guarantee of outcome value.
Fortunately, the critique feedback I received was satisfactory beyond my uneducated expectations. It was encouraging, thorough, and most importantly, actionable.

Super valuable insights!

I went into the “why am I getting rejected” critique not knowing what to expect, whether it’d be worth the time/money, etc., but it was SUPER VALUABLE! Savannah had some great insights into what I could improve and helped me understand more what’s going on in the industry right now. Well worth the time and money. I highly recommend Savannah!

Her pinpoint accuracy was what I needed

Renée was the antidote to my illness. Her pinpoint accuracy in identifying problem areas in my query and first ten pages was the insight and course correction I needed to fix my writing. She was personable, perceptive, and pragmatic, and had a wonderful sense of humor. I’ve since started following her on social media—she is a wealth of information and has become a part of my “everything about writing” diet.

Extremely helpful consultation

I truly appreciated Renée Fountain’s insightful and direct feedback. Whenever I go into consultations, I am always open to feedback about what’s working and what isn’t. I finally feel that my opening pages are where they need to be, after this extremely helpful consultation.

Excellent 50-page critique

I got a 50-page critique from Renee Fountain. It was excellent. I feel like she told me exactly what was holding back my manuscript. Now I am redoing the whole thing from the ground up, and I think when I finish the plot will be much faster moving and the voice will be so much stronger.

Honest and encouraging

I had a fantastic ten-minute query consultation with Renee Fountain. She offered targeted, actionable feedback on my query, including ideas for making it more succinct and effective. She answered my questions honestly and provided words of encouragement about my efforts. Renee offers such a wealth of expertise and the ten minutes with her was absolutely worth it.

Patient and Professional

Renee patiently read through three iterations of my book’s prologue and each time helped me to further fine tune what I needed to say, in fewer words. She was on time with her assessments and always professional.

Exactly what I needed!

Natalie gave incredibly helpful and constructive feedback on my query, going through it section by section. It was exactly what I needed! She was extremely generous with answering my questions, too.

Strongly recommend!

Molly Cusick provided thoughtful and patient query feedback. Her editorial skills were clearly apparent as she helped me with specific improvements and guidance, enabling me to craft a more impactful and compelling letter.

I felt heard and respected

I almost didn’t show up for my consultation with Molly because earlier that week, I’d received some feedback that my piece needed a whole lot of work (like a troubling, humiliating amount of work). So, when I met with her, I was so relieved when she started the conversation by asking what I hoped to gain from our conversation. I was honest and said I really needed to know when to let something go and how identify the next project to query when I have several others I’m passionate about. Her kindness, openness and straightforward nature left me feeling heard and respected, not just as a writer, but as a human. She could so easily have blasted me for the piece I wrote. Instead, she offered invaluable advice that I will take forward from here.

I go forward with a better query thanks to Ms. Ivanov

My meeting with Liv Ivanov was simply amazing. She has a warm, welcoming personality and incredible insight and knowledge. Her comments and suggestions for my query were thoughtful, detailed and greatly appreciated. Querying is a daunting process, but I will go forward with a better query and a bit more confidence thanks to Ms. Ivanov’s help. I am grateful to have had this opportunity. Many thanks to Liv and Manuscript Academy!

I really appreciated her keen eye

With no muss or fuss, Kelly Van Sant zeroed in on a flaw in my pages that my beta readers also identified but couldn’t articulate; she also supplied an idea for revision that will work for me. As a result, I can revise my novel now with what I believe will be excellent results. Van Sant is an accomplished reader and an excellent teacher—and I say that as an experienced professor myself. I really appreciated her keen eye, close reading, and quick confident pace.

This was time well spent.

Katharine Sands provided an excellent Live Ten Minute Query Consultation and I highly recommend Ms. Sands. In addition to a thoughtful and detailed query critique, Ms. Sands shared insights regarding agent needs, goals, and constraints, as well as publishing industry trends. My resulting query letter is now dramatically improved as comments were concise and applicable. This was time well spent. Thank you, Ms. Sands.

She is simply a gift to us all

Jessica was wise and generous with her advice. I was able to ask some questions that were very specific to my manuscript, and her answers were deeply considered while being just so supportive and encouraging about the whole process, from plotting to theme to character development. I can’t begin to say enough about how much our meeting impacted me on both a professional (soon, I hope!) and personal level. It’s taken me a few weeks to be able to put together the words to explain what a truly terrific meeting it was and the energy is still with me. She is simply a gift to us all.

She didn’t rush through the meeting

Jessica was so generous with her time and her suggestions. My link got lost in my spam folder and I was late for the meeting and already a bit embarrassed. No big deal. She didn’t rush through the meeting and even asked once or twice if I had more questions. I’ve since used her advice to polish up my query letter, which I think is a great improvement.

Great experience!

I got a very good sense of how my query and pages were hitting an agent. She had excellent suggestions of how to improve both, and it really opened my eyes about some things I could improve. She put me instantly at ease, was knowledgeable and smart about the subject matter and deeply understanding and respectful of what I was experiencing as a writer. I highly recommend Jessica Felleman!

Her critique was specific and doable!

Fiona cleared up so many questions I had, and her critique was specific, understandable, and doable. She brought specific examples of books with strengths where mine was lacking, and I now have a direction in which I’m productively headed. She is a true North Star!

She gave me the confidence to do it!

Fiona was amazingly helpful! Those minutes gave me the direction I needed and the confidence to do it. If the need occurs, I would not hesitate to meet with her.

Amazed at the amount of actionable feedback given.

I had a live query letter and first pages consultation with Erica (Bonus: her adorable cat made an appearance!). Erica’s feedback was thoughtful and tailored to my concerns/questions. I was amazed at the amount of positive, actionable feedback that fit in a 15-minute session. I would recommend a session with Erica to any writer looking to polish their query package.

An invaluable experience!

It was fantastic working with Chelsey. Her comments on my query letter were specific and thoughtful, looked at the whole ‘big picture’, was encouraging, and helped make sense of the comments I had been receiving from agents. Our time in conversation was far too brief! I can imagine working with her as an agent would be a great experience if this 15min chat is any indication. An invaluable experience. Thanks, Chelsey! And thank you Manuscript Academy for offering such helpful services.

She nailed the difficulty I was having

I liked Chelsey immediately. It’s that way with some people. I could tell she spent a generous amount of time with my pages as she nailed the difficulty I was having with my query letter. It’s large, she said, epic almost, but the focus of a query is more from the marketing standpoint rather than a synopsis. She was gentle and nicely critical, and our thirty minutes were over in the blink of an eye, and already I miss her. Thank you, Chelsey.

Truly a blessing to hear directly from her.

The feedback that Chelsea Hensley gave me was fantastic. She provided specific examples on how I could polish my material in terms of formatting and style. She was friendly and concise and it was truly a blessing to hear directly from her. To hear her tell me that my work was nearly there, to keep pushing forward made my week. Highly recommend.

What a remarkable value!

Caitlin met with me on time and was highly professional. She made me feel at ease and got right to business, first offering to answer any questions I had, then going over my query, then my selection. On all points the suggestions she gave were spot-on. She talked me through updating both my query letter and selection in small ways which would have a big impact. I left the meeting with a full page of hand-written notes, feeling invigorated and inspired. What a remarkable value! I can see how the recommendations she made of including MC goals early in my MS will have a positive influence through the whole work. She left time in the session for a follow-up questions, but none were needed – she was so clear. Highly recommended!

It was just what I needed!

Caitlin got right to the point, made sure my questions were answered, gave me compliments and critique with workable actions. She asked me what I wanted before she began the critique and gave a 3 minute time warning before the end of the call. It was just what I needed.
Thank you, Caitlin!

She made time for my questions

Anjanette’s feedback was an insightful balance of what is working and what still needs work. She also made time for the meeting to be a conversation, inviting me to share my top level questions as a guide to our discussion. Overall, I left feeling like I knew exactly what my next steps need to be with this project.

Gave very actionable feedback!

Anjanette was extremely kind and insightful. She gave me very clear suggestions for revisions on my query and first ten pages. Very actionable feedback. She was also very encouraging and inspiring to speak with. Thanks again!

A wonderful experience!

Anjanette was kind and encouraging. I was able to discuss possible new ideas to improve my beginning page as well as take the spot-on feedback she’d prepared. She was open to questions as well.

She asked all the right question

Talking with Alyssa was so helpful. She asked all the right questions to get me thinking about my manuscript in ways that will really move it forward.

The feedback I received was very valuable

I chose Carina Licon to critique the first 50 pages of my YA manuscript. I chose Carina because her bio and manuscript wish list was aligned with my novel. The feedback I received from Carina was very valuable for me. I felt I had a relatable character and an interesting concept for for story so I was delighted when Carina responded positively to the work I have done. She provided me an editorial letter with constructive comments on pacing, character development, story timeline and really strong good questions. I felt that she understood my main character so well and challenged me perfectly to develop more detail around my MC. The 50 page critique was very professional and thorough. I know that these insights will help me tighten my story and improve the clarity and efficiency of my writing. A terrific investment that will help me hone my craft as a writer and a wonderful experience of better understanding what it would be like working with an editor. Thank you Manuscript Academy (Julie, Jessica and the whole team) for this wonderful platform that provides access to me, a writer based in Australia, to tap into the worlds largest market for fiction.

Emily took a lot of care with my opening pages, and offered clear, actionable feedback that helped me elevate the quality of my manuscript. I’d waffled mightily about the prologue of my book and got exactly the insights I was hoping for.

About a month ago, I had a terrific meeting with Chelsea Hensley, who doled out equal parts insights, advice, and encouragement. It was such a positive experience–and Chelsea’s suggestions were so spot-on–that I revised my query and scheduled a second meeting. Chelsea somehow exceeded my already high expectations, and I walked away from the second meeting even happier than after the first. Chelsea is a wonderful resource for any writer trying to crack the code of what makes a successful query.

Talking with Chelsea Hensley was a double treat. Along with being warm and kind, Chelsea also delivered excellent insights that will make my query stronger. I was so grateful that she detected themes nestled behind my sentences and gave me concrete suggestions about how to bring them to the forefront.

I had my ten page in-person review with Chelsea. It was a revision from working with a different Manuscript Academy consultant. I brought up comments made by other reviewers, and she knew exactly what I was talking about and instead of saying, you need to fix this… She was more, this is how you can make this happen. That was super inciteful and greatly appreciated. She also gifted me with a new way to approach marketing since I’ve written an MG novel. It was time and money well spent and I would recommend her highly.

My consultation with Monica Odom was 5-star for sure!
Monica provided excellent feedback and suggestions for my memoir during our 15-minute consultation regarding my Query and first 10 pages.
Despite eight revisions and a complete developmental edit, I was lacking something I couldn’t quite put my writing finger on.
Agent Odom knew exactly what element it needed, and I can’t wait to get started. Brava!

Very helpful. Thank you so much.

Getting query feedback from Monica Rodriguez was a delight. Monica is really astute, clearly understood the themes I was hoping to define in the query, provided superb suggestions, and asked questions that got me thinking about the best approach to fine-tuning. She was supportive and encouraging. I’m grateful to her!

Monica Rodriguez read my query and first pages in December and asked wonderfully pointed questions that helped me dive into the main action faster and delete the extra subplot. When I had another consultation with her in January about my revised first pages and query, I was relieved I had addressed her concerns. My recent consultation with her about the synopsis showed me that I should mention more of the best friendís character arc. and expand my explanation of the event linked to inciting incident. She also provided great resources for comps and story analysis. I highly recommend Monica as a Manuscript Academy mentor. I feel much more prepared for my next round of querying.

Monica was a pleasure to speak to and she gave me such great, concise feedback. She has a great eye and was able to support me with what I needed. I appreciated her industry insights as well!

Natalie Edwards’ consultation was nothing short of phenomenal. She gave specific, productive feedback on every bit from query letter to my pages, answered questions with specific ideas, and listened to what I had to say with ready willingness to give me other options from an original suggestion she may have had. She checked to see if I was ready to move on before she did so, and the overall consultation was far more interactive than I could have hoped for. I will say that I asked for a “10” on the scale of “Kind to Brutal” and she was nothing short of gentle, patient, and kind throughout although every word was constructive. If you are lucky enough to get an appointment with her, book her sooner rather than later.

Natalie was wonderful! She gave thoughtful, actionable feedback that I was able to immediately use to improve my query letter and manuscript, and was so encouraging!

My consultation with Natalie was exceptionally helpful. She brought me up to speed on the current conventions around query writing, beyond what I found in my own research, and suggested a brilliant edit to my first few pages. Her feedback was direct yet kind and, more importantly, it was completely in line with the spirit of my book.

Natalie asked questions that my query provoked, plot or character directions she wanted to know more about, which in turn gave me tidbits of interest I could insert to make it better. When you have a complicated book, knowing what specifics resonate with people helps limit what is helpful, and what isn’t. Our meeting was short, but helpful.

Natalie was very helpful and I am amazed at how much editing advice she was able to give in such a short space of time.
It was a pleasure speaking to her and learning from her.

Nour provided 15 minutes of pure gold. I was thoroughly impressed by the insights she gleaned from my query and first ten pages and by the astute and specific comments she made to me. She knows the market well, and my proposal is better because of her. Thank you, Nour!

Absolutely amazing! Nour is the third paid mentoring agent I’ve worked with, and her feedback was the most enlightening and noteworthy compared to the others. She provided me with valuable insight into how an agent or publisher might perceive my query and sample pages, offering specific guidance on how to improve them. I definitely recommend her.

Nour was exceptionally kind and bright. Her feedbacks on my query were so specific and valuable, with great example. The first 10 page, she explained exactly what she meant if she wanted something to improve, and why. I feel that I gained so much in such a short time. But more so, her generosity in trying to give me as much as she can as if she deeply cared. There was not enough time for me to thank her personally, so I hope she gets to read this. Thank you Nour. You are as your name says; Light.

I sought Thao Le’s help with my query and first page. I learned a lot about querying and the industry from her. She was professional, enthusiastic, and knowledgeable. It was apparent she wanted to help me succeed as a writer. She really made me feel seen. Highly recommend.

In a word, Alyssa Jennette is wonderful.
She was thorough and tactful.
Clear and knowledgeable.
In just 15 minutes, she suggested changes that would completely transform my project and lift it to a whole new level!
I was so excited after our meeting, I literally ran to get back to my edits.
I received strong, honest, CONSTRUCTIVE feedback.
I’m so thankful and can’t wait to schedule my next consultation!

The review that I received from Melissa was fantastic. She had thoughtful recommendations, and constructive ways to approach improving my work. I would highly recommend her for other aspiring writers.

I’ve had many agent consults and while all have been helpful and constructive, I have to say Chelsea was particularly insightful. I walked away with tangible ways to improve both my opening pages and my query. I also had lots of questions, and she answered each thoughtfully and thoroughly. I will not hesitate to book her again.

Thanks so much to Manuscript Academy for being such a valuable resource. I’m truly grateful.

Bridget was incredibly helpful with critiquing my query letter. I had areas of concern that I knew needed assistance and she hit on every one with great tips on how to improve. All of her criticism was constructive and worded in a way that could be used to better my query. Any questions I had she was able to answer fully. I feel substantially more confident moving forward with my querying thanks to her feedback.

This was one of my favorite consultations I’ve done with Manuscript Academy. It is such a unique experience meeting with editors versus agents and being able to see how they view pages differently. Emma was very easy to talk to, she understood the vision I had for my opening pages, and offered great insight into how to tighten things up. The changes I’ve made since our meeting have helped a great deal in picking up the momentum of my first 10 pages. Overall, it was a very positive experience and I plan on booking another consultation with her in December for another book.

I had the opportunity to complete a 75 page review with Stephanie Stein. Meeting with a reputable editor in the industry was an amazing opportunity. I am very thankful for her feedback on improving pace, clarifying certain aspects of stakes and world-building, and refocusing the lens/direction of my opening pages. Ms. Stein also provided other recommendations of things I wouldn’t have even considered for character development and scene transitions that I will keep in mind for writing in general.

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!

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!

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!

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!

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!

Anjennette was helpful in two things: 1) She did not have either negative comments nor corrections to my query letter, so that was a confidence booster. 2) She confirmed that my “auto-fiction” work reads like a novel and not autobiography, which is what I was looking for.

However, she did say two things that bothered me. 1) she seemed concerned that the first few pages of my first chapter were “too slow.” It is the first time I have heard that comment (I have had several readers), but coming from an agent it make me wonder if agents are thinking that readers do not have the patience to build a story but want to get right to the sound bites. Is there no longer a market for literature? (2) As to my title: JOHN CHRISTIAN: Warrior-Shaman, she seemed to say that the word “shaman” was too provocative and would not be received well by the reading public and, therefore, by publishers.

Basically, she seemed to indicate that both my query letter and the quality of my writing are good, but that my style and the subject matter that I have chosen to write about is problematic for the agents’ perceptions of the general reading publics collective tastes and cultural and scholastic literacy. I have read some pretty dumbed down stuff in both fiction and nonfiction, and if that is what agents are really looking for, I am not encouraged about the possibility of finding an agent for my book. Nonetheless, your own list of 72 agents possibly interested in my hybrid genre of auto-fiction/magical realism gives me a starting point to continue with queries in seeking publication.

I do not know Anjanette, so I can only take her as representative of the agenting profession in general. I did not receive much encouragement for the uniqueness of my work and, in fact, was left with the impression that agents are not really looking for unique and original works, even when they say that they are (that, of course, goes back on the mainstream publishers). Reading between the lines, my interview with Ms Barr gave me a lot of information about literary agents and the profession of representing writers. I guess the fact that it is not what I wanted to hear is probably irrelevant, unless I want to change my style and subject matter to something more generic and dumbed-down.

Jessica was thorough, thoughtful and efficient with my 10 page, 15min consultation. I would definitely recommend her!

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.

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.

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.

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!

Reneeís 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!

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!

Carina jumped right in and covered a lot of ground in our meeting. It was clear that she had prepared notes on my pitch letter and pages in advance. She showed me specific lines that she liked as well as ones with room for improvement and commented on the overall voice, pacing, and scene structure. Overall she was knowledgeable and encouraging.

I had the pleasure of working with Molly Cusick on my query letter and I couldn’t be more grateful for her expertise. Molly’s keen eye for detail and insightful feedback transformed my letter into a polished and compelling representation of my work. She not only helped me convey my ideas more effectively but also boosted my confidence in the submission process. I highly recommend her services to anyone looking to elevate their writing!

Caitlin was incredibly insightful with her comments about the first 30 pages of my WIP. It was clear that she had carefully read the pages and had taken detailed notes. She read back several passages from my manuscript that she used to illustrate how I could make my writing more impactful. Her feedback was not only constructive, but she delivered it with kindness. She gave me several amazing ideas to make my worldbuilding stronger. I would highly recommend booking a consultation with Caitlin.

Emma was super helpful in working through my pitch materials with me, and helped me come up with a restructure that I think will really make my story more effective! She was friendly and punctual, and I’m so glad I took the time to talk to her.

I am a bit late to writing this, but I benefited greatly from my 10-page consultation with Fiona Kenshole. My work-in-progress is a feminist eco-fantasy retelling of a Sufi literary classic – Fiona is so well-read that she was even familiar with the source text! She helped me visualize the intro in a whole new way that really improved the manuscript.

Grrrreat! Very informative. He got where I was at, what I’d done well, what needed to change. I half expected he’d mail it in, treat me like someone who hadn’t a clue and needed to start from scratch. (He wouldn’t be the first.) He was quite the opposite: honest, blunt, engaged, tuned in to me. It felt like a mind meld, and he gave me hope when I thought my hope had run out. I’m looking forward to seeing what we come up with. Thank you so much for making him available as a resource!

Fiona has given me such fresh and seasoned advice! Her encouragement and input has helped me greatly; to view my work, my job in storytelling, with a deeper understanding and connection . From beginnings, to the arc of the story-the where why when all the way through to an exciting and delightfully natural ending , keeping the reader in mind, and wanting more. Her knowledge of not only writing but illustration is so valuable to me as an author/illustrator. I am thrilled to have this opportunity !
As long as she is available through Manuscript Academy, I plan on booking time with her, because of her wise council. She is also a kind, funny and authentic person, which always helps!

I can’t say enough positive things about my consultation with Stephanie. She was encouraging about my work and provided actionable, well-reasoned feedback on areas I might think about tweaking. I loved hearing her thoughts on voice, in particular, and how she was willing to answer other questions about the industry as well! I could have kept asking her questions all day, but feel like we covered a ton in what time we did have! I would definitely recommend a consultation with Stephanie to any author looking for a pair of expert eyes.

I am so glad I booked a query and first pages critique. Caitlin was lovely to talk to and her objective feedback somehow unlocked what I needed to do to improve my first pages. I have confidence now that my next round of querying will yield better results.

This was one of my favorite consultations Iíve done with Manuscript Academy. It is such a unique experience meeting with editors versus agents and being able to see how they view pages differently. Emma was very easy to talk to, she understood the vision I had for my opening pages, and offered great insight into how to tighten things up. The changes Iíve made since our meeting have helped a great deal in picking up the momentum of my first 10 pages. Overall, it was a very positive experience and I plan on booking another consultation with her in December for another book.

What a wonderful conversation with Linda Camacho, who read the first thirty pages of my novel. She was warm, funny, congenialóand ultimately inspiring. The almost-magical part was that she conducted a discussion that was so relaxed, so unrushedóyet it covered a lot of territory. My six pages of notes about language, pacing, genre, and the ever-dynamic market are packed with Lindaís astute insights and actionable suggestions. Sheís an expert agent and editoróand a lovely person whom I canít recommend enough.

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!

Renee’s 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!

I had the pleasure of working with Molly Cusick on my query letter and I couldn’t be more grateful for her expertise. Mollyís keen eye for detail and insightful feedback transformed my letter into a polished and compelling representation of my work. She not only helped me convey my ideas more effectively but also boosted my confidence in the submission process. I highly recommend her services to anyone looking to elevate their writing!

I am a bit late to writing this, but I benefited greatly from my 10-page consultation with Fiona Kenshole. My work-in-progress is a feminist eco-fantasy retelling of a Sufi literary classic ó Fiona is so well-read that she was even familiar with the source text! She helped me visualize the intro in a whole new way that really improved the manuscript.

Alyssa was fantastic! It was clear she had read through my manuscript carefully and thoughtfully. Her insights pinpointed several of the problem spots I have been wrestling with and then we were able to brainstorm through some possible options for revising. I left feeling like I had the direction I needed to keep moving forward on this project.

Monica was a pleasure to speak to and she gave me such great, concise feedback. She has a great eye and was able to support me with what I needed. I appreciated her industry insights as well!

I am so grateful to have connected with Stephanie! I feel she truly understood my work and where I wanted to go with it, so she provided guidance that fit my vision. It was a breath of fresh air to hear her thoughts, which echoed some Iíve had and relieved some of my concerns. Wonderful support, priceless connection. Thank you, Stephanie!

Samantha was kind and personable. Very easy to talk to. And her advice really helped to tighten up my query. Highly recommend!

Wow! Rachel gave me some awesome advice that really strengthened my query letter. And she made me feel really special with plenty of compliments. Iíd definitely have another meeting with her in the future.

Eric was friendly, helpful, and went above and beyond to help with my query and pages. It was a great balance between compliments and (great) advice. Also heís a fellow Philadelphian!

Gave me lots to think about!

Ms. Brooks came prepared, with a range of ideas that I hadn’t even thought about. She gave input on asides and backstory in my first 10 pages, she gave me permission to be more direct. It was worth my time. She gave me lots to think about.

Katharine was incredible! I learned so much from our brief meeting. She gave me tremendous advice, not only about my writing, but about the manuscript I am currently working on. She is the best! Thank you.

I thought the consultation was extremely helpful in how I need to rewrite my query letter. Alyssa also went over some things to help me elevate my first page. Like the type of language I need to use to push it into the realm of Adult diction, instead of the in-between YA and Adult that I have right now. I believe that I’ve benefitted from the whole experience. Would recommend it to anyone that can afford it.

This was fantastic. I highly recommend signing up for one of these meetings. Amy was professional, encouraging, and her advice was spot-on.

Jennifer really packed a lot into our 10-minutes together. There was time for my questions and a thorough review of both my query and first page. All of it was very helpful for deciding my next steps both in revising and in querying. Plus, Jennifer was incredibly personable!

I couldn’t have asked for a better experience for the query and ten-pages review with Renee Fountain, Gondolpho, Helin & Fountain. Renee addressed several questions before I asked them. Along with positive feedback, she pointed out ways to polish my work that will affect the entire manuscript. These are concrete issues I can address and proceed to my next round of queries with a better product and more confidence.

Lane was thorough in her assessment of my first page. I really appreciated her supportive suggestion to make a simple plot change which will improve readability. We also talked about defining my genre. Very valuable ten minutes!

Jonathans’ consultation was amazing. His knowledge about the market and his fresh view on my book put everything upside down in a good way. He showed me several different ways that I could go, where I only saw one. I need to process all the information and decide which way to go, but it opened up my mind. Thank you!
Jennifer

Dani was extremely helpful. I appreciate the expert feedback.
It is so easy to doubt your decisions and have no idea if what you’re doing is powerful or effective. No one has the perspective an agent does on a query.
Dani’s suggestions for my letter and the first ten pages of my LGBTQ memoir were solid and specific. It took me a few days to figure out how to put them in place but I did and know the suggestions improved my opening immensely. (I only wish I’d scheduled a few days earlier, BEFORE I got a full request…)
This consultation made a difference in my approach and my confidence. There’s a bit less flail to my walk this week. Thank you!
….cole
(ni)Cole LeFavour
(writer, activist, and former Idaho State Senator)

Savannah was great to work with! She was very thoughtful in her feedback and analysis of my manuscript. Savannah was attentive and open to questions and discussion. I would definitely recommend Savannah!

First of all, a special thank you to Manuscript Academy and Kelly for agreeing to do a speciality live critique of my snyopsis. Kelly Van Sant dove deep into my plot and helped me show the world of the main character before the inciting incident. She also encouraged me to bring up the main theme of the novel earlier. I’m so grateful for her assistance in making my snyopsis as polished as possible before a conference submission to an editor.

Kayla was so prepared. Her suggestions were direct, her explanations for deleting sentences in the query letter, moving sentences around for clarity and tightness were beyond helpful. Her attitude was upbeat, can do, and the session left me ready to deep dive back into the manuscript and query letter to turn Rejection into Acceptance. She noted where she loved my concept, a, certain lines I had written and also left me feeling so positive about my work. All this in 10 minutes! She is the consummate professional and with this also emits a warmth and collegiality which I so relish as a writer. Best session ever and I highly recommend both her and this process.

Molly was very knowledgeable and provided excellent feedback. She was professional, courteous, and especially helpful considering the limited time we had together. Turned out to be a far more impactful conversation than I couldíve hoped for.

Iíve done a few of these consultations and this was by far the best. It really felt like Dani had my best interest at heart. She spoke to me like we were a team.

15 minutes with Dani restored my faith in myself! I had made changes to my manuscript and query letter based on a different agentís comments. These changes were made very grudgingly and left me feeling demoralized but a bit pugnacious. Dani didnít like any of those changes and unknowingly made suggestions that were very similar to my original copy. I must add that she also suggested something brilliant that I had NOT thought about.
I learned a lesson that Teacher Beth already knew but Writer Beth forgot. Just as our writing styles are unique, so are agents. Some like voice, others like carefully wrought words that transcend our dreary lives.
You might have guessed – Iím a vocal spitfire. I had drained every ounce of spunk from my first ten pages. Dani gave me permission to return to Divadom – the domain of the Finally Fabulous.
If you err on the side of smart ass storytelling, Daniís your gal. She studies your work with a fine-toothed-comb (well, as much as 15 minutes will allow) and has plenty of suggestions that make so much sense.
I learned an enormous lesson from this experience. I will continue to request critiques from readers who donít mesh with my style not only to hone my skills but also to question myself and then walk away like The Donna.
If you know, you know!

Caitlin was very businesslike and professional. I immediately received actionable, useful advice. Her advice surprised me.
Here I had been trying to condense my synopsis, while I really wanted it to be more detailed. I thought I was doing a good job of keeping that section short. She suggested the synopsis could be more than one paragraph (I had no idea!) and that I could instead shorten my bio section to make room for the object of interest, the actual storyline. This now makes sense, but I would not have been able to see that without help.
I’m grateful for the course correction.

Larissa was very insightful, full of good suggestions and supportive, too. Very glad we did the call.

Carina was extremely helpful. She went through my query materials step by step, starting with the things she felt I had done right (helpful in putting me at ease), then offering her suggestions for improvement.

It was lovely meeting her, and very worthwhile!

Fiona really could not have been more helpful. In her very cheerful way, she pointed out the ways in which my opening chapter, as well as my query, could be improved. I’m very grateful for the suggestions she provided!

Marilyn Atlas, 10 min. Zoom meeting was great. She told me pointers of exactly what was needed. I learned so much. Every writer could benefit from her advice and critique. Truly a fantastic person, easy to talk with and expert in her field.

What a wonderful session with Caitlyn! She gave me very specific advice on how to elevate my pitch and first 10 pages, as well as information about construction/organization that will help me with future queries. Highly recommended!

Testimonials always praise the person, but Emmy really is a great teacher/facilitator. She’s fun and vibrant, and has a ton of experience and knowledge which she shares without stint.

I met twice with Fiona Kenshole about my query. Twice because my first attempt was underwhelming and its make over flew over the top. Fiona reined me in to be pithy not patheticó Iím now sensing Iím closing in on it. She was concise, interested, and hilarious throughout both meetings so, if youíre looking for the experienced opinion of an honest agent, Fiona is the person I suggest you turn to.

Renee Fountain really cares about helping aspiring authors! She was honest and provided good examples of how I can improve my first page as well as my query letter. Thank you, Manuscript Academy, for making the interaction with publishing professionals possible for dreamers like me!

Dani offered clear comments on my first ten pages (including the easy but important fix that delaying one line for a couple of paragraphs intensified the chapter’s emotional impact). She understood what I was trying to do, and that was hugely validating. She also answered a couple general questions about publishing. I appreciated her kind, insightful feedback.

Katharine Sands, You could not have anyone better to look at and critique your work. She is very easy to talk with and extremely knowledgeable in the art of writing and can give you good constructive criticism of your work to put you on the right path, so you have the best chance of getting read by an agent, publisher, and she knows what readers want to hold their interest. I found her suggestions invaluable. I have started to implement everything she suggested into my work, knowing I have a lot of rewrite to do in certain areas. I believe I will have a much better book I can be proud of when finished, people will want to read. With a better chance of getting a deal to publish. I say chance because we all know how hard it is, especially if you are unknown. If you listen to Katharine, she will give you the key to having your best chance. It still comes down to your writing and your ability to connect, both in writing and being able to communicate what you have written. She can’t write it for you. LoL. With Katharine’s expertise. She would be a Dream Agent. My suggestion, look at her video Pitch to Page a couple of times if you do nothing else. If you can book her to look at some of your work, either critique or consultation. Do it, don’t even think about it.

Kayla was so helpful. She went over our time limit to help me with my query.

Hannah was so incredibly helpful. Super knowledgeable, efficient with our time, and very prepared while still being open to new questions that arose from the conversation. One thing I appreciated in particular was that she clearly spent time reading the pages. The feedback was specific in a way that could only be if the reader really considered the writing. Highly recommend.

The feedback Bibi gave me helped change the way I think about my writing. By implementing what she suggested, I made my work richer and more engaging. It was also super helpful to have a quick discussion about when “telling” is okay. I’m so grateful to her–thank you, Bibi!

My consult with Renee was fantastic! It was clear from the moment I met her that I was not just another number in her queue. She was so kind and gave me *really* helpful feedback. I definitely plan on meeting with her again once I work out some of the kinks in my query/ms. Iíve loved all the consults Iíve had so far, but Renee is so on top of her work. I rate her 10/10.

Savannah was fabulous! She gave me indispensable feedback that really helped me with my story. She was very professional, but also made sure to through in kind comments to keep the feedback from feeling too overwhelming. I would highly recommend her!

Emmy was absolutely wonderful! They were kind, thoughtful, and helped me feel 100% at ease. They answered all the questions I had and didnít rush me. They exceeded my expectations. If youíre thinking about choosing Emmy for a consult, DO IT.

Fiona is a gem.

Especially if you work with MG. I sent her my query letter and immediately put her comments into play because she’s very comprehensible and concise. She explained what and why additions or subtractions were needed, smiled no matter how many times I interrupted with a question, and answered from her POV as reader and marketer. WE might hate the marketing side, but the stronger our pitches, queries, etc., the stronger our writing. Oh, and (thank goodness) Fiona laughs a lot.

If you’ve not watched her class “How To Edit Without Losing Your Voice” you really ought to because she provides a strong sense of direction and you’ll most likely feel better about what you’ve probably spent a lifetime working on–then you’ll immediately pull out an old version of your manuscript to remind yourself why you started it in the first place!

Dani Segelbaum was great. She reviewed my query letter and first ten pages and gave me great advice. I am rewriting that part of my work to her suggestions. She told me how I should set up my query to be more effective and my first ten pages to hold people’s interest. She thought the hook in the first ten pages was fine. I ran it by a couple of people, and they think it does read a lot better. They liked my first version, but like the way this reads much better. It was time and money well spent with Dani, and enjoyed our conversation. She is without question excellent at what she does and a very kind person.

Kayla was great! Her feedback on my query letter was specific, practical and encouraging. It was delightful speaking with her.

I had a query letter and first 10 pages consultation with Fiona Kenshole. Oh my gosh! It was one of ‘the best’ mentoring sessions I’ve ever experienced. What I loved about Fiona was that after she pointed something out, she gave me solid examples of how to fix it. I absorb things so much better after seeing an example, and so, by her doing this, it really helped solidify what she was teaching me. Her years of experience shined through and she delivered the advice in such a kind and caring manner. Not to mention she had me giggling over a few funny anecdotes. I’m so thankful for her advice and I simply cannot wait to apply what she taught me to my pages. I would highly recommend a mentorship session with her.

I really enjoyed my consultation with Taj. She gave me great feedback to help strengthen the world building for the opening pages of my manuscript!

Anjanette is a really lovely person! She had some very specific and very useful advice, which was great, because I needed that exact critique! Now my query letter is ready to shine.

Adriann’s suggestions for improving my query and opening pages were insightful, and delivered with clarity and kindness. I was able to get right to work on them. I’m very satisfied.

Katharine gave me a good sense of what I need to concentrate on while I revise my proposal and my book.

This was the second time I spoke with Chelsey. I feel she’s tough and generous at the same time with her feedback. She will tell you what you need to hear and accentuate the positives she has observed. That has allowed me to pickup on my mistakes and issues throughout my WIP.

My meeting with Fiona was priceless. Her insight and advice was fantastic. She spent longer than the allotted time, and I truly felt like she cared. I still canít believe I was able to meet with her one on one. Sheís a legend. Wow! Thanks for this opportunity!

Chelsey was great! I worked with a development editor on my book and she never thought of the small but impactful changes Chelsey thought of! I’m so grateful …. this is a great service!
Thank you!
Jayne

At first, I was hesitant to book a session ó†$100 seemed like so much money for just 15 minutes of face time. But several of my author friends on Instagram had a great experience, so I took the plunge. I’m so glad I did! It wasn’t just the 15 minutes of face time, but the opportunity to have an agent actually review my submission thoroughly in advance so we could have a conversation about it. Dani Segelbaum was so friendly, helpful and encouraging. Her enthusiasm for my query letter and initial pages gave me the confidence I needed to head back into the querying trenches feeling good about my work, and her suggestions for tweaks to make my submission the best it could be were so helpful. She also provided some general suggestions for dealing with the often discouraging query process as well. I would highly recommend Dani and Manuscript Academy for anyone considering a consultation like this.

Talking with Kaitlyn Sanchez was so delightful I forget that the next day, I would have to drop being a summer writer and go back to being a high school English teacher. Kaitlyn was charming, warm, and encouraging. She had wonderful suggestions that helped me make my query stronger. Even though she doesn’t represent my genre, I wanted to hear her thoughts–because she is such a strong advocate of LGBTQ+ literature. She had wonderful suggestions that helped me make my query stronger, and I was impressed how quickly she “got” what my book was about. I really appreciated her insights.

Although Dani Segelbaumís vivisection of my query was in-depth, she was so congenial that there was no need for Novocain. She gave me pinpoint suggestions that helped me streamline the pitch and make the prose clearer. An extra set of eyes is invaluable to any writeróespecially when the task is the dreaded query letteróand Daniís perspective allowed me to see the letter as the opening of a dialogue. She is as smart and focused as she is kind.

Days ahead of my Query + 30-Page Read + 30-Minute Consultation with Eric Smith, he sent me my pages with copious comments. If thatís all I got from Eric, Iíd have been thrilled. His attention to detail, astute insights, and fantastic recommendations helped me tighten and enhance the all-important opening pages. So add the meeting to that, and I felt like I hit the jackpot. He is a really generous, kind, empathetic human being who clearly enjoys helping writers. Eric’s notes offered encouragement; in the meeting, Eric offered warm compassion. He’s just a wonderful human being.

My consultation with Kelly was fantastic. She helped confirm for me a problem I saw in the work and gave me great advice for moving forward. I came out of the meeting knowing I had a lot of work to do but feeling confident about my project and eager to get back to it.

Claire was an absolute doll! She was so friendly and gave meaningful and thoughtful feedback on my query page. I felt seen and heard. If you want someone who really listens and understands what you are trying to convey in your query but help streamlining it, she is perfect!

Fiona is an extremely competent and helpful literary agent!!! I came away from our meeting with exactly what I needed to continue refining my book. She made me feel comfortable and confident. Thank you again Fiona!

The consultation with Maeve was fantastic! The insight she provided really helped me see the opening of my manuscript in a new light.

The consultation with Savannah went well. She shared her feedback on my query letter and pages. Savannah also talked with me about the industry and her thoughts on my work in the marketplace.

Eric was wonderful! Even though it was a live consultation, he was thoughtful enough to send a few written comments ahead of time to provide context for the conversation so we could hit the ground running. And he was so friendly and insightful during the conversation – it was a fantastic experience all around! Highly recommend 🙂

Kayla was incredible. She started off by asking what my goals were for the session, tailoring the experience based on what I wanted to achieve. My primary goal was to determine if my writing sample lined up with the expectations created by my query. She explained how the description of my character in the query prepared the reader for the sample. She did this by pointing out specific sentences in the query and sample. Her analysis was spot on. And she was just a cool person who, by the end of the 15 minutes, made me feel excited to get back to querying because of her enthusiasm and care. She also eased some anxiety about timelines: 6 weeks into querying is still in the “infant stages.” This was a helpful orientation of how time moves in this process. I would highly recommend Kayla.

Emmy was very friendly, positive, and encouraging. She gave me great advice for my query and some insightful perspectives on the story. I enjoyed it very much.

Anjanette’s input was very useful. She had specific suggestions that made the pages better and we talked about the Sci Fi genre in general to help me know how to address specific topics within the novel. I will be happy to consult with her again.

Linda gave me so much insight in such a short amount of time! The ability to see your story from an agent’s eyes tells you so much about what’s working, what’s not, and where to focus your energy. Before chatting with Linda, I was trying to read into form rejections and make wild guesses about why my query wasn’t landing. Even with an awesome critique group and editor, I never could have known about the specific sensitivities within the publishing industry Linda helped me see. She gave me ideas for tweaking the query and manuscript in a kind, thoughtful way. Thanks Linda!

Despite the brevity, Bibi was unhurried and attentive, offering concrete feedback, noting both positive aspects and where I could strengthen my query. I enjoyed our time together and found it valuable.

Linda gave me actionable advice on the first ten pages of my manuscript. She was very encouraging and clearly invested time into our meeting prior to the consult. My recommendation to anyone in the query trenches is to consult Linda. You wonít regret it!

Eric was so helpful and professional. He helped me identify and address my issue right away and saved time to answer my million questions. Heís supportive and thoughtful in how he coaches. While it sucks to realize what youíve written just does not work, discovering so and developing an alternative approach with someone whoís eager to coach and listen to new ideas makes it so much better. Very grateful!

Fiona is thoughtful and honest. She has helped me hone my query and my first ten pages. She’s the greatest!

Having my work critiqued by Fiona was one of the best decisions I’ve made as a writer. She is kind, generous, and knowledgeable. Even more valuable is her ability to give specific guidance based on your strengths as an individual. After my consultation with her my children’s book author/illustrator goals are clearer. I have a definite direction and know precisely what to do next in regards to my current project. Fiona’s insights and infectious enthusiasm are just what I needed. If you have an opportunity to speak with her about your project, don’t hesitate.

Fiona Kenshole is extremely hard to book, but there’s a very good reason for that! Her enthusiasm will make any bodies day bright, she knows exactly how to deliver a critique and what way to deliver it. She’ll tell you all the things you’re doing wrong, as well as all the things you’re doing right! She’ll take you through the steps of discovering your main plot, ask you vital questions, and you’ll walk away with a new understanding of what you need to do.

Anjanette was professional, encouraging, and very helpful. I felt she was informed and genuine, gave me good information, and I feel inspired to put more effort into getting my book out there.

Erica was fantastic- really enjoyed working with her. Great critique and edits. Inevitably some of her suggestions were at odds with what I have heard from others, but I will try to incorporate everything.

Kaitlyn was so kind and helpful during our session! I got a lot of great tips and a list of suggestions of writers whose books are similar to mine. I will definitely be checking those out! She also encouraged me to not feel I have to follow any picture book formula if I don’t want to and told me her opinion on the manuscript layout. Kaitlyn is such a great resource! I will probably be talking with her again in the future.

Jennifer Wills was incredibly helpful. She was very encouraging and still very specific in her suggestions, which was the perfect combination. What a remarkable talent to be able to do those two things at the same time. I was too close to my query letter, and I was stuck ñ I am stuck no more! Sending SO much thanks to her and to Manuscript Academy!

I have had two consultations with Chelsey. The first came after I had spent a lot of time and energy sending out queries and receiving very little in response, other than form rejections. So, I decided to seek professional help. 🙂

I did the 30 pages plus query review plus 30 minute consultation first. Chelsey was kind and professional about telling me that my manuscript was 20-30k words too long. My query was way too long, too. She gave me specific feedback on how to fix my issues, while also encouraging me that my writing was good.

Of course, I didn’t want to “kill my darlings,” so I pouted first for a few weeks about the drastic word-count revision and then got busy. That’s just my M.O. I went from 124k to 99k, listened to Chelsey regarding the query, plus watched more MA recordings on queries and hooks, and managed to cut my query to 350 words. I also restructured my novel, based on something Chelsey said, added a new first chapter and decided it was time to try again.

I booked Chelsey again, this time for the query/first 10 pages/15-minute consultation. It went very well. She compared notes with the last consultation, told me what she liked and gave me a few more pointers. She encouraged me to carry on. So I am. With a lot more confidence this time.

And I agree after all that drama, I like my manuscript much better now, even without the darlings.

Dani was fantastic. She was incredibly kind, supportive, and had actionable advice for how I could improve my pages. It was comfortable, friendly, and so helpful. I wasn’t entirely sure how much to expect from this 15 minute conversation; suffice it to say it more than exceeded my expectations. I would absolutely recommend it to anyone, and certainly would recommend Dani!

Bibi was very easy to talk to and her advice was helpful and to the point. We went through a lot in 15 minutes! I will definitely follow her suggestions. I found this session very encouraging. It was great to get her professional feedback about my work.

My call with Larissa was the jolt I needed for my honestly kinda drained writer battery ?? Her comments were insightful and encouraging, and she was super willing to get in the weeds and talk through different revision ideas with me. Highly recommend!!!

Samantha was incredibly helpful! I appreciated her honesty and the intuition she showed in ìgettingî my characters. She offered concrete advice that will help me improve.

Dani read my pages closely and went over them with me. She had excellent suggestions, and was very easy to talk to over Zoom. She also has a super cute Aussiedoodle!

Although short it was very informative. We discussed my query for my story Torpidty. I had too much information and Ms Bishop explained how to cut it down and make it more concise. I appreciate her help and would recommend her to any writer to anyone at the academy.

Had a brief incident where I couldnít access the zoom meeting. Alyssa Jennette gave me a call, assured me it was alright, and that next time I could just email her back. It was my first time doing a critique and I really appreciated the extra time Alyssa didnít even have to give me! She stayed a little bit later, and even sent me notes. Her insight was valuable and is going to help pave my way into the writing world. It was nice to have a chat from one illustrator to another.

As a first-time novelist new to the entire query process, Chelsey was extraordinarily helpful. She provided very insightful feedback to my query letter and answered some other questions I had in the entire manuscript process. I am thrilled to have been able to talk to her and gain valuable knowledge.

Samantha give me very insightful line by line comments so that I could tighten the point of view of my characters and bring more clarity to their thoughts and dialogue.

Savannah Brooks gave me concrete advice which helped me transform my MG fantasy novelís beginning to make the world more real for readers. She also graciously answered my follow-up questions during our call.

Caitlin was more than instrumental with helping me see where my book is. She spotted exactly what is “wrong” with the execution of my novel–the writing felt more like a screenplay. And with my years of working and studying the art of scriptwriting… that REALLY hit home. In the two days since our zoom meeting, I’ve gone back to my novel with a new set of eyes thanks to Caitlin. In short, it was one of those life/career-changing meetings, where someone told me exactly what I needed to hear. Thank you, Manuscript Academy for letting us writers reach out directly to editors and agents. As for me, if Caitlin had not said what she said, I’d still ne banging my head against the wall and wondering why no fish are biting. I am sure she has saved me years of frustration.

Eric was professional, knowledgeable, supportive, and generous. When I first submitted my query, he sent notes and first impressions back right away, which ultimately made our ten minutes together feel like acres of time.

The query/first pages critique was invaluable. It wasn’t just a fresh pair of eyes, but those eyes were experienced in reading queries and first pages. Anjannette was able to show me exactly where, and why, things broke down and how to go about fixing it. She also pointed out what worked and gave me some industry vocabulary to use in describing my manuscript. She was extremely personable and interested. It was just a nice, informative chat about my work. What writer doesn’t like to do that?

She was brilliant – lovely – she had so much knowledge and she tried to give me as much as time allowed. I feel really good about my query now.

Jessica was incredibly helpful during our call. She went above and beyond with comments on my query and manuscript’s first thirty pages, highlighting areas where I am doing well in addition to where I can improve. I want to make my book the best it can be before sending it to agents, and Jessica’s guidance has given me a jumping-off point that will help me do just that. Whether I land an agent with this book or not, I would recommend working with Jessica either way, as her feedback will help me in future manuscripts as well as my work-in-progress.

I had a ten-minute query review with Amy Bishop and found it to be very helpful. I’ve been struggling with how to pitch my novel to show what makes it different, yet not give away too much of the plot, and I felt like I was in a never-ending rabbit-hole of revisions, and nothing was hitting the mark. Amy helped me zero in on what wasn’t working – so hopefully I can be more successful with my next round of queries.

This was my first Manuscript Academy query consultation and it was a valuable experience. Anjanette was thoughtful and specific in her feedback and generous with her expertise. She made a point to address my questions vs. only focusing on her notes. It was a comfortable conversation, though I was hyper-aware of the limited time.

Thanks for offering this, Jessica and Julie, and thanks so much for your time, Anjanette.

Molly was very professional and kind in our consultation. She spent time on both my query letter and ten pages and provided insightful feedback that greatly improved my material. She was also happy to answer publishing and marketing questions about my genre. Highly recommend!

I am so grateful for Hannah! She validated so many feelings and concerns (positive things and challenges alike) I had about my project and helped me understand why things did or didnít work. I appreciated her enthusiasm for my project and all her support.

Ericaís query critique was extremely helpful! Her positivity was so encouraging, and her specific feedback gave me targeted points to tweak in my query as I move forward in the query trenches. Very thankful for the opportunity to meet with her!

Anjanette looked at my query letter and gave me some great suggestions. She pointed out which sentences made her ask questions (a good thing, she said) and the ones that arenít clear. Queries are short and canít have any redundant information and she pointed out parts I didnít need. I appreciate her advice and canít wait to improve my query some more.

Caitlin’s critique was so, so insightful. Not only did her critiques help me see where my pages needed work, her review also helped instill the confidence I needed to finish my revision. Best money I’ve spent in a while.

Alyssa helped a lot in unsnarling the knots of my query letter and supporting my first pages. She’s also very friendly, put me at ease, and knowledgeable. Thanks Alyssa.

I just had a 10 page/15 minute consultation with Melissa. Her comments were direct and extremely helpful. I left the meeting with a much better understanding of how the process works from an agent’s perspective. She didn’t waste a moment. I know exactly what I need to do to improve my query and pages, and I now feel confident with my query package. I highly recommend Melissa!

I just had a 10 page/15 minute consultation with Alyssa. She is wonderful. She’s straightforward, clear and concise. I sent seven pages of my manuscript and three pages of my synopsis, which was the perfect combination. She went over my synopsis in detail and found the holes I knew were there but couldn’t find on my own. I’m so grateful for her observations and guidance. I know exactly what I need to do now.

I highly recommend Alyssa. I never felt rushed, which was so appreciated. She’s very thorough and you can tell she genuinely wants to help. I got much more than I hoped for!

Kelly was generous, detailed, specific, and eager to brainstorm solutions. I appreciated the practical recommendations she offered. As a writer, I personally appreciated how she listened and asked follow up questions. She wasn’t stuck on script, but wanted to be a partner in craft even in the limited moment that we were working together.

Fiona put her wonderful, insightful, razor sharp eye to my manuscript and and challenged me to work towards the best version of my story. With kindness, with care, a smile and above all, a love for children’s literature. I feel braver and better and so will my book, thanks to Fiona’s guidance.

Alyssa gave me firm, helpful feedback that makes me feel more confident going into another round of queries. The advice is perfect to help me moving forward with other projects in the future, as well! Absolutely worth it.

Thank you Jessica and Julie for your request for feedback. I am happy to share my experience was extremely rewarding. I met with Erica Bauman for a ten-minute consultation regarding my debut novel, ìEscape of the Swamp Girlsî.

I received a timely email prior as an opportunity to share any discussion points so that time would be efficiently managed, a very thoughtful gesture.

As a new writer and from a nonliterary back ground, I found the style and content of the consultation very approachable. In fact, the information was shared in a manner quite familiar to me as a physician leader. With healthcare improvements, we strive to make interventions through ìSMARTî goals. Erica did just that.

Erica was specific (S) as to my concerns (commercial viability for concept, genre refinement, voice improvement). She provided measurable (M) ways to gauge my progress (step by step for how to narrow the narrative distance for the YA audience). She provided achievable (A) means for success (suggested content-targeted publishers, the must do close of narrative distance and to keep up the good pacing and intriguing concepts). She explained the relevance (R) of certain aspects of the writing and publishing process. Finally, the time bound (T) nature of this industry requires one to work hard and be dedicated and prepared. The ten minutes we shared was a master class in how to share and reap as much as possible in a small window of time.

I feel much better prepared as I travel along my writing journey. Please share these thoughts in any way you deem helpful. I will add that writers really need to think about not what they want to say but what they need to hear. Time with a content expert is a rare and precious thing, treat it as such as you will be rewarded.

Keep up the fabulous work and services.

Sincerely yours,

Jill Williams

Carina was great. She was easy to talk to and I felt comfortable with her. It was clear she had carefully read my materials and was able to offer both positive feedback and helpful suggestions. I felt like she was genuinely interested in helping me improve and, eventually, succeed.

Caitlin McDonald was tremendously helpful in our critique session.

I impressed by the amount of ground we managed to cover in just fifteen minutes. Her insights were thoughtful, pointed and focussed on helping me create a great cover letter and sample.

Recommended, especially if you’ve got an SFF manuscript to pitch!

This was the best MA session I’ve ever had, and I’ve had many. Jessica answered all my questions and provided amazing insights into my story and characters and how I can increase tension from page 1. I was ready to shelve the book prior to this meeting, but she helped me see its good points and encouraged me to keep going. Perhaps the best testimonial of all comes from a friend of mine who didn’t know I was meeting with Jessica: “You seem totally different today, like way more confident!!” That’s shortly after I met with Jessica. I’m so grateful for this opportunity.

Melissa’s comments were very helpful. She let me know what confused her and gave me suggestions as to how to deepen the experience for the reader and draw her closer. Her questions made me think about some of my choices and realize how I might improve the novel. She also had feedback on my query. I was very glad that I had the chance to talk to her. I appreciated it.

Eric was super helpful! He provided his notes on my query letter in advance of our consultation and answered any questions I had. He went above and beyond by providing additional feedback on changes I made based on his comments. My query letter is now much stronger and clearly defines the stakes in my story. He’s definitely given me more confidence to continue the querying process.

My 10-minute consultation with Melissa was a tremendous help. Having heard Melissa on the podcast, my expectations were that she would be straightforward and succinct. She met those expectation. Every critique and suggestion got me excited to dive in and tweak my query. Even during our brief conversation, I got the sense that we were making real progress. I hope to one day work with her further. Thanks!

Adeptly balancing respect with honesty, Jenissa Graham provided specific feedback that I found easy to apply to my manuscript and query letter. She also answered my questions and even gave an example when I asked for clarity. I highly recommend a consult with Jenissa for anyone looking to improve their writing.

This was my first time using this service through Manuscript Academy, and Katie was great. I heard comments that I already knew, but Katie confirmed my flaws. She also pointed out areas I hadn’t considered. I’m looking forward to having another session with Katie in the future. I’m always looking to improve and Iím happy with this new direction.

Consultation with Hannah was an amazing experience. She was warm, kind and showed genuine interest. Hannah offered very detailed and supportive feedback. She had a clear grasp of my story, characters and mission. Talking to her was an absolute pleasure. She is a great resource, approachable and very knowledgeable in her field. I can’t recommend her enough.

Larissa was friendly, professional and helpful. She suggested I make a substantial change to the plot of my story which would make it more appealing to agents. I havenít decided yet whether I will follow her advice but I understood her reasoning and it gave me a lot to think about. She also pointed out other issues that I hadnít considered previously. Not to say that her feedback was all negative ó I felt that she appreciated and understood what I had presented in my query letter and that she basically liked my ideas. It was an incredibly productive fifteen minutes! No matter which direction I go in Iím sure both the query and the manuscript will be stronger because of the consultation. Iím very grateful to have had the opportunity to speak with Larissa. Thank you, Manuscript Academy.

I have only good things to say about my consultation with Alyssa Jennette. A nice balance between compliments and specific, clearly personalized, constructive suggestions. I felt Alyssa ìgotî my novel more than any other agent Iíve spoken with, so she seems like she mightíve been the ideal agent for me, except, sadly, sheís closed to queries.

My meeting with Fiona was very helpful. She nailed exactly what was missing from my first pages and query letter and articulated it in a way that sparked ideas and a course of action. I can see how I can integrate her advice as it was quite specific about what aspects of my first pages and query to put more, or less, emphasis on. I was very happy with the consultation and highly recommend Fiona.

I signed up for this consult knowing my query letter wasn’t delivering the punch I wanted. In the fifteen minutes we had together Jenissa broke it down for me pinpointing my weaknesses but also showing me how to fix them – while being friendly and encouraging the entire time. Definitely a great experience.

Ms. Strouth was absolutely incredible. Not only vastly knowledgeable about the industry, but also supportive in such a way that her critiques are still presented in a positive light and do not discourage at all. I cannot recommend her enough, she is absolutely brilliant.

Fiona gave me really great insights into a children’s picture book I was stuck with. Her recommendations helped take the story to the next level. In fact, she helped me find those places where I could elevate it in a way even other reviewers hadn’t seen, and I’m really loving the result!

I found my consultation with Stacy to be extremely helpful. She asked insightful questions about my story to help clarify a confusing paragraph of my query, and I think my letter is a lot better because of it. She was kind, genuinely seemed interested in my manuscript, and made sure to answer all my questions. I highly recommend meeting with Stacey!

Thank you so much for the opportunity for feedback! This was another useful and productive session. Stephanie Stein gave me concrete, actionable feedback to implement in both my pages and query in an organized fashion. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to speak with her and my previous critique with Blair Thornburgh. Blair’s concise suggestions and Stephanie’s market knowledge and useful notes for my pages and query will help me improve my query package. Thank you for the opportunity to improve my writing with experiences with such seasoned professionals.

Fiona Kensole is a kind, positive person who will give you helpful feedback in a constructive way. She is an expert in kid lit.

Anjanette was very professional but also kind and thoughtful. We had a nice chat, neatly worked in around NINE great tweaks she suggested for my query. It was exactly what I was hoping for.

Caitlin was fantastic! Her session started and ended promptly, her passion for my manuscript and query showed, and she provided excellent feedback and ideas to address the issues she uncovered in the first ten pages. Thanks!

Fiona is such a delightful person! She’s easy to talk to and her personality is effervescent. I felt comfortable and confident throughout our critique. I felt validated and excited to tackle revisions on my informational picture book.

Carina was incredibly helpful in her feedback on my query letter and first ten pages. She was kind and professional and provided specific suggestions that greatly improved my query submission!

It was invigorating and motivating to meet with Katie Greenstreet to review my query letter. She was able to give me very specific feedback to strengthen my query letter including an ideas for a better comp and what info to add to the letter for clarity. She also was able to share her thoughts on some specific things that agents are looking for or not looking for in my genre (thriller) which was helpful as I make final decision on the structure of my manuscript. I’m so glad I met with her!

Amy was extremely helpful in encouraging and validating me. She pointed out ways to organize and smooth out my query. in a word – terrific! Thanks Amy

I had a 30/30 consultation with Katharine Sands last July that changed the way I looked at my manuscript. Iíd been struggling with it for some months, but after speaking with her, I was excited and inspired to rework the entire manuscript. Her insights had a profound impact, and I attribute her ìinterventionî with a completed manuscript of which Iím very proud.

Iíve just finished a 15-minute query and 10-page consultation with Katharine, and once again Iíve come away with a clear direction and a goal. Sheís generous with her time, and she puts the work in. You KNOW sheís carefully read your work. It doesnít matter your genre (mine is psychological suspense), Katharine has a unique ability to pinpoint the strengths and the weaknesses of your query and your pages. Youíll see things differently, have a better understanding of the process, and most importantly, have a way forward. As far as Iím concerned, that is priceless.

Emmy was fantastic! They were incredibly helpful in answering a maximum amount of questions with decisive thoroughness all while being mindful of our limited time together. My query was greatly improved thanks to their input and I would recommend them to anyone looking for suggestions, encouragement, and redirection in the query writing process. Thank you Emmy!

I would like to thank Jessica and Julie for everything that they are doing to help authors improve their craft. I had been stuck in the query trenches for a year and a half, and was completely lost on why I was getting rejected. Then I found the Manuscript Academy.

At first, I cried a little when I saw their prices. Then I decided to save up and book a consultation with Fiona Kenshole. And let me tell you this, the feedback that I got from a REAL Literary Agent truly opened my eyes to why I was getting rejected.

Sometimes, when you stare too long at your manuscript, you do not pick up on the flaws and areas that need improvement. This is where a fresh pair of eyes, especially those from a professional in the industry, can really come in handy.

I highly recommend you try it out. Think of it as an investment.

Fiona was great! She gave me some excellent suggestions for my query. She was complimentary about the story idea and suggested a slightly different tack for my summary. It was such an enjoyable yet productive ten minutes. I was sorry I didn’t have more time with Fiona!

I met Jessica Sinsheimer and the experience was definitely worth it! She took the time to run through all the problem areas of my query, was patient and spot on! This is the only service I know of out there that allows aspiring authors the opportunity to pick various pieces of their work to have analyzed by professionals in the industry in such a streamlined and effective manner. And as many times as needed until we get it right!

Jessica shared all of her notes and suggestions; problems I could not see, as I was just too close to my story to have an eye of an outsider reading my query letter. I am so appreciative of this invaluable opportunity to help get my work out to the world!

Molly was great! She had very helpful feedback for my query and PB manuscript. She also answered my questions and was very nice!

Jenissa provided incredibly helpful feedback for my query letter and first ten pages in a kind and professional way. Wonderful consultation!

Eric is always so supportive and kind. Itís wonderful to receive critique and encouragement from someone who genuinely cares about my improvement. Itís a difficult journey, but having honest mentors who can help light the way makes it more tolerable.

Kelly was kind and professional in her feedback. She helped me see my first 10 pages from a new perspective!

Katharine is excellent. Bright, honest, and creative. I enjoyed speaking with her and hope to reconnect in the future .

Zooomed an extremely productive and enjoyable fifteen minutes with Katie discussing my query letter and first ten pages. She was well prepared and told me not only how to rearrange and tighten up my letter but also some details to add in.

Larissa was nice and helpful. She’s my dream agent!

Despite my asking for a “harsh” critique, Hannah was kind as well as helpful. She gave me positive feedback and pointed out specifically how I could “increase the stakes” for my protagonist in my query. She answered all my questions with patience and insider insights.

Katie was great. She answered all my questions about the industry and agents’ expectations. She also gave me some fresh ideas for my blurb. I have implemented all her suggestions and am in the process of querying agents. I have more hope than ever that I will find someone to help me break into traditional publishing!

My consultation with Kaitlyn was so much more than I expected. She tightened up my query letter and provided invaluable suggestions to improve my manuscript. What an incredible session!!!

Caitlin provided good feedback on my query, telling me what worked and what needed work. This helped me realize that sometimes one must sacrifice some important element of the story to make the query easier to digest, if there is not enough room for context that important element calls for.

Carina Licon is most of all kind. She addressed problems with my query while also highlighting things she thought were the most impactful. She gave tangible suggestions for how to set up the query better. Ms. Licon was organized in her thoughts on my first 10 pages. She used every last second. It was helpful hearing what she found strong and what jumped out to her. She thoughtfully addressed strengths and weaknesses in those pages. I’m really glad I did this and am very grateful I picked her since she worked hard to get me to see things from the editor’s perspective.

Kayla’s insights were so helpful in fine-tuning my manuscript! She dove into key issues to ensure the protagonist and setting truly resonate with the reader. I’m so grateful for her thoughtful feedback!

Renee Fountain provided a critique of my query letter and the first ten pages of my manuscript. Her feedback was concise and insightful. She provided very specific examples of how to fix my work. She’s straightforward, professional and she’s not afraid to push you toward a better finished product. Cannot recommend her enough!

BiBi was very approachable and helpful. She was specific in the things she liked about my query letter and sample pages, and also about the few things she thought I’d benefit from tweaking. Even down to a single word, in one case. (The word was “intrigued,” fyi.) I appreciate her thoughtful feedback. Those 15 minutes flew by, though, so I’m glad I came prepared!

I did three Manuscript Academy sessions over the course of about 18 months with Linda Camacho. In our first session, she helped me get my query letter and first pages ready for querying. Ultimately, I received 14 full requests from agents and 3 full requests from publishers. That was followed by two agent offers and an offer from a small press before I contacted my other outstanding submissions and ended up querying journey. I also had two calls with Linda during the querying process to analyze my options and chart out a path for my future. In addition to being knowledgeable about the industry, Linda is kind and enthusiastic and made me feel like she was invested in my journey. She went out of her way to make time for me when I had a deadline to make a decision. I simply cannot say enough good things about Linda and my experience working with her through Manuscript Academy!

Blair was well-prepared for our meeting and offered great feedback and advice. She was very optimistic about the potential for my work and I’ve started incorporating her notes already.

Thanks so much!

Katharine was terrific. I had a hard time keeping up with my notes she gave so many specific suggestions for my query letter and first chapter. Iím working on a memoir and she was graciously sensitive to the subject matter while still giving pointed feedback on the execution. She was exactly what I needed and both are so much better in the rewrite.

My consultation with Alyssa was so lovely and uplifting and it was exactly the boost I needed to get into the trenches. I’ve been feeling really anxious about querying, but her insight and advice, as well as her support, was the perfect combo. I feel both prepared and motivated to dive in. Thank you for offering this service!

My consultation with Kaitlyn was wonderful! She gave me great line-by-line suggestions to improve my query letter and answered all my random questions. Our conversation was so helpful and left me feeling very encouraged and inspired.

I had a 10 page consultation with Molly that was wonderful. Her comments and remarks were extremely helpful and I feel like her guidance will help make my query and story that much more compelling. She was open, honest, and answered all the questions I had. I would highly recommend Molly.

I had a fantastic session with Renee Fountain. My manuscript is way too long and Renee was extremely helpful going through some of my pages, helping me to understand how to condense and make my novel tighter and have more impact. This was exactly what I was looking for. I plan to have more sessions like this with Renee. I’m extremely grateful to have had this time with her.

Alyssa was great. I enjoyed the conversation and came away with some specific things I could understand and do better and with some added confidence. It was 10 minutes well-spent.

This is a test

CeCe was wonderful! Very warm and encouraging while still zeroing in on precisely what needed fixing in my query letter. She was easy to talk to and I appreciated that she gave options for how we could handle the 10 minutes. Highly recommend!

Renee Fountain is insightful and speaks with a kind but clear voice. She helped me see where I could improve my work, and gave me the confidence to make the needed changes. I left our consultation feeling hopeful, knowing I could and will improve my memoir. I definitely have received the best advice available. I haven’t had a bad consultation since I began with the Manuscript Academy, but Renee has been the best possible choice for me. Thank you.

I did a ten minute consultation with Amy regarding my query letter, and while she thought it was good to begin with, she immediately made it better. It’s a subjective business, but getting the perspective of an agent is definitely helpful.

I had a fantastic session with Jennifer Wills. Such great feedback on my first 10 pages and query!
Thank you Jennifer!

Cecelia was direct and professional. I worked with her twice, once with a fairly polished query and again with another query consisting of a smattering of disconnected content that I was curious to get an agentís opinion on. She provided excellent feedback and was economical with our brief time together.

One of the best consults I’ve had yet with MA! I’ve been waiting for a while to snag CeCe, and it was worth the wait. It helps that my query is “almost there,” and I came away from consult very happy. She actually used the word “perfect” twice: once, in reference to my first qualifying paragraph, and the second time in reference to my last or bio paragraph. She said “don’t change a thing” for those paragraphs. As for the middle two, she asked for more plot points and development, and less characterization and creative writing. She said save that for the novel. I’ve been told this before but don’t know how to execute it. She then suggested how to add more plot without giving away the whole book. Cheers to CeCe!

My consultations were wonderful! Caitlin was incredibly helpful and the answers she had to my questions assuaged many of my fears and worries. She explained her feedback and suggestions in a clear way that felt achievable. She was friendly and warm. It was a great experience that left me invigorated to revise. =)

Renee C. Fountain exceeded my expectations both as a person and as an agent. Because of my faulty memory, I got caught up in doing something else and was about 30 minutes late joining Renee online. I immediately apologized for keeping her waiting all that time. At first, she seemed a bit standoffish, but by the time our conversation was over, she had opened to a smiling, pleasant person who projected a sunny, caring personality. The fault was 100% mine, but she said nothing about it. We talked about my work, and though she said up front that the piece wasn’t right for her, she did point out a couple of things I could do to tighten the opening. She complimented my writing and said it had left her wanting more. Her suggestions were couched in a friendly way, with each one making a strong point. The funds were a good investment, and the experience was definitely worth it. Thanks both to the organizers and to Renee. TAG

Marilyn Atlas was a warm, insightful talent manager who quickly enhanced my understanding of my work and offered great suggestions for ensuring potential agents grasped the applicability of my historical fiction for today’s readers.

Great help! Mahalo.

Melissa got right to business in our short ten minute session. That may be a turn off to some but as I thought about it I realized how professional she was. She gave me her frank opinion on my first pages coupled with my query letter and it all seemed to click. Our short ten minutes together showed she knows how to conduct herself in a frank, business like manner. Even better is the fact that the changes she recommended will surely be implemented as I’m now working on a new starting point for my novel.

I thoroughly enjoyed my consultation with Kaitlyn. She had gone over my page in detail before the meeting and had quite helpful observations. We discussed several questions I had, and I appreciate her input. On top of it all, she was extremely kind and encouraging. She’s a great Faculty Member!

Jessica was incredibly generous and helpful with her comments and industry knowledge. She truly listened to my query trenches-related issues, gave valuable feedback and offered up some actionable items. I am so very grateful I scheduled with her!

My consultation with Fiona was all I could have asked for. Her suggestions for tweaking my query were extremely helpful, tightening up the text. Her edits will help me avoid pitfalls I never anticipated. And despite the fact that I asked for brutal honesty, she was absolutely delightful. Thank you Fiona and thank you Manuscript Academy.

Katharine was the very first person in the industry I had the pleasure of speaking to. Her notes were so helpful and conversational. I felt like I was speaking to a friend instead of a leader in the literary industry. I had already read countless articles on how to write a query. In the time I spoke with Katharine I got more insight than I had in hours and hours of reading!

Ms. Fountain was extremely helpful. Listened carefully to my questions and helped me think through issues I was having with my query letter. Her experience and knowledge showed, and she went above and beyond what I had hoped for.

My consultation with Claire was so helpful! She offered insight into ways to elevate my query letter and first ten pages, and she handled giving feedback in such a lovely way. Would 10/10 recommend! 🙂

Melissa was amazing! Our discussion landed in the “sweet spot” of being complimentary yet getting down to the nitty gritty of what I needed to change to make my query letter better represent my work. Thanks, Manuscript Academy and Melissa!

Savannah was pleasant and professional. She gave me insight into a structural problem that I very much appreciate. It jumpstarted my creativity and got my story ìunstuckî. Thank you!

II had my fourth query critique, each with fantastic, helpful suggestions and hints. My fourth and final one with CeCe put it over the top! I came away with a new comp and a hook that was missing in which I explain the MC’s main dilemma when he faces a choice.

I dare an agent not to request my manuscript with this query!

Thanks as always,
Brian

Alyssa was enthusiastic and helpful. She gave great feedback on my first ten pages and also provided general publishing/querying advice. I had a wonderful time talking with her!

I had a great meeting with Renee on Sunday. Thank you! I began revising immediately after meeting with her. I feel like I was spinning a bit on where and what I needed to revise, and I feel much more focused now and am enjoying the revision process again.

Lovely, professional, knowledgeable, encouraging

I’ve been wanting to do an agent one-on-one for quite some time now, and I finally committed. It was so much more than I’d ever hoped for! The 15 minutes flew by, but in that time, Fiona Kenshole gave me some amazing feedback on my first two chapters, things I never even thought of. I’m energized to put her suggestions in motion, see how it flows, and then I’ll be ready to start querying!

This is the third time I’ve booked a 10 page, 15 minute consultation with John Cusick. He’s not only extremely personable and professional, but he always seems genuinely invested in me and my novel manuscripts. He provides detailed and constructive feedback that has been detrimental in improving my work. I won’t hesitate to use him for any future projects, and I’m certain his insightful advice has shaped my stories for the better and given me a much better chance at securing an agent. I’m extremely grateful!

My query letter review with Alyssa Jennette was fantatastic. She was laid back and kind and helpful. She listened to my questions and gave thoughtful, honest answers. It was one of those meetings that proves how much you can accomplish in ten minutes with the right person in the room.

Katie gave me direct and concrete feedback that, at first, I didn’t want to hear. But as I thought about it, and imagined how I could revise my opening scenes based on her feedback, I realized it was transformative. Now, although it means I have to re-write my opening again, I am confident this time it will be so much better. And the entire story will be as well.

Chelsey was amazing! Her feedback was insightful, precise, and energizing. I’m so excited to implement her suggestions into my query and manuscript! Thank you!

Stephanie was lovely! Her feedback was efficient, constructive, and professional. I really appreciated how she addressed larger themes (voice) while also digging in at the line-level to really improve my first 250 words. I absolutely recommend her consultations. She was a dream to work with!

Erica was great. She was easy to talk to, specific in her comments, and gave helpful tips and suggestions.

I recently had an informative and very satisfying ten-minute live consultation with Agent Hannah Strouth. Hannah provided enthusiastic and positive feedback about my overall query letter, pointing out sentences and sections that worked well and why they worked well. She said she loved how I presented my comps, but noted that they both must be fiction. She offered constructive ideas of where to add more to my plot details, and where to take away from my themes. She liked my bio and shared what it revealed about me and my writing. She told me she could tell I’m an excellent writer–a compliment that goes a long way when you’re in the trenches as a debut novelist. She allowed a couple minutes at the end for me to ask questions, either directly about my query, or in general about my novel. Afterward I felt elated that I was on my way to a strong querying process, thanks to Hannah! I would highly recommend this lovely lady for a consultation.

Bibi was so helpful! She helped me fine-tune my query letter and was a pleasure to chat with!

Hannah Strouth offered great insight and encouragement. I recommend her to others for consultation.

Alyssa provided a wonderful critique of the first few hundred words of my picture book script. She was kind, complimentary, and provided direction. She has a solid confidence and understanding of the publishing world. Alyssa is also extremely personable and easy to chat with.

Thank you so much, Alyssa!

My call with Jennifer was the most effective one I have had to date. Her advice was spot-on, pertinent, and expertly given. She was easy to converse with and brought a wealth of experience and value to my query writing skills. I cannot recommend her enough!

Emmy gave terrific advice on both my query and my opening pages. They really helped me understand how to fit what I’m working on into the publishing world. I walked away excited to revise and knowing that the book would be better. If you have a chance to consult with Emmy, do it!

Jennifer was wonderful! She was insightful, encouraging, and informative. I left with a clear idea of what to do to improve my query and manuscript.

Really good meeting with positive feedback, constructive critque, and ideas for the future.

Hi, Jessica and Julie.

This was my second consultation with Anne, and all the reasons I wanted to meet her again after the first meeting were only magnified the second time. Anne is an absolutely brilliant editor. I’d sent her several flash pieces in one document, and I told her that because I was doing that–rather than sending one longer piece–I didn’t expect an in-depth review of each. But that’s just what I got. (I had suggested she choose a couple of the strongest and discuss those.) And on top of her individual reviews, she gave me great insights into what she saw, in general, when reading the group. I gotta say: I just love this woman. She is so wise and so generous. Each consultation was a gift, and I will be back for more.

Thanks so much!

Bud

photo credit: Jenny Lange

Jennifer Wills was wonderful! She was easy to talk to and gave me great feedback on my query letter, telling me what was working and what could be improved. She had thoughtful answers to my questions.

Linda is extremely helpful. Obviously a professional. Well prepared and provided excellent recommendations. I would highly recommend anybody needing help in navigating the initial steps in the agent search process contact her. She helped me tremendously. I feel much more confident after the meeting. I followed her advise and found her suggestions spot on. Thank you for including her in your list of professionals

I just finished my 10min consult with Jessica as part of my gold membership and it was amazing! She was able to help me get through a plot issue that I had been struggling with and even gave me some new inspiration. I canít wait to put all the pieces together and share this story.

I had a 10 min zoom meeting for my query letter with Molly Cusick. She was the most generous and kind person you can possibly ask for. I was at ease right away because of her friendly interaction. She gave me so many meaning full and practical feedback that I literary had two full page of note in just the 10 min. She allowed me to ask many questions, and responded very honest yet with care. I got so much out of this short session, and truly learned how to improve my query letter. Thank you Molly and M.Academy for this great opportunity. It went beyond my expectation!

My consultation with Jennifer was a game-changer! Her feedback helped me see my first 10 pages with fresh eyes, letting me know where I was on target and what needed work. My time with her was worth every penny. Highly recommend!

It was great. The advice was fantastic.

Molly was wonderful!! She was kind, approachable, specific in her suggestions, and very encouragingóin a genuine-non-syrupy way. She even offered the opportunity for a follow-up question by email. How generous!

P.S. Itís pronounced /Cueí-sick/. I asked!

Kayla was amazing. In 10 minutes she teased out my theme, structure and work needed to move my MS forward. Fantastic experience.

Fantastic consultation. Advice clear, insightful, and helpful. Highly recommend.

Hannah was professional and organized in her advice concerning my query. She used specific points to make it stronger and hopefully more appealing for busy agents to read. I appreciated her time and thought she was a lovely person to talk with. I would highly recommend seeking a consultation with her.

I originally booked one appointment with Amy to review my query letter and first ten pages. I wound up booking an additional 10 minute consultation just for the query, based on her initial feedback. Amy gave me some good advice. I wound up incorporating my first chapter into the second and starting my novel at a different point then originally planned.

In regard to my query letter, Amy let me know that the first 3 sentences where told from the part of the male character, where the story was told by the female character which she found confusing. I revised that in addition to changing my opening teaser sentence based on her opinion.

Amy showed me how less is more. I included too many plot heavy details that she said an agent would be able to determine without having them spelled out. I shortened my query and went back and made edits on my manuscript with this advise in mind.

In summary, I think Amy’s advice helped me create a more impactful query letter and manuscript. I think the Manuscript Academy offers a great service by giving authors access to agents. My caution to writers is that the time goes quickly so have your questions/concerns written down ahead of time.

Melissa was very helpful. She pointed out which sentences were unclear and how to condense and change the order of some of it. I took her advice and sent out 8 new queries. Two days later I had a partial request from one of them!

My 10-min consultation with Jessica was so helpful! She was super easy to talk to and asked right off the bat how I wanted to use our time together. She answered questions about my query letter, pitching and where the story was going. She brainstormed with me and helped me figure out how to best get my intended message across. I canít recommend it enough!!!

I am grateful for Samantha Weksteinís insight. In ten minutes, she welcomed my questions first and then provided me the feedback she planned to share after reading my query. She let me know areas of the query that confused her, encouraged me to add more detail to the second paragraph about the bookís summary, invited me to add another paragraph for the storyís content to tell enough about the project, made a couple of minor edits, and told me to be specific about why I selected her that goes beyond ìper your manuscript wish listî since she knows whatís on her wish list. I need to highlight in the first paragraph what it is about my book I think will interest her. My advice to other writers is to be certain you come with a list of your own questions, but not too many. Also, know that ten minutes is plenty of time to listen to the feedback to help inform the next revision. In hindsight, I regretted not recording the conversation on my handheld recorded. Writing the notes in the moment was messy; I spent the next thirty minutes rewriting my notes. Exceptional feedback and experience.

Fiona Kenshole is just as marvelous one-on-one as in her talks and interviews. In my 15-minute session I received a nice dose of validation, good ideas for revising my story to serve my publication goals, and advice on strengthening my query letter. As soon as my time was over, I started planning what manuscript to bring to her next!

I had a great conversation with Hannah. She pinpointed specific items in my query that could be clarified or improved. I appreciated her guidance as well as her request for a few chapters.

Blair gave me excellent feedback on my query letter. Her approach was kind and knowledgeable – exactly what I was hoping for as I prepare to send out queries.

This was phenomenal! I did a 10 page read with a 15 minute consultation with Caitlin McDonald, and I got so much absolutely amazing feedback. She clearly spent significant time reading the materials and preparing comments. She was incredibly prepared and fit more into the 15 minutes than I would have thought possible. She communicated the feedback and suggestions specifically to the work clearly and concisely. She gave overarching suggestions to improve, as well as very specific tips. I feel prepared to apply all of these suggestions to the work. I cannot put into words how helpful this was. She pointed out things that I never would have thought of, that I can fix in these pages, this book, and every future project. She answered all of my questions. I would absolutely recommend a consultation or critique for writers in every stage of the process. There will be something for everyone.

Bibi provided an amazing critique for one of my picture book manuscripts. Her delivery was kind, considerate, thoughtful, and spot on. She is personable and has the loveliest smile.

I’m appreciative of her help and believe the suggested edits strengthen the story.

Thank you.

It was so wonderful to work with Molly again! Not only was she was enthusiastic about what worked with my manuscript, she was very specific about what I needed to do to make my story more marketable. Molly is amazing!

Rachel worked on a revision of a previous manuscript review she did with me and she was SO incredibly helpful! Her feedback is very specific and she was very encouraging! I highly recommend her!

John worked on both my Picture Book and YA manuscripts with me and I am THRILLED that he did! As always, he gave me very specific suggestions for both stories and went above and beyond with his encouragment. John is the absolute BEST!

Kaitlyn was incredibly flexible when I had a conflict come up with my original time! When we did meet, she brought up some very specific and important concerns regarding my manuscript. She was very helpful talking through some possible options to deal with her concerns. I would definitely work with her again!

I’ve taken Manuscript Academy workshops before, but this one blew me away! Receiving feedback from so many writers on my first five pages gave me intensive insight. This was the best workshop of them all.

I had a fifteen minute consultation with Katie for my query letter and first ten pages. Katie was super easy to talk to, answered all my questions, and gave me positive and helpful feedback. I was so inspired after talking with her, I immediately implemented her suggestions. Thanks for a terrific experience!

I had a 10 minute critique with Emmy about a query letter I wrote. 10 minutes is a short amount of time to fit everything in, but they did a phenomenal job answering all my questions, providing constructive feedback, and also a lot of encouragement! Thank you so much, Emmy!

Thank you, Katharine for an amazing chat. Your insight and recommendations made such good sense. We are very lucky to have meaningful interactions with writing experts through the Manuscript Academy.

Eric is helpful and friendly. He liked my query and gave me sound advice on how to add to it for better understanding.

Rachel provided a wonderful critique on my opening pages. With both large picture and line level feedback, I was able to sharpen my opening scene. Her editor eye was able to really focus on details to help me get this project query-ready.

I was on the fence about booking a query critique, but I am so glad I did! Kaitlyn Sanchez is a superstar agent so, of course, her feedback was spot on and her advice invaluable. She even strategized with me about how to find the best agents for the career I’d like to build. Her energy was infectious, and I left the meeting buzzing, inspired, and ready to work!

I so enjoyed my consultation with Emmy Nordstrom Higdon! She is knowledgeable and friendly and had so many ideas to point me in the right direction. I was able to garner so much in such a short time – so worth doing! Thanks again, Manuscript Academy, for making these meetings happen!

My ten-page critique meeting with John Cusick was incredibly helpful. His feedback was specific and actionable, and I left the meeting energized and optimistic.

I’m truly grateful for Amy. I was really hoping to hear something different from her during our consultation, like that my materials were ready to go (query), so hearing I still had work to do was hard. It’s one of those things where you don’t hear what you WANT to hear, but you hear what you NEED to hear. Amy helped me get back on track regarding genre and style, and I’m so glad I met with her. Thanks, Amy!

Linda provided the final eyes I needed on my project before querying. She is a trusted source of sanity in an industry that feels out of control. I appreciated that she didnít say, ìyou have to do THIS,î but rather ìhere are some options, but you donít need to change a thing.î I appreciated the confidence her review instilled. I feel much more fortified to win this thing!

Molly Cusick looked at the first ten pages of my novel, and I couldnít be happier that she did. Primarily, I wanted to know how someone would react to that all-important opening, and Molly gave me great, objective insights into how the setting, characters, and voice come across. Along with her keen eye for details, Molly has a big heart. She was really warm, down-to-earth, and encouraging. With her extensive experience in the industry, she was able to fill me in on the current trends and offer advice about querying. After talking to her, I was excited to hit the keyboard.

I really enjoyed the 10-minute session to discuss my query letter with Stephanie Winter, who was so warm and kind. Her excellent insights and suggestions were incredibly valuable, and they were delivered in a way that made it clear she sympathizes with us writers trying to craft the perfect query. All through our conversation, Stephanie made me feel like she was in my corner, and because writing is usually such a solitary endeavor, that was especially appreciated.

John offered suggestions on things I would have never known unless I’d taken advantage of a consultation like this. I am always so surprised how much I can learn in ten minutes!

Every time I think I know what I’m doing writing queries, someone comes along and blows my mind. It happened again with the Manuscript Academy’s submission workshop. Through video presentations, peer critiques, a live panel with agents, and relentless positivity, the folks at the Manuscript Academy taught me exactly what needs to be in my query and why. I can’t thank them enough for their deep knowledge and generous spirits.

LOVE Jessica. She is so helpful, and her vision for my manuscript helped me get my first chapter back on-point. I am so grateful for her time and expertise. I learned so much!

Eric was super friendly and made sure I could ask as many questions as possible. He gave me notes on my query beforehand so we could optimize our time, and we ended up just chatting about books and movies for a little while. Wonderful experience.

Katie gave me great insight. My novel has complex elements with a witty edge, so she helped me see how simplifying my query would peak agent interest. Her encouraging words were extremely helpful.

Cecelia was terrific – well-prepared and encouraging. She pointed out phrases and sentences she particularly liked as well as parts of the story that could be elevated by adding more emotion. This was just what I needed after querying for awhile without much feedback.

My consultation with Emmy Nordstrom Higdon was perfect. Emmy was a huge help in guiding my query material to a better place. They were very kind while providing honest, insightful critiques. I gained a great deal in a short period of time. What a great service for the writing community! Thank you.

Eric was great. He provided a ton of feedback and I think I’m ready to query this project!

My query consultation flew by, but Katie provided some solid feedback and suggestions for tightening my query to make it even stronger. She was both encouraging and knowledgeable, and I appreciated every one of my ten minutes with her.

Caitlin came to our meeting prepared and ready to help with thoughtful critiques and specific suggestions to improve my first page. She addressed balancing details, cutting extraneous information, voice, and elevating the language. It was a huge help! She packed a lot in to a 10-minute meeting, and even left time for me to ask questions. I highly recommend seeking Caitlin’s counsel! She has a great eye for narrative writing, with a kind and supportive approach.

I had an amazing time with Emmy! They were smart, knowledgeable, concise, and helpful. I really appreciated everything†they had to say about my query. I felt like they really pulled from the full breadth of their experience†to help me out. Excellent use of ten minutes. Highly recommend!

Chelsey provided me with a fantastic consult. I upgraded a 10 minute meeting for a 15 minute +10 pages and definitely got what I paid for. She was kind with her words and helpful with her advice and concerns, giving a well thought-out review of my submission. She also provided plenty of guidance and advice where I was lacking and was generous with praise over what I did well.

Kaitlyn was kind and helpful. She gave me great feedback on my first page that gave me an idea that will improve the delivery of a big portion of the story! She also helped with something else I was struggling with. I can’t believe how much I got out of a ten-minute call! It is definitely money well spent.

I thoroughly enjoyed my consult with Linda Camacho. Linda’s enthusiasm for tackling my query letter and her attention to detail made me feel validated as a writer. As an added bonus, she’s got a great personality! I highly recommend Linda for professional advice.

I thought the critique went just fine. Nothing earth shattering. Just fine.

Samantha was a real pro. She took it in stride that I had to do the Zoom session from the airport, due to a last minute family issue. Her feedback on my query was extremely worthwhile. Talking with her led me to come up with a central insight into the best way to present my manuscript.

After my ten-minute meeting with Emmy Nordstrom Higdon, I was looking over my notes and was reminded of a scene from Carl Sagan’s CONTACT, where the protagonist’s journey to another star system is compressed into just a few Earth seconds. The space-time-gravity relativity thing was clearly at play in our meeting, because in a relative blink, Emmy deftly packed concrete suggestions that have already made my query stronger and, with some kind of Einsteinian magic, they offered really terrific insights about how to approach agents with a novel that’s a bit of a genre hybrid.

Not only was Emmy informative and helpful, they also doled out heaps of kind encouragement. I couldn’t recommend them more enthusiastically.

I’ve had several log line consultations with different folks – all beneficial – but the most helpful has been Marilyn. She gets to the point with a positive exchange of ideas. Her ideas needed to marinate overnight but the next day I honed in on my log line/theme. Thank you, Marilyn!

Bibi was awesome! She gave me constructive criticism about my first paragraph being ìtoo writerly,î and I agree with her assessment. She was also encouraging, and I appreciate that kindness.

Fiona’s kindness, candor and heartfelt input was not only helpful in the practical sense of the actual application to my story, but more importantly, her genuine enthusiasm for this work makes everyone who speaks to her feel like they are her best friend. This creates an immensely supportive environment rather than a critical one. She is relaxed and personable but also immensely knowledgeable in this field, so each suggestion is well thought out, heartfelt and right on the money. I would pay for this again when it is offered.

Blair gave me a fresh perspective on my writing which has motivated me! I left our session together looking forward to editing my work and writing more! Put simply, I felt encouraged by her specific critique. So often feedback can feel critical and demotivating, but with Blair, I got valuable comments that energized me. Thank you!

My consultation with Melissa has been very useful. She offered clear, direct suggestions that will immediately improve my query. But she also asked a lot of questions that led me to some important answers on my own, which is the best form of teaching. I got so caught up discussing these ideas that my ten minutes went very quickly and I even think she allowed me an extra minute or two. I recommend setting a timer during these consultations, but most of all I recommend consulting with Melissa about your query letter.

Understands Story and Strengthens Pitch

Working with Renee was great. She was laid back and approachable and gave really good advice. Her tips about improving sentences made sense to me right away. She also pointed out some larger problems with slip ups in plot consistency that I am going to have to think about more deeply.

Empowers Writers with Marketable Revisions

I am so grateful for my session with Jessica! Not only were her notes on my query letter extremely helpful, but she offered incredible expertise in answering my questions. But the best part was, Jessica truly “got” my story, with all its strange intricacies and twists. Her support in figuring out the best way to present/sell it was incredibly helpful. I walked away feeling re-inspired and hopeful–and, perhaps more importantly, HEARD! Thank you, Jessica!

Offers Actionable Insights on First Pages

Molly is kind, insightful, and knowledgeable, and my conversation with her left me feeling encouraged and inspired about my draft. Her feedback helped me see what is working in my book, and exactly what I need to do to improve it. I feel empowered now to make my book the best it can be, while at the same time making it marketable and stand out in the slush pile.
Thank you Molly!
These consults are an amazing value – a rare opportunity to have an expert in the field look over what you are doing and help point you in the right direction. If you are spinning your wheels trying to work everything out on your own, or just not 100% sure about what your novel needs right now, I would highly recommend it.

Provides Confidence to Start Querying

Carina was extremely positive and encouraging. She asked if I had any questions right off the bat, which I
appreciated. She gave me great feedback on what is needed in opening pages, including the main character’s want or need, a hint at the obstacles, the decision or action the main character will take, and a strong voice. She also talked about adding character emotions (beats) and how they should manifest in their relationships. Carina even gave me authors to comp in a query. I was very pleased with my one-on-one with Carina and I highly recommend her for anyone looking for insight into their first page or query.

Clarifies Query for Stronger Impact

Eric is awesome! He was able to help with my query – making the whole process seem less scary. He pointed out some things that might have gotten my query letter stuck in the spam filter! I’ve already adapted his notes on the first 10 pages, and it is much stronger as a result. He also clarified that the stakes I was showing in both the query and first 10 pages were only from the main character’s perspective and not the bigger picture.

I am now confident enough to get my first queries out into the world.

Elevates Query with Targeted Advice

Samantha did a live videoconference, which was very helpful in connecting with her as well as interpreting her feedback to my work. She had prepared feedback and questions concerning my work to help enhance the overall query letter. In answering her questions, she listened to me tell my high-end story verbally to provide helpful feedback to better elevate my synopsis and pitch. She spent extra time to make sure I had the right focus and answered questions I had. She made the overhaul of my query letter easier. BEST Manuscript Academy meeting I have had!

Sharpens Query with Direct Feedback

Stephanie was very professional and straight to the point which I very much appreciated. She provided important feedback which I incorporated into my Query Letter immediately. Fingers crossed it brings me positive results!

Challenges Core Concept Effectively

On the sliding scale of 1 to 10 as to how how frank I wanted the agent to be, I chose 9, because I thought it would be most helpful. The questions Eric had about the core concept of my novel were challenging, but I think that the manuscript and query will be much stronger once I figure out how to address them. He also had a great suggestion for how to describe the genre I am writing in.

Balances Encouragement and Tough Feedback

When you get an email from Eric Smith, his email address is Ericsmithrocks @ [whatever]. As it turns out, Erik Smith really does rock. I’ve had experiences now with a great number of Manuscript Academy faculty. I know that this writing business ain’t easy. Sometimes we get feedback that feels good. Sometimes we get feedback that makes us want to drop everything and run naked into the hills. At a time when I felt vulnerable and ready to run naked, Eric settled my heart and spirit in a way that I haven’t experienced very often. Maybe it’s because my manuscript is just so awesome. More likely, it’s because Eric is. He is great at balancing the positive and the notñso in a way that is not only soothing, but motivates you to want to do better. I can’t say enough about him after only a few minutes with him on the phone. Indeed, Eric Smith rocks.

Strengthens Query with Thoughtful Edits

Caitlin showed me several ways to make my letter much stronger. She was kind, thoughtful, and patient with all my questions. I really wish I had consulted with her months ago. I am in a much better place now going into the query process.

Reveals Lost Story Authenticity

Stefanie was greató very professional, well-prepared, insightful and also kind. I very much appreciated her thoughtful comments. I am working on revisions and her comments helped me realize that I’ve lost my way ó I’ve been working too hard to make this book “fit” a standard formula and have lost some of the beauty of the language and the authenticity of my protagonist in the balance. Yikes! Quite a wake up calló but I needed that, and her comments will be very helpful as I try to recapture the heart of my story.
Thanks to all of you at the Manuscript Academy for making these sorts of opportunities available!

Billie Little

Pinpoints Manuscript Weaknesses Clearly

Amy was so wonderful to work with. She focused directly on spots in my first 30 pages that need improvement and gave good suggestions. Very pleasant and friendly.

Guides Query with Insightful Notes

First off, there was a glitch (which could have been my user error) with the time I chose. Jessica, Julie and Amy could not have been more helpful in straightening it out and making sure the consultation happened at a time that worked for my schedule.
My consultation with Amy Bishop was incredibly helpful. I was so nervous, but she put me at ease right away. Her comments were insightful and answered the questions I had ready before I had a chance to ask them!
She gave me some suggestions that can only make my first pages and query stronger.
I can’t express how much I appreciate the time and attention she gave my pages and our consultation.
Highly recommend the experience and Amy’s insight.

Refines Query with Clear Focus

My 10-minute query consultation with Jessica was invaluable. She was well prepared with detailed advice that gave my query a lot more punch and focus. She talked through each paragraph, culling ineffective details and centering the heart of the story. Jessica was direct and honest, but also extremely encouraging and motivating!

Pinpoints Where Agents Stop Reading

My meeting with Caitlin was extremely helpful. When you query you get so many vague responsesó it didnít grab me, not for me, etc. Caitlin told me the exact place in my first ten pages where she would decide to pass on the manuscript.

Now I have concrete feedback about what to leave out and what to add. My rewrite is much better, I think.

Tweaks Query and Strengthens Comps

Esther was so helpful. She tweaked my query and made great suggestions about comps. I learned a lot in just 10 minutes!

Provides Specific Manuscript Adjustments

Linda gave me specific suggestions and encouraging remarks. I am LONGING for spring break (I am a high school English teacher) so I can make some adjustments to my manuscript and query. I’m going back to the mat! (In the photo, I’m the one on the left.)

Improves Query with Character Arcs

It was AMAZING! i was able to get redirected and encouraged to share more detail. We discussed character arcs and how things become relevant to readers in a query. I love her energy. This session will definately make my query letter stronger
Thalia

Refines Query with Industry Insights

Melissa was very informative and helpful with her consult. She helped tighten and refine my Querry Letter and provided valuable information on the process and industry. Her feedback truly helped!

Delivers Actionable Query and MS Notes

We are so fortunate to have access to literary agents like Eric. He reviewed my query and first 30 pages and returned notes a week before our consult. This allowed time to digest his feedback and have a very productive dialogue about my project. He offered actionable feedback that will make my MS better!

Gives Big-Picture and Line Edits

I’m so glad that I had the opportunity to meet with Claire in my first crtique session. Her friendly demeanor made me feel instantly at ease and receptive to her advice. In addition to providing line change suggestions to my query letter, she also prompted me with an essential bigger-picture question I hadn’t considered. She left me with clear next steps and, most valuableóencouragement.

Strengthens Manuscript with Constructive Critique

Claire was amazing. She made me feel great about my manuscript while also giving me some very helpful criticism. I have a very clear idea of what I need to do next and I know this draft will be leaps and bounds stronger than it was thanks to her help.

Saves Time with Query Guidance

My first page consultaion with Caitlin McDonald saved me a lot of time and frustration. The session was relaxed, although I started off incredibly nervous. I’ve had several critique groups and partners, but the understanding I gained from only ten minutes was well worth scheduling a time slot. No doubt, I’ll enlist the help of MSWL trained faculty to write all future queries and opening pages. What too me so long? Thank you, Julie and Jessica!

Provides Clear Manuscript Improvements

I was so impressed with Rachel’s feedback! She told me what worked, what didn’t, and gave me specifics as to what I could do to make my manuscript better. I really appreciated her help!

Brings Out Storyís Heart

Once again, John was amazing! He not only gave me specifics on what I could do to better my manuscript, he helped me bring out the heart of my story. I highly recommend him! Thanks, John!

Clarifies Novel Struggles with Insight

I had a wonderful talk with John Cusick yesterday. After giving me his initial thoughts, he talked me through an element of my novel I’d been struggling with ever since finishing it. He was kind, thorough, and insightful. I feel much more confident moving forward with my novel now. Thanks, John!!

Pinpoints Issues with Direct Feedback

I had a ten-page live critique with Fiona Kenshole that I found invaluable. She has such a direct, but friendly, way of getting to the heart of what isn’t working. I so appreciate her feedback and Manuscript Academy for offering us opportunities like this.

Validates Writers and Provides Direction

Alyssa did more than just present ‘feedback facts’ she validated my existence as a writer. I know that’s a lot to say, but just by being her, present in the moment with me, she not only gave me helpful feedback on my query letter and first ten pages, but she made sure to talk about the things that are working too. I found her train of thought easy to hop on to, and felt she had a lot of information applicable to not only my writing, but the writing/agenting/publishing journey in general. I highly recommend a consultation with Alyssa, especially if you feel like you’ve tried everything else, and just don’t know where you’re going wrong. Much love girl. <3 <3

Delivers Clear, Logical Query Advice

Jennifer was great! She gave me actionable feedback on both the things I did well in my query and the things I needed to improve. Her advice and recommendations were easy to understand, and logical. I’m so grateful to her for lending her time and expertise.

100% Recommend!

Caitlin was amazing. She had concrete, actionable feedback for my query letter. She explained why she made the suggestions she did, and her explanations made sense and 100% fit with my story and goals. 100% would recommend her to anyone needing feedback on their query letters.

Provides Insightful First Page Feedback

Hi Jessica and Julie,
Jessica, I want to thank you for your thoughtful comments on Catch a Falling Star. I know you went above and beyond in the time you gave me and I really appreciate it. I couldn’t believe how insightful you were, just from looking at the first page. Many of your ideas about where the story should go were close to what is in the manuscript, and gave me further thoughts and ideas about how to improve it. I will certainly continue to use Manuscript Academy and recommend it to my writing friends–you guys are great! (I’m also wondering if you have any time to critique more pages in the future. It doesn’t seem like you have time available on the calendar and I do understand that, but thought I’d ask 🙂
Again, thank you so much,
Meg

Boosts Confidence with Revision Strategy

Amy was so friendly, and had such great helpful, honest feedback. I came away from my consult feeling confident in my revision strategy, and one step closer to where I want my book to be. She answered all my questions, and understood my pages and my goals for my story.

Gives Market Insights and Encouragement

My consultation with Stacey Graham was fantastic! In addition to some specific, actionable feedback on the pages I submitted, she gave me valuable insight on the marketplace and how it is probably affecting my submissions. I came away feeling much better about my current state and moving forward. Thanks, Stacey!

Clarifies Query and Genre Strategy

Ms. McDonald was extremely helpful and encouraging. In 10 minutes she addressed my main question about how to structure the query and provided insight on how she looks at genre/subgenre. These consultation sessions are an invaluable resource for any author planning to submit their work to agents.

Reveals Overlooked Story Weaknesses

The critique with Samantha was so helpful and in unexpected ways! In the flurry of writing a writer can sometimes overlook the most obvious problems, which was the case during this critique. As always, these critique opportunities provided by The Manuscript Academy have proven to be invaluable to my progress.

Pushes for Breakthrough Novel Revision

Fiona was wonderful! She is so nice and personable. It was a very fruitful 10 minutes. She had both positive feedback as well as suggestions for making my novel and query letter (which we talked about; she didn’t see it) better – pushing me to really consider something I’d been resistant to doing. It resulted in a breakthrough for me, with a new idea of how to rework/reorder my novel in a way I think will result in a better work overall.
Also, it meant so much to have a literary agent “get” what I was trying to do with that first page. Having received a good number of form rejections without knowing the reason for those passes, to hear praise from a literary agent was so encouraging.

Provides Hope and Industry Insights

Jessica was so helpful to me yesterday during my 15-minute consultation. She answered every question I had with her knowledge and experience. I left the consultation feeling hopeful about my work and about the industry for the first time in a while. I am so grateful to her.

Explains Querying and Comp Titles

I learned so much from my consultation with John Cusick! As someone who has spent the last six years in STEM, I have very limited experience with creative writing/publishing. John was able to give me a lot of pointers for improving my query letter, and I now have a better understanding of the term ‘comp titles’.

Pinpoints Exact Query Improvements

Stehanie honed in exactly on what I needed to do to polish up my query. It’s amazing what can be learned in just ten minutes. Thanks Stephanie!

Strengthens Query and Story Focus

I booked a consultation with Jennifer for help on my query letter. She not only helped make the query letter better, she pinpointed specific areas of my story where I could strengthen and improve the manuscriptójust from the query! Very helpful ten-minute session, and I highly recommend her.

Clarifies Querying Hurdle with Precision

I reached a wall in my querying process and needed to speak to an industry professional about what I was doing wrong. I requested a consultation with Molly Cusick because I appreciated her vast experience as both an agent and an editor. She was exceptionally professional and straightforward. She complimented me on my work, which was lovely, but she was very, very clear about the hurdle I faced. Fifteen minutes is so brief, and I loved that she did not dawdle with small talk or fluffy nonsense. When I found myself pondering further questions after our conversation, I wrote to her and she promptly replied with a lengthy, insightful message. She is fantastic.

Pinpoints Exact Query Weaknesses

John’s critique of my query letter was so spot-on I had a “duh” moment, like, “Why didn’t I see this before?” I had to rewrite my letter, but he gave me a blueprint, pinpointing what to cut and what to add. My revision is exponentially better. I’m just relieved I worked with John before I started querying agents.

If you’re looking for someone to gush over you, he’s probably not the right person. But if you’re serious about writing the best possible query, he’s the one.

Improves Emotional Stakes in Query

John not only came with insights about my query, but also prioritized my questions at the start of the meeting to make sure the feedback was targeted. I walked away with ideas about my genre, suggestions around increasing the emotional stakes for my dual POV characters, and ways to make my manuscript stand out from other SFF manuscripts. This was an extremely valuable experience.

Gives Practical Middle Grade Advice

Talking to Fiona was as wonderful as Iíd hoped it would be. She is positive and practical. In a short period of time, she zeroed in on some points that made perfect sense and described what she looks for in middle grade stories in a sentence. You might not think that would be enough, but absolutely did.
(Wonít say what it was. Get a consult and find out!)
Best advice Iíve had in a long time.

Shares Concrete Steps for Revisions

I met with Linda for a 15-minute consultation and 10-page read yesterday. Linda was so helpful, answered all my questions, and offered a tremendous amount of encouragement. I learned a lot from listening to her insights, and she helped me see my writing from a different perspective. I had discrete, actionable steps I could take to improve the pages. More than anything, her encouragement helped boost my confidence in my WIP. That is HUGE for me. So grateful!

Delivers Encouraging, Poignant Feedback

I have worked with Fiona several times and will go back to her fountain of knowledge and inspiration as much as she will have me. She is kind, positive, honest, and has the unique ability to understand just what is needed to take a novel to the next level. She provides poignant feedback in a snap and explains what is working and what is not in a way that makes revisions feel effortless. Brilliant. Wise. Humble.

Boosts Confidence and Query Strategy

Fiona has an impressive career and years of experience but she was instantly relatable. In a matter of ten minutes, she answered my questions, suggested concrete revisions to my query, and provided advice on the business side of finding an agent. Most of all, she made me feel like I can do this! I left our meeting feeling so encouraged and hopeful and capable.

Enhances Character and Story Depth

My meeting with Jennifer was so productive! She had good insight into my story and the main character. Her suggested changes will make my pages stronger. She is warm, personable and knowledgeable. I learned a lot in my minutes with her and felt such enthusiasm during and after the meeting. I would definitely request to meet with her for future projects.

Reveals Emotional Gaps in Story

The fifteen minutes I scheduled with Caitlin was incredibly illuminating. She helped me see that the emotional impact of my opening chapter wasn’t threaded through the subsequent chapters. Her comments triggered some ideas and thirty minutes after we ended our conversation, I had a plan for how to rewrite/revise my act one accordingly. Her insight was particularly helpful around character and character motivation and helped me see that there were some questions with my protagonist in the opening scene that weren’t fleshed out. I chose Caitlin because she reps some incredible authors, particularly some award-winning fantasy authors, and her expertise was money well-spent. I’ve queried before and had a mixed bag of results with very little personalized feedback. My meeting with Caitlin vastly improved my opening pages and act one and I’m so glad to not be entering querying completely blind.

Provides Insightful Query Comments

Eric’s comments about my query letter were super insightful. I left our meeting with a clear idea of what’s working well and what might need some additional work.

Gives Warm and Helpful Feedback

Fiona was warm, personable and helpful. She had useful things to say about my first page, while being gentle and very human. Just a pleasure to talk to in a very low-key way.

Strengthens First Chapter for Querying

My consultation with Jessica Watterson was incredibly helpful. She was super nice and offered thoughtful and specific advice on how I could make my first chapter stronger as I continue with the query process. Her enthusiasm and support made me feel more positive about diving back into†the query trenches. I highly recommended these sessions and am grateful to the Manuscript Academy for the opportunity!

Offers Thoughtful Editorial Feedback

Rachel Diebel, an editor at Feiwell & Friends/MacMillan, offered feedback on my query and first ten pages. She was thoughtful and thorough, her critique incisive, and really easy to talk with.

Refines Query with Personalized Notes

Melissa’s review of my query letter was extremely helpful and I appreciated her detailed, personalized notes. Though the ten minutes went fast, she answered all of my questions and gave me a confidence in my (now-revised) query that I lacked. I highly recommend going through this process!

Answers Query Process Questions

My query letter critique with John was really helpful! He answered my questions thoroughly and was super friendly. His suggestions brought up areas I had never thought of. Thank you to all at the Manuscript Academy for this opportunity to learn more about the query process!

Improves First Chapter with Precision

Kaitlyn was so very helpful in evaluating my first chapter! She was precise in her comments and offered several suggestions, not only to improve my Voice and Transitions, but gave me links to research sites that would also be valuable. It was obvious she wanted to include as much as possible of her responses within the time frame we had. I remain grateful to The Manuscript Academy for offering this service and for the busy professionals who make themselves available to share their expertise!

Pinpoints Key Issue in Story

My consultation with Saba was fantastic!

I sensed something was not quite right with my manuscript, but I did not know how to fix it. Saba pointed out to me what was missing in my story even though she just read my query letter. I am now energized to revise my manuscript.

Delivers Insightful Query Advice

Stacey was great! She offered great insight and answered a specific question I had. I got a lot out of my 10 minutes and she was super nice.

Gives Encouraging Memoir Feedback

I highly recommend consults with Leticia Gomez. We discussed my memoir, and she gave helpful feedback on it, my title and book proposal. Her comments were encouraging and motivated me to work more on my project!

Clarifies Querying and Next Steps

My query consultation helped me better understand the querying process and I received fantastic notes to take my work to the next level, furthering me on my journey to publication. I canít recommend this service enough.

Provides Clear Plan for Query

My 10 minute query consultation with Caitlin was so helpful. I chose to meet with her because she likes fantasy and because I was impressed by her observations on the 10 Queries podcast. She was very prepared and shared her thoughts quickly and clearly. Her advice was concrete and I came away with a solid plan for strengthening my query. She managed the time very well; with my agreement she first shared her feedback and reserved 3 minutes at the end to answer my questions. Her tone was positive and encouraging. Highly recommend!

Gives Encouraging and Detailed Feedback

I am truly grateful for this opportunity given by the Manuscript Academy. Honestly, after finishing my work I had some doubts about choosing the right way to follow and consultation with Amy Bishop happened to be exactly what I needed.

I absolutely loved her character. Amy was so kind and considerate during the whole meeting. She gave me detailed feedback about my work, highlighted good and not so good points and answered all my questions. Thanks to Amy once again.

Prepares Queries for Stronger Appeal

Amy offered extremely helpful advice, including specific suggestions, to help me shape my query so that it will be more appealing to agents. She was so incredibly prepared that we had half the time left to discuss other questions I had. I cannot recommend her enough.

Provides Expert Genre-Specific Feedback

My 10-page read and 15-minute consultation with Jessica Watterson was incredibly helpful. Jessica picked out weaknesses in the pages and query that Iíd missed, and made simple, concrete suggestions for improvement. Itís great to get advice from someone with so much experience of the genre, and Jessica couldnít have been more helpful and encouraging. Having made her suggested edits, I already feel my novel is closer to being submission ready.

Finds the Heart of a Story

Fiona was just magical! I met with her to evaluate my MG fantasy query letter. Fiona helped my weed through the unnecessary details that were cluttering my query and instead guided me to find the real heart of my story and what makes it unique. Fiona was a pleasure to talk with and her feedback was contructive and honest.

Clarifies Genre and Query Strategy

Cecelia gave me very helpful comments. She was very encouraging, but pointed out exactly what I had to do to make the story more compelling, and how to tweak my inquiry as well. She was also helpful in helping me understand my genre.

Refines Queries with Targeted Advice

Saba was prepared, friendly, and very helpful. She zeroed in on some areas to trim in my query, and told me what is working. She also answered some questions I had about the publishing industry and genre terms. I’d highly recommend her for advice on your query or publishing in general.

Exceeds Expectations with Generous Feedback

Just a quick note to say that Rene far exceeded my expectations both in terms of her feedback and the generosity of her time. She went well beyond my hopes for the kind of actionable intelligence I was looking for, and I couldn’t be happier.

Motivates with Clear, Constructive Feedback

Ms. McDonald’s constructive feedback inspired and motivated me. Her responses cut a clearer picture leading to a smoother path of transition for the first ten pages of my manuscript. Ms. McDonald’s evaluation filled in the gaps of my writing, and I feel more confident querying agents thanks to her enlightening comments. I wish she could read my edits based on her input! If you are considering booking an appointment, I suggest you stop contemplating and schedule! The time and money was well worth the outcome.

Suggests Stronger Storytelling Techniques

My 10-minutes with an expert consult with Saba was fantastic. She told me what worked in the introductory page of my memoir and suggested ways to deepen my storytelling. She referred me to the introductory pages of 3 memoirs and explained what to notice about each, commenting on ways I could use similar approaches. It was wonderful to have such substantive guidance and tips on my agent search too. I highly recommend a consult with Saba.

Shares Unique Query Improvement Tips

My ten minute query letter consult was invaluable. Claire provided tips that I never would have thought of prior to this meeting. She answered all of my questions and then some. Thank you!

Brainstorms Solutions for Stronger Pages

CeCe was well-prepared, encouraging, and kind. She shared specific feedback about the things that were great about my pages, the things that were good but could something more, and went above and beyond to brainstorm specific ways to resolve the biggest issue with my pages.

Pinpoints Key Query Weaknesses

Amy was kind, friendly, and enthusiastic. The thing that was most helpful was that she zeroed right in on the aspect of my query that had been bothering me (but I had been hoping no one else would notice!) and offered concrete suggestions for improvement.

Refocuses Submission Package Effectively

Katharine helped me re-focus my submission package to more accurately depict my work. She is kind and generous and savvy and smart. Our conversation was a game-changer for me.

Challenges Writers to Level Up

CeCe is emerging as a rock star agent. She was gracious and her feedback was insightful. She gave me something specific to ponder as I work to level up my craft and do another revision before heading back into the query trenches. Exactly what I needed. Recommend her highly!

Encourages Writers with Honest Feedback

Alyssa is very wonderful, kind, attentive and helpful. She was the first agent I had a meeting with and has always given me feedback that significantly improved my manuscripts. Sheís also very sincere and honest when giving feedback which helps provide realistic expectations of oneself. Itís agents like her that keep us here!
Thank you Alyssa!
PS: Please pass this on to Alyssa so she knows sheís doing a great job.

Delivers Actionable Query Improvements

Samantha was really awesome. She had great ideas for how I could improve my query and I found her extremely easy to talk to. She was concise and specific in her feedback, and I walked out of our meeting feeling like I knew exactly what I needed to do next. She was also great enough to answer a few questions for me about the querying and submission process.

Gives Supportive and Helpful Critique

Ms. Gomez was so supportive and encouraging with her comments on my first chapter, I have nothing but gratitude for her time and expertise! Her suggestions were specific and very helpful . And many thanks as well to the Manuscript Academy for offering these concise and focused opportunities to get feedback from experts in the publishing field.

Expands Genre and Agent Options

Samantha’s 10-minute consultation on my query was immensely valuable. She was well-prepared, answered all of my questions, and even gave me a couple of names of agents who she thought might be interested in my WIP. Most importantly, she gave me an agent’s perspective on how I should categorize my work in terms of genre. I was being far too narrow-minded about it, and now I know I can expand my prospective agent list. I highly recommend her!

Offers Fresh Perspective on Queries

My 10-minute query consultation with Rebecca Raskin was excellent. We were both ready to go at the start time. I took plenty of notes and Rebecca gave me advice that hit the places in my query that needed work. She was encouraging, helpful, and made me see my query with new eyes. I’ve spent most of today revising it and revamping my query list. I’ve taken advantage of this energy to start a new round of queries tonight. Onward!

Provides Clear Path Forward

My consultation was extremely helpful and educational. Validation that I can in fact write is always, always needed and appreciated, but it was the savvy advice from an industry insider that made it worth the price of admission. Leticia offered honest, direct input about how my query would be received by agents and publishers, adjusting my expectations and clarifying my path forward, in a very good way. She took a genuine interest in me and my work, and tailored her advice accordingly.

Balances Encouragement with Clear Critique

Larissa was so friendly and helpful! She had the perfect combination of encouragement and constructive feedback on my query. She was able to get right to the heart of what I suspected was not working, and offer suggestions on how to fix it. And she answered every question I had. I only wish I could have talked to her longer, it felt like talking to a friend!

Provides Honest and Enthusiastic Support

My consult with Jonathan Burkhart was amazing! He is direct and knowledgeable and more than willing to guide and support. I absolutely love his energy and enthusiasm. He is honest which Is a trait I respect and was most helpful in his comments to help me become a better writer.
I highly recommend Jonathan Burkhart to any aspiring author who is looking for honest evaluation of your story and the possibility that it could be made into a screenplay.

Believes in Writers and Their Work

I cannot heap enough praise on Katharine Sands. She deserves more than I can ever say.
First off, Katharine believes in me. Thatís a BIG thing for someone who has been on a publishing journey for a decade. Her enthusiasm and persistent cheeriness is infectious. It makes every session, no matter how brutal, a pleasure. Sheís also not afraid to tell the truth. She delicately convinced me that my opening chapter wasnít appropriate and offered several suggestions on how to fix it while educating me on what a first chapter should be. Katharine also set me up with an online writing class that vastly improved my skills. She continues to seek out further classes for me.
Again, canít say enough about Katharine. A joy to work with.

Recognizes and Fixes Story Issues

The discussion I had with Ms. Fountain was extremely useful and informative. She helped me recognize an issue with my YA adventure novel that I need to address and I even had fun during her feedback and suggestions. I can tell she is passionate about her authors’ manuscripts and she would make a great agent for anyone who is lucky enough to sign with her. Thanks for having this service. It is worth the price of admission!

Enhances Story Openings with Insightful Advice

Kiki is great to toalk to. Even though she had only my first 10 pages, she had some terrific insights, which will enhance the beginning of my story, giving it more punch. Her advice was in point, and noted.

I also get to craft a prologue for my story….YAY!!

Energizes Writers with Query Feedback

Stephanie was wonderful. She walked me through specific items to strengthen my query and opening pages while making sure to point out what works. I feel energized to revise my query package after her feedback.

Supports Writers in Book-to-Film Adaptation

I signed up for Mr Burkhart because he seemed the most likely to give a good critique for a feature film possibility ó his comments during the #MSWL Zoom panel were pro writer and pro new content and encouraged the audience of writers to consider contributing their content in the new film-media arena.

Jonathan was very cordial and approachable during our conversation. I would book him again.

Thank you to the Julie and Jessica and everyone at the Manuscript Academy for a very informative Book to Film panel!

Strengthens First Pages with Clear Guidance

Stephanie Stein was really helpful with positive suggestions for my first page of a YA historical fiction. She answered my questions with specific answers about character development and quickly engaging the readerís interest. I took lots of notes. Thank you for offering this venue for writers. Iím sure I will signup again!

Shares Kind and Specific Query Feedback

My consultation with Kaitlyn was awesome! She was very kind but also gave me specific, actionable feedback that I can get to work on. Highly recommend her!

Delivers Helpful and Encouraging Critique

I loved, loved my consultation with Amy! She was extremely helpful with my query feedback, and I will recommend her to everyone!

Gives Actionable Suggestions for Stronger Openings

Rachel is awesome. She provided me with bite size actionable suggestions that made my opening chapter so much better. So helpful!

Offers Direction and Encouraging Insights

Jessica is warm and friendly. She gave me fabulous advice and went above and beyond what I expected. I know the direction I need to take with my writing now, in large part because of this conversation. Thank you!

Guides Writers Through Complex Pitches

Caitlin was incredibly helpful. I was struggling with the best way to pitch a fantasy novel that was not told chronologically and she guided me through that process. She answered all my questions and made me feel very comfortable.

Boosts Confidence with Thoughtful Advice

My consultation with Kaitlyn was amazing. I can’t believe how much advice was packed into 10 minutes. She came prepared with notes and was so respectful in discussing my picture book poem. I have more confidence in how to take the manuscript and query across the finish line. Thank you for offering the opportunity to meet with Kaitlyn!

Provides Excellent Query Letter Feedback

Stacey Graham provided excellent feedback on my query letter and MS. I appreciate her taking the time to chat with me and would highly recommend these services to anyone in need of formatting a query letter!

Brings Editorial Expertise and Precision

My 30/30 critique session with Erica Finkel was amazing. It was the first time I had a session with an editor vs. an agent and I loved her perspective. She didn’t have to guess what an editor might look for because she KNEW. But just as important, she was honest, positive, and took my project seriously. She referred to my characters by name and pointed out where they were getting lost in the exposition… I likened our session to a surgeon who goes in with a scalpel and helps fix what needs repairing. I still have to do all the recovery work but my prognosis is excellent. I highly recommend working with Erica. She’s super smart and a delight.

Recommends Stronger Opening for Success

Quressa was great! I explained what happens in my second chapter and we both thought that would be a better opening instead of the old chapter one. I then queried a handful of agents last week with the chapter switch, and within a week, I received a full manuscript request with those changes.

Shares Enthusiastic and Generous Feedback

My consultation session with Keith exceeded even my optimistic expectations. He was generous with his time and feedback. He offered great tips regarding my logline and my story/series. He brought a great enthusiam to the discussion and the project. It was a wonderful chat and I came away confident more stories have a chance of making it on the screen.

For any writer with ambitions for having their stories adapted to the tv/film screen I can’t recommend Keith highly enough. We had a great discussion and I look forward to talking to him in the future.

Explains Craft and Business Clearly

Larissa Melo Pienkowski is not only one of the best agents at Manuscript Academy. She has to be one of the best agents, ever! I call her the manuscript/book whisperer. She is like a teacher. She will explain everything from the craft of writing to the business side of writing. She is so kind, warm, and delightful. She has a wonderful personality that makes you feel at ease in her presence. She is professional and believes that your time is valuable. She helps the author extract the voice of their character or characters. She provided me with a book recommendation that was so inspiring that I ended up writing another book because of it. Her written critiques are detailed, thought provoking, and she always leaves you with something positive. Her belief in the author and their characters emboldens the author to take more risks in their manuscript. I have had her for both an in person meeting and a written critique. Because of her intelligence and industry knowledge, I will continue going back to Larissa. As you can see, I highly recommend Larissa Melo Pienkowski for your in person meeting and written critique.

Offers Brilliant and Encouraging Ideas

Eric was fantastic! Not only did he have brilliant insight and ideas for me, he was warm, funny, and kind. I’m already working on his “homework” and can’t wait to have another meeting with him. Highly recommend!

Sees Straight to the Heart

Fiona is brilliant, kind, and efficient. She has the gift of seeing right to the heart of a manuscript. She understands both craft and the market. I am excited to use her feedback to take my work to the next level.

Helps Writers Navigate Storytelling for TV

Eric Mofford was wonderfully helpful, and he picked right up on things I hadn’t found room to tell him in my query. I feel that his advice has explained so much to me and set me on the right path toward finding a deal for a TV series for my novel trilogy.

My only regret was that I got so excited, I forgot to tell him about all the cinematic qualities of my stories: A train wreck, a solar pulse followed by two more later in the series, an exploding house, and North Lights suddenly in Texas.

Guides Writers Toward the Right Market

I never expected to get so much in a consult about my first page, but Stephanie gave me so much to work with. She was friendly, professional and offered valuable insight regarding the age group I should choose to market to and my main character. Absolutely worth it.

Empowers Writers with Actionable Feedback

Amy provided concrete, actionable feedback that left me feeling empowered instead of disheartened. She made sure to leave time for questions and involved me in the learning process, which I greatly appreciated!

Gives Detailed and Practical Suggestions

My consultation with Kaitlyn Sanchez was fantastic! She gave thoughtful, detailed feedback on my manuscript that resonated and sparked my own creative ideas. She also provided industry advice and practical suggestions that were incredibly helpful. It was such a pleasure speaking with her!

Clarifies Genre and Story Expectations

Caitlin was professional and polite. She gave feedback with several examples in the text which needed more action, more emotion. She covered structure and expectations for fantasy genre. It went by quickly but it was helpful to me as an amateur trying to break into the industry. I have a feeling I could have asked industry questions but my focus was all about the story. I am thankful for the service by The Manuscript Academy

Brings Enthusiasm and Sharp Insights

Melissa picked up on two-three suggested items to improve my first ten pages. She has a deep understanding for the writing process, and business process. But most importantly, I can tell that she loves it all. Her energy and enthusiasm are uplifting!!!

Steers Writers Away from Wasted Time

It was fabulous. Exactly what I needed. She was direct, supportive but steered me away from at least a year, probably more, wasted time and words. Cecelia was encouraging, and best of all, realistic. Most worthwhile 10 minutes in my writing life.
Thank you, Kristen

Balances Encouragement with Tough Love

I so appreciated the opportunity to work with Eric through MSWLA. He had valuable feedback to offer and struck a balance between encouragement and incisive critique. Some of his big-picture suggestions felt like tough love, but he was right. The consultation gave me the confidence and direction to make necessary changes and begin the querying process.

Delivers Honest but Kind Critique

Cecilia was outstandingly helpful. She was very kind in her critique which was especially hard to do since she needed to tell me some hard truths.
My only concern was the 10 minutes went by far too quickly and I didn’t get a chance to cycle back to a few follow-up questions.

Provides Candid and Encouraging Feedback

Penny came prepared with feedback on my query but let me ask questions and use the ten minutes in the way that worked best for me. We had a great conversation on the state of the market and her feedback on my query AND my plot was invaluable. She was candid and encouraging.

Provides Invaluable and Thorough Feedback

Such great and invaluable feedback! Punctual and thorough.
Renee went beyond what I expected and was so knowledgeable and helpful.
Highly recommended! 🙂

Shares Practical Query Improvement Tips

The ten minutes flew by but not without a ton of amazing feedback and a plan! I am so thrilled with my first 10 minutes with an agent, I will be making a promise to myself to do this monthly! Thank you Kiana, your feedback was exactly what my first pages needed!

Provides Warm and Insightful Feedback

My consult with Stephanie took place in the aftermath of a big nor’easter that left me with an iffy Internet connection. But that didn’t dim Stephanie’s brilliance. Her comments were insightful, her tips were helpful, and her affect was warm and understanding. The consult was productive, fun, and the confidence booster I needed to keep plugging away in the Query Trenches. (It also was a great distraction from the tree branch that smashed my car windshield.) I wholeheartedly recommend Stephanie for consults … and anything else she takes on in the book world. Kudos to Manuscript Academy for all the talent you attract and invaluable services you provide!

Brings Next-Level Query Clarity

Fiona was so helpful bringing clarity to my query. I had many eyes on it prior to our consult, and have received some requests from the slush pile, but Fionaís advice was next level. I feel my money was well spent, not just for this query but for how I can use her advice to self-critique in the future. She was also super nice and easy to talk to. Highly recommend!

Clarifies and Strengthens Query Letters

Thank you for critiquing my query for 101 Glasses of Wine. Molly Cusick was great to work with, straight to the point and helpful. Definitely get a session with her!

Enhances Stories with a Fresh Lens

Cecilia ëCeCeí Lyra was one of the best writing critique experiences that Iíve had on the Manuscript Academy. I was so impressed with her writing critique that I actually paid for another one with her. Her suggestions helped to enhance my work in a way that I hadnít seen before. She helped me see my work through a fresher lens and possibly change it in another direction. What I loved about her was that she was so encouraging while she critiqued my work. You understood that she was critiquing your work and not you. If she thought that you wrote something great, sheíd let you know in a way that made you feel so good. One of the best parts of working with her, is that sheís quick. I hope she doesnít mind me saying this; however, she critiqued my work and provided it back to me prior to the 5-7 week allotted time. I was pleasantly surprised when I found a completed and thorough critique emailed to me earlier than anticipated. I didnít have to wait with bated breath for too long. As you can see, I donít know if thereís enough that I can say about her. I highly recommend Cecilia Lyra for your writing critique.

Creates a Relaxed and Supportive Space

As I started my session with RenÈe Fountain, who looked at my query, I’d hoped for a couple of quick insights. Instead it was like we were seated in a virtual coffee shop, and nobody was eyeing our table. To say the meeting was unrushed would be an understatement. After discussing the query, RenÈe asked me about the novel itself, challenged a couple of plot points, and questioned certain details about my protagonist. All the while, she was encouraging, warm, funny, and really smart. Most heartening was eventually finishing the session with RenÈe and feeling like I’d just met a brilliant advocate for literature and writers. I walked out of my home office and into the kitchen, where my husband said, “So it mush have gone well. I kept hearing you laughing.”

Delivers Astute and Encouraging Feedback

In just ten short minutes, Cecilia Lyra told me things about the first page of my novel that had me thinking all afternoon after our talk. Her points were so farsighted and astute, it seemed as if she’d read the opening chapters. On top of her keen insights, Cecilia was encouraging, kind, and ultimately inspiring. It was a singular pleasure talking to her, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to have this sage reader share such a comprehensive, profound first impression.

Explains What Agents Look For

My conversation with Danielle was fantastic. She gave me feedback on my first chapter that left me feeling both confident and excited moving forward. She did an amazing job of explaining what agents would be looking for as she laid out her feedback. I highly recommend her!

Clarifies Project Direction with Confidence

Amanda was incredibly helpful and response to my questions (which I noted on my submission ahead of time to help guide our conversation). She also sent the Zoom link in a timely manner and provided a back-up plan to connect by phone as needed.
I came away with a clear direction for my project and better insights into the industry — and that means renewed confidence that my work could be successful.

Gives Smart and Actionable Feedback

Jessica was incredibly kind and warm, but above all, super savvy and smart! She gave actionable feedback on my query letter that I could implement right away. I’m excited to update my query based on her suggestions and see what happens on my querying journey.

Provides Fresh Insights on Drafts

My meeting with Erica was very helpful. She was friendly and personable, and had insights and questions (even on the eleventh draft and after two writing critique groups) I had never thought of.

Pinpoints Missing Element in Queries

Absolutely a positive and beneficial experience. John knew right away what was missing from my query. This is not the checklist of things you need in a query, rather the missing “element” that I needed to position my book for agents. His ability to tap into it speaks to his years of experience and industry knowledge and left me excited about my next steps. As a person who has a refined manuscript, taken the query courses, and had numerous query critiques with peers this is what I needed to move forward.

Thanks John!

Guides Writers Toward Stronger Manuscripts

Iíve had two calls with Caitlin, an initial 10-page critique and, after significant revisions, a follow-up 30-minute/30-page critique. Caitlin provided great, actionable feedback that I can use to take my manuscript to the next level. This is true not just chapter by chapter, but in terms of achieving a goal of the manuscript (subverting romantic tropes in favor of feminist empowerment) without triggering readers’ assumptions too much or too early. Caitlin is a great guide on a sometimes-thorny path.

Gives Insightful First Page Feedback

I enjoyed the fifteen minute consult that I had with Megan Barnard. She provided insightful and thoguhtul feedback of the first ten pages of my manuscript. It was excellent to have an opportunity to gain insight into how an agent reads the first ten pages of a manuscript.

Clarifies Market Positioning for Memoirs

I have had two consults with Kayla regarding my literary non-fiction memoir. I have found her comments to be so concise and helpful, filling in any holes or gaps in my query letter and giving me a knowledgeable insider perspective on where my work would fit, information on navigating foreign markets, and how to approach the process of becoming a published author. I feel empowered to move forward, step by step. I am now polishing my proposal, based on suggestions from our last conversation. I am so fortunate to have found Kayla.

Provides Smart and Actionable Suggestions

I recently booked a session with CeCe Lyra to get some feedback on my query letter. In the short amount of time we had, she gave me a whole list of suggestions and homework on how to improve my submission. CeCe is insightful, KIND, professional, super smart, and knowledgeable about the book industry. I’m super grateful for all her help and can’t wait to book my next session with her!

Delivers Honest and Direct Critique

Ms. McDonald provide very direct feedback on a difficult manuscript I’ve been working on. It was just the kick in the pants I needed change it. She didn’t pull lany punches, and she was very right to do so. I’m grateful for the honest criticism.

Improves Reader Connection and Engagement

Samantha had read my first page in advance and prepared very helpful comments, especially in regards to how I can improve the reader’s connection to my character and draw the reader in right from the start. She also answered questions I had about a couple sentences in my first page, assuring me that the level of detail I had incorporated was fine. I felt great about my first page and the revisions I can make when the call was over. (She also checked a couple times to make sure I didn’t have any additional questions, which I really appreciated.)

Offers Thoughtful and Empathetic Guidance

Eric made an immediate first imperssion by responding so quickly with notes regarding the plot synopsis and chapter I sent. The notes offered great insight and were excellent pick ups. These suggestions were well thought out and not rushed, providing me with plenty of time to consider them for our session.

I chose Eric as he is a talented agent but he also offered an important opinion regarding my story. One of empathy. What I truly enjoyed was just how down to earth he was as well, and helpful. This discussion has put me in a great place to tell this story and with Eric’s guidance I believe I will tell this story better. The man was so relatable the only thing missing were drinks.

Thanks so much, Eric. It was a pleasure to finally meet, and to have this moment talking shop, with you.

Saves Time with Honest Feedback

Kaitlyn was kind and honest and gave me just the feedback I was looking for. Her comments will save me time and doubt as I query and help me figure out next steps with my manuscript. I am grateful.

Breaks Down Queries with Precision

Melissa always has something concise and powerful to say. Just a few words, and I understand the big picture of what I’m missing and the direction needed to fix it. She is very constructive and helpful with feedback that helps, as I prefer being coached directly, without sugar-coating or apology. I’ve had several sessions with her and wish I could have her advice on speed dial.

Delivers Concise and Helpful Critique

Molly conveyed a lot of information in 15 minutes. She came well prepared and had insightful comments during our discussion–she went a long way towards assuaging some concerns I had with my query package, and I’m glad she offers her time to do this!

Brings Clarity and Excitement

I’ve now had two consolations with Fiona Kenshole, and both have been fabulous. I left with clarity and newfound excitement for my project both times.

Explains Why Queries Get Rejected

Amy’s feedback on my first 10 pages helped me understand why I keep getting “it’s not my thing” passes on my novel queries. I’m grateful to benefit from her vision and experience. She provided specific suggestions for improving my work and (hopefully) snagging more agents’ attention. I can’t tell you how critical that was for me!

She also pointed out a flaw in my query letter that might be turning agents off. So helpful!

I appreciated Amy’s supportiveness and enthusiasm for helping. It was great to be able to ask “burning questions” about the industry that had been bugging me since I started writing. I encourage any writer souls who are lost or maybe just need an extra nudge in the right direction to book a consultation with Amy!

Boosts Confidence During Querying

Esther was such a pleasure to talk to. She offered me great advice and seemed so genuine! It gave me the confidence boost I needed during this difficult time of querying. Iím so happy I chose Esther for my ten minutes.

Offers Clear and Practical Advice

Esther was friendly and offered great advice for my story. She also shared some relevant comp titles. Out of all of the critiques Iíve had on Manuscript Academy, hers was the most helpful.

Provides Kind and Insightful Guidance

Melissa was so helpful and more than that she was KIND. I was having one of those days where I couldn’t make sentences, my youngest was screeching at the top of his lungs, and I was feeling less than “authorly”. Melissa put me at ease and then went through my query piece by piece with tangible ways to improve it so that it got right to the heart of my story. I went into the consultation feeling like I’d never be a “real writer” and left it feeling like maybe I was already on my way. Thank you, Melissa!!!

Gives Encouraging and Actionable Feedback

This writer is at a loss for words. Alyssa is exactly the expert I need to help me get my novel where it needs to be. She gives the kind of feedback I’ve been craving and does it in a way that doesn’t make me want to crawl under my desk and cry. She provides ideas and inspiration in a way that almost makes me think the ideas are mine, which is nice. And she gives enough positive reinforcement to keep me motivated to edit and edit again.

She gave me specific feedback and specific homework, and both of those things are exactly what I was hoping for. I know the book will be better because of her feedback (and feedback from another agent). I definitely got more than I paid for out of this consultation and hope to have more after I’ve completed my homework! 🙂

Thanks to J, J, and V for making this happen! You went above and beyond, and I’m so grateful.

Encourages Writers with Helpful Feedback

Larissa was very encouraging and kind, and she also gave me great advice to improve my query letter. She also took time to answer my questions. This consultation was very helpful.

Offers Enthusiastic and Spot-On Critiques

Kaitlyn was absolutely amazing. She was a pleasure to talk to and VERY enthusiastic. I appreciated her spot-on critiques. She bettered both my writing and confidence. 10000/10 would recommend her to EVERYONE!

Provides Encouraging and Actionable Guidance

My conversation with Megan Barnard was very helpful – felt like a luxury to have the opportunity for such clear responses to the first 10 pages of my thriller, THE LAST TIME WE DIED, after two years of hard work inside my own writer bubble. She’s a true professional who instantly put me at ease and offered actionable advice to factor in with responses from my other test readers. Best wishes to the whole Manuscript Academy team.

Strengthens Writing with Detailed Advice

Stephanie Winter is an amazing and VERY talented agent. She offered such detailed and refined advice that truly strengthened my writing. She is sweet, welcoming, and enthusiastic. 10/10 would recommend to EVERYONE!

Offers Clear Steps for Improvement

I had a 10 minute query letter consultation with Larissa. I’ll admit, I wondered how much could be done in 10 minutes. Well, at the end of the meeting I had made so many notes on the letter and had great, clear, actionable steps I could take to improve it. I don’t even think Larissa represents books like mine, but she was able to hone in on the issues that she’d look for in any query letter. I HIGHLY recommend her for anyone looking for feedback on their letter.

Gives Professional and Encouraging Critique

The query letter critic meeting with Amy Bishop was productive and helpful. I recieved some valuable professional feedback — hopefuly it will help me to improve the effectiveness of my query.

Breaks Down Queries Line by Line

Megan was great! She went line by line through my query to let me know what was working and exactly where in the query I needed to do more work. She was friendly, kind and encouraging. Thank you!

Delivers Efficient and Valuable Feedback

Although 10 minutes is short, Amy got right down to business and was able to fill the ten minutes with feedback on my ten pages as well as answer the three questions I prepared for her. It was a very beneficial meeting and I believe that her suggestions, esepecially those for my query, have improved it.

Requests Full Manuscript After Review

I sent Renee my first page of the novel that I will be ready to query this fall. She loved it and asked me to send her the full manuscript when it’s ready. I’m stoked!

Gives Actionable Query and Page Edits

Stephanie provided constructive, actionable feedback on my query letter and pages. Very helpful and I am working on incorporating the changes that she suggested.

Helps Refine Query Letter Details

We had a great session!
Ten minutes goes fast, but we had a chance to discuss the first line of my query, which comps are appropriate and genre.
Kayla has a lovely manner, and was quick to understand what I was saying. She seemed to have a very detailed knowledge of the industry.
I’m very satisfied 🙂

Goes the Extra Mile

Katharine Sands is the best! Some people say or make the motions of caring about you, she REALLY does care. I say this because she put in extra time with me when I was struggling with a concept. She got back to me with new ideas when I was stalled. She brainstormed with me for a perfect title and sent me an email with fresh ideas.
Katharine is like that fun cousin you’ve known all your life. She’s warm and fun to be around. I felt I could tell her anything. A JOY to be with.
I’ve used Katharine twice. I’m booking her again once I finish implementing her excellent suggestions.

Delivers Organized and Encouraging Feedback

So, so helpful. I cannot sing Caitlin’s praises enough. Her feedback is thoughtful, encouraging, and actionable. For such a short session, she’s incredibly organized! Great time management, and leaves room for questions at the end. Loved her so much, I booked her a second time. Both times our session ended, I jumped straight into revising my query letter because I was so excited to get to work and make her suggested changes. I recommended her to my entire writing group and one of them has already used her and loved her as well.

Asks Thought-Provoking Story Questions

What a wonderful experience! Yes, I was nervousóit was my first-ever Ten Minutes with an Expert. But Fiona Kenshole was so warm and delightful, she immediately put me at ease. She asked though-provoking questions that will definitely help shape my pitch and my novel. Thank you to the Manuscript Academy for having such stellar agents here to help us navigate these intimidating waters!

Radiates Warmth and Helpful Insights

Kaitlyn is quite special! I LOVED my meeting with her!!! Sheís one of those people whose personality radiates even before you get to talk to her. She sent me an email, just to let me know she was looking forward to our meeting- how gracious is that! It made me feel less anxious and showed how warm she is.

My meeting was incredible. Her feedback was candid and helped me figure out the best course of action I should take with my story. She provided me with helpful information and resources on how to increase my chances of finding a good agent. Not only is she incredibly knowledgeable, sheís also personable. Sheís very genuine and makes the meeting such an enjoyable experience.
My notes from Kaitlyn are those Iíll always treasure!

After my meeting with Kaitlyn, I decided to get my membership with Manuscript Academy and it was all because of her professionalism and kindness.

I highly recommend her because her meetings are personalized, timely, knowledgeable, remarkable and memorable! Manuscript Academy made such a good decision to have her as part of their team.

Thank you Kaitlyn!

Shares Strategies for Storytelling Success

When I won the 30 minute critique and consult with an agent of my choice, I knew I would select Fiona Kenshole. I valued her place in the literary world, especially with picture books. Not only was I impressed with her constructive comments and ideas towards my work, I treasured her tips on ‘making my story funny’ and engaging for young children.
I am revising and refocusing with new plans and strategies to make my story even more enticing and humorous for the audience.
Thank you, Manuscript Academy, for the opportunity to have this poignant conversation with Fiona Kenshole. It was just what I expected…and more!

Delivers Honest and Kind Feedback

Iíve talked to several agents and all of the gave concrete feedback on the sentences of my query letter and answered my questions they have all heard a gazillion times with focus and kindness and best, with honesty. Yay! I have a real hook! The staff, also patient when I mistook pm for am and panicked. Very supportive and again just lovely. Thank you.

Clarifies Manuscript Strengths and Edits

Erica was very helpful in giving me specific advice, letting me know which areas in my opening pages needed clarity or needed to be reworked. Not only do I feel good about applying that advice in the opening pages, but also in looking for similar opportunities for betterment in the manuscript as a whole. She let me know my strengths, which I will carry with me and exercise as I continue to work on my craft.

Offers Friendly and Knowledgeable Advice

Alyssa was friendly, approachable, supportive, and supremely knowledgeable–my consultation with her was a genuine pleasure, and she gave me some great advice about improving my queries. 10/10 would recommend.

Provides Helpful Query Letter Notes

Cecilia is very nice and her notes on my query letter were extremely helpful.

Gives Concrete and Encouraging Feedback

Fiona was exceptional! She gave me concrete, thorough, and kind feedback, truly showing her interest in aiding my writing and my manuscript. Her enthusiasm was encouraging, and she even gave me a tidbit of advice that she typically gives her clients. What a gift to my craft! I highly recommend Fiona.

Answers Common Questions with Clarity

Extremely helpful. she answered questions a lot of us have gotten vague answes to in the past.

Gives Insightful and Detailed Guidance

I participated in a small group critique with Jessica Watterson and I was so impressed with the way she made sure to give adequate time to each writer’s query and first page, while also providing general guidance about the querying process. Jessica’s advice was thoughtful and helpful. I found myself taking lots of notes based on what she told others about their queries and pages, as well as her comments on my own.

Improves Manuscripts with Clear Suggestions

I really appreciate how Aneeka zeroes in on specific, workable suggestions to improve my MS. Having an independent review by an expert such as her raises up items that I as the writer don’t necessarily see. Very helpful!

Plans Next Steps in Publishing

I love Valentina! She is so sweet and sharp! We worked out a plan for the next steps on my publishing journal for my novel. I am excited to speak with her again.!

Finds New Story Trajectories

John was extremely helpful and helped me see that there is a brand new trajectory I can now focus on for my book. I appreciated his comments and the time he took with me. He saw the story in a different light, a different path and for that I am grateful. I look forward to the next “chapter” in the journey of trying to get an agent for my book.

Delivers Spot-On Manuscript Feedback

Fiona Kenshole has a wealth of experience to share. Her advice was spot on, and given in a positive manner. I highly recommend her for Manuscript Academy appointments and events.

Encourages and Supports Writers

Jessica is SO great. She’s so easy to talk to and has a great sense of humor. She made me feel completely at ease and was very encouraging. Thank you so much for this service!

Offers Real Advice on Positioning

Jessica was great! She offered real, actionable advice on how to improve my query and offered great insight on the state of publishing, which gave me a great ideas about how to position my book for success.

Strengthens Queries with Clear Suggestions

Amy was great! She helped me strengthen my query by suggesting changes and answering my specific questions. Perfect!

Shares Expert Guidance on Structure

Fiona Kenshole is truly the story whisperer. During our meeting, she meticulously went through my first 10 pages and provided in depth details of her critiques. Like Socrates did for Plato, she used the Socratic method to force me to think critically about my characters drawing out the essence of each characterís purpose. She is warm, kind, and pleasant to talk to. If youíre lucky, then youíll get to meet her beautiful 4-month-old Labrador Retriever or Rufus or Grace.

Provides Thoughtful Query Review

I booked a 10-minute consultation with Stephanie Winter regarding my query letter. It was a wonderful experience in every way. I have missed being able to attend writing conferences in person and sometimes–okay, more than sometimes–it’s disheartening to get a rejection or to hear nothing from agents I query, particularly when the process feels so impersonal. I much prefer face-to-face interaction and this is as good as it gets for now.

Stephanie was kind and thoughtful in the feedback she provided. I’ve tweaked by query letter accordingly. It’s well worth a small investment to get more insight into whether a query letter is intriguing agents or causing them to quickly press the delete button as though it were a warmup for competing on “Family Feud.” I paid for this consultation as a personal gift last Christmas, a time of year when I can feel generous, even to myself. So glad I did!

Gives Frank and Honest Guidance

My session with Cecilia could not have been more helpful. Her comments and suggestions were frank and honest. Clearly with the purpose to assist my writing and the process.

I would recommend Cecilia without reservation.

Delivers Actionable Query Advice

Melissa had such constructive things to say about my query! I knew she’d share a deliberate, encouraging perspective after listening to her at a recent MA class. Her thoughts on comps really helped a lot. She didn’t mind answering a prickly question of mine. Concrete, actionable feedback delivered with warmth. Extremely glad, and highly recommend.

Clarifies Query Letter Comps

Melissa was great. She helped me with my query letter, telling me what worked and what didn’t. She thought I was overthinking the beginning–where I’d tried to list my comps–and she was so right!

Encourages and Uplifts Writers

Marilyn was positive, upbeat and extremely helpful in her critique of my first page. The Zoom session was a truly delightful experience. Marilyn’s background is impressive, which added weight to her suggestions and recommendations. I’m so grateful that The Manuscript Academy offered this service.

Enhances Stories with Useful Insights

Kaitlyn was right on time. She even took the time to Zoom with me on a holiday weekend. I appreciated her input on my story and her ideas to enhance the story and make it better. I thoroughly appreciated her time and her talent. She was very easy to talk to.

Blows Away Writers with Feedback

Kaitlyn far exceeded my expectations for what I would get out of our meeting. I booked a 15-minute consult, and I think we ended up talking for 30 minutes. She gave me high-level feedback as well as detailed line edits and comments. What impressed me was that she shared her screen and we went through every line by line comment, discussed some ideas for clarifying that part of the story, and she took notes in the margins as we discussed these ideas in real time! She even emailed me the file with her edits during our meeting. I was blown away by her care, attention, and transparency and learned so much. I highly recommend Kaitlyn to anyone who wants detailed notes on their work and a sharp editorial eye.

Suggests Strong Comps and Edits

Lane was great. He suggested a comp and and helped with my query. He told me to query him when I’m ready and said for me to remind him that he told me to do that!

Boosts Confidence in Query Letters

I had such a positive experience talking one-on-one with Cecilia Lyra about my query letter. She was upfront and honest with me about what was missing from my query, but she also gave me an exercise to figure out that last puzzle piece. After having the opportunity to speak with Cecilia, I feel confident in understanding what I need to do to be successful.

Reviews Queries with Encouragement

This was my 1st consultation session at Manuscript Academy. It was wonderful! My consult was on my query. The chat was friendly. Megan’s feedback was specific and encouraging. She pointed out what was good and what needed attention. I’m able to take the feedback on edit the parts that need improving. The consultation is a great service as part of the membership. I highly recommend it.

Gives Comprehensive Picture Book Feedback

I had booked a 20 minute session with Agent Saba Sulaiman of Talcott Notch. It was for a full picture book MS (humor) at 700 words. (It’s good to remember that you’re not just paying for the actual consult time of 10-20 minutes. Your consultant is also taking time prior, to read, re-read and think about your work, both as a story, as well as it’s viability in the present market.) My investment in a consultation with Agent Saba was worth every penny.
Saba was thorough and comprehensive with her critique. She started with overall feedback and then dove into a line by line. She told me which lines she liked and which lines she thought could speedbump a reader’s engagement with the story. She even pointed out specific words that could deter flow and pace. In a genre where every word counts, this was very helpful. She also had reasons for her opinions and she took time to share these reasons and they made a lot of sense. She was clear and straightforward, yet warm and encouraging. She was thoughtful with her words in every context and left me feeling energized about my work. With her specific suggestions for improvements, I’ve been whipping my MS into shape and feel very good about it. Thank you Jessica and Julie for the opportunity and Agent Saba for the excellent consultation.
Krystia

Provides Kind, Professional, Insightful Advice

Megan was an absolute delight and I don’t know if I could thank her enough for her insight.

Professional, kind, and open, she made it so easy to discuss with her!

Guides Writers to Attainable Goals

I had my first accountability coaching call with Valentina yesterday, and it went great! She is a wonderful listener, had lots of great ideas to get me on the right track, and helped me set attainable goals. I am so glad I decided to give this a try – thanks for setting up this new service!

Gives Concise and Helpful Feedback

My sister and I are co-authors and enjoyed every minute Samantha Wekstein spent with us. Her feedback on our first page was concise and helpful. We have already made the revisions and hope to work with her again as we continue to prepare our submission packet.

Asks the Right Questions

I love Kayla! She’s friendly, helpful. She asked me how she could help me. That is the best question I have been asked by an agent! She loved my query; she said I just needed to add a little more info and gave me suggestions on what to add. I had the time wrong for my consult on my calendar. Totally my fault. She sent me two emails. Finally, with the second email, I caught on. She is amazing.

Sharp Logline Editing Suggestions

Larissa was so helpful and brilliant with my loglines, choosing phrases that worked best and explaining why. Loglines are really hard and it was great how she was able to focus in and suggests edits.

Fun and Insightful Logline Feedback

I had asked Cecilia to do something a little unusual– instead of the query letter, to look at a bunch of loglines and give me her reaction. She thought it was a great idea and was very enthusiastic to help out with them, offering several suggestions and pointing out phrases she particularly liked (and liked less). Very helpful and fun!

Refining Genre and Title Choices

I had a lovely time with Larissa! She was kind and patient, and very good at listening to what I had to say.
As a result of just one ten-minute call, I refined my genre description, and changed the name of my book. Not bad!

Guidance for Speaking to Agents

Jessica was fabulous. She told me exactly what I needed to hear about my query, asked me enough questions, and ultimately I ended up answering my own questions with her line of thought. It felt like a thorough first meeting, personal, and a great way to learn to speak to agents if youíve never done it.

Uncovering What Makes Stories Shine

I can’t shout to the rooftops enough about Melissa. This is the third manuscript I’ve had her review, and each time her feedback is exceptional. Her reviews are poignant but also kind, and she’s always able to find that little nugget that makes your story truly shine!

Big Picture Querying Strategy

Cecilia Lyra gave me more in 10 minutes than a paid editor did for the full manuscript explaining why she didnít think the manuscript was being picked up despite a number of full requests. She was able to give concrete big picture suggestions to how to ìmanipulateî the novel if Inwas so inclined to perhaps position it better in the market as well as advice as to how to determine whether to pivot and focus on my second completed manuscript for querying. I was really surprised by how much I got out of 10 minutes.

Pinpointing Key Story Weaknesses

Cecilia was GREAT. She pointed out something very significant which I hadnít been able to quite articulate myself but she said it, I said ìsheís absolutely right!î

Kidlit Knowledge with Humor

Wow. My ten minutes with John was a great investment in my writing career. He answered my questions honestly, thoroughly, and genuinely. His kidlit knowledge, combined with his humor and approachable style made the experience feel like I was talking to an old friend who happened to be an industry expert. My ten minutes flew by, but the positive impression he left is timeless. Much appreciated.

Constructive Criticism with Extra Care

I met with Samantha. She was really kind, but had specific constructive criticism (on a line level) and was generous enough to go a few minutes over to answer my questions.

Prepared, Friendly, and Insightful

Kayla was well prepared and friendly. She respected our time while providing helpful insights for my query letter.

Kind and Professional Query Guidance

Caitlin was professional and kind. Her feedback on my query was insightful and helpful.

Specific and Actionable Query Advice

Jessica was specific and thorough with our ten minutes. She gave me feedback that I can use to immediately improve my query letter, plus she gave me feedback about my bookís word count. (Itís on the long side and will likely be a red flag when itís time to query. Jessica provided a suggestion on where I need to aim for in that area.) Overall, it was efficient and a worthwhile investment. After I incorporate her feedback, I plan to book a second session with Jessica. I appreciate Manuscript Academy for providing these opportunities for new writers. It can feel isolating to do this work alone. Collaboration makes for a higher quality product and a more confident writer.

Helpful Feedback on Logline Writing

Megan was kind enough to review several loglines I had, a request a little out of the usual format. She identified a few things she would like different, which was very helpful.

Fixing Character Faults and Depth

Stephanie was personable and sweet during our conversation. She helped me realize some faults in my characters and suggested resources that could help me fix them.

Thoughtful Feedback on Query Alignment

Alyssa was courteous and positive. She gave me great feedback and lots to think about regarding my query and how it relates to my manuscript. I really enjoyed our conversation.

Above and Beyond Consultation Experience

Esther was great! She went above and beyond to answer my questions. I would definitely book a consultation with her again!

Engaging and Friendly Query Feedback

John Cusick offered thoughtful feedback on my middle grade fantasy first page. He was engaging and friendly (i.e. not scary). As a writer himself, I appreciated his editing notes. If you’re lucky enough to get an opportunity for a consult with him, grab it.

Crystal-Clear Manuscript Guidance

Such clear guidance! Mr. Cusick knew what I was attempting to do even more, at some points, than I knew what I was attempting. The comments all made so much sense once I got back to work on my story!

Spot-On Structural Story Advice

Fiona was spot-on with her comments about my MG book, “Lockbox.” She made a comment that it should be a screenplay and the funny thing is … it was a screenplay and then I made it into a book as well! She pointed out that I needed to keep the book more about the main protagonist which, of course, trigged a rewrite for the book.

I appreciate all of you giving us writers the opportunity to get us in front of agents and editors. It only makes us better writers.

Stacey

Invaluable Access to Industry Experts

Having access to pro’s like Alyssa is such a wonderful resource — well worth the money!

Detailed and Respectful Editorial Feedback

I had a wonderful consultation with Molly Cusick! I paid for three ten-minute consultations, and they were worth every penny. She told me line by line what worked and what did not–and why–and all her feedback was very kindly and respectfully given. She was very knowledgeable about the children’s publishing market and had even researched the comps I used in my queries so she could give me feedback on them. I will definitely seek her advice again.

Professional and Thoughtful Story Insights

What a wonderful opportunity it was to speak with Molly Cusick! She is kind, thoughtful and professional. Molly provided excellent suggestions and insight. I would highly recommend her, especially since she has experience not only as an editor, but also an agent.

Supportive and Approachable Consultation

Marilyn gave me wonderful encouraging feedback and she was more than willing to answer all my questions. She was kind and very approachable. I highly recommend meeting with her if given the opportunity.

Encouraging and Honest Query Feedback

I couldn’t have asked for a better 10 minutes spent!

Whitney Ross offered great advice and provided only positive criticism. She was open and kind, her honesty giving me the kick in the behind to get my query letter out into the inboxes of agents.

Clear and Useful Revision Homework

Saba was lovely!
Personable, friendly, and very specific in her feedback, she made those ten minutes count. I was completely at my ease with her and felt I had worthwhile “homework” based on her comments.
I would definitely reach out to her again.

Honest and Encouraging Manuscript Feedback

Fiona Kenshole was so great to work with. I had a 30 minute phone call with her (30 page read- which was actually my entire MG nonfiction manuscript). She told me exactly what I needed to work on and she didnít sugar coat anything. But, she still left me feeling hopeful and optimistic about my book. She gave great advice and l now have a good idea of the steps I need to take to improve my manuscript. I loved working with her, and Iím so glad I chose her for my critique.

Specific and Actionable First Page Edits

I had a great session with Linda! She showed up prepared to talk about my first pages, and she gave me some very specific work to do on pages 2-3. I had worried the session would feel too short and rushed, but it wasn’t like that at all. I left feeling really confident that I could make these small changes and be in great shape to start querying. I would definitely book another session with Linda or someone else at Manuscript Academy again!

Excited and Energized for Revision

Alyssa was fantastic! She clearly truly read my pages and sincerely thought about them. She asked questions and gave great ideas for revision and sprinkled in plenty of compliments. I left me meet up with her full of renewed energy and excitement for my project.

Stronger Story Imagery and Feedback

Jennifer was warm, friendly and immediately took the awkwardness out of a call with a stranger, using humor. She then brain stormed ideas for stronger imagery to begin my story and provided concise feedback for a few more tweaks.
The insight gained from an industry professional is well worth the cost. I would definitely recommend the query & 10 pages consult. My manuscript is YA speculative fiction.

Practical Query Letter Improvements

Very helpful query review. Many good ideas offered for improvement.
Thank you.

Guidance to Breathe New Life

Rebecca met me where I was and helped guide me to where I needed to go. She is incredibly knowledgeable and gives wonderful insight. After we got off the call, I felt that there was new life to breathe into this project. I’m grateful and appreciative.

Refining My First Chapter

Linda was very kind and had a nice balance of compliments vs. constructive feedback. We talked about why my first page was almost “there” but not quite. I’m excited to re-work my first chapter with her comments in mind! These sessions are such a great resource for writers. I got exactly the feedback I needed for where I am in the process.

Spot-On Query Letter Insights

The ten-minute query consultation with Lizzie Poteet was spot on. She was direct and offered insightful information to bring the query to light. She jumped right in during the phone call and had read the query and had specific questions, which made me think and be visionary. Manuscript Academy is so worth the investment!
Sherry Purdom

Helpful Suggestions and Confidence Boost

I had 10 minute query review with Jessica, and whew were those 10 minutes helpful! To start, she was extremely friendly, warm, and disarming — so helpful when I am a bucket of nerves. Jessica went through my query, offering wonderful suggestions on wording, tweaks, and ways to help my words and message stand out. She was very receptive to my questions and took the time to really understand what it was that I was trying to say with my work. I highly recommend this service, specifically with Jessica. She gave me such helpful feedback on my query letter, making me that much more confident with my query package.

Pinpointing the Missing Piece

My session with Melissa Warten was extremely helpful! I sent her my query letter for my contemporary YA novel, and her comments and feedback were very insightful. She pinpointed the one detail that was missing from the plot description. It felt like she helped me put the last piece into a puzzle. She was positive and encouraging, but also gave me truly helpful critique.

Invaluable Feedback from an Agent

Awesome experience! I would recommend this service to any and all writer friends because hearing concrete information from an actual agent was invaluable. There is so much guesswork and insecurity that comes with Query letters and submissions. John Cusick was wonderful and gave me incredible feedback in our 10 minute session. Honestly, I wish I would have signed up for this service a year ago! It would have saved me from so much agony and self-sabotage. I was only going to sign up for Manuscript Academy for one month, but now I think I’ll hang around for a while until I’m finished submitting my current project:)

Thanks Guys!!!

Transformative Advice for Character Depth

Cecilia totally unlocked me. I was experimenting with some new-to-me techniques and she had insights beyond them that really spiced up what I was trying to do. We talked about active vs passive emotions and figuring out that I needed to open with anger instead of grief and loss has ratcheted my first chapter up 100 degrees in heat. I’m reading the pages now and thinking “wow, I wrote this.” I feel like her tips on how to take a character who is alone and open them up to an interaction, and how to make sure each scene opens in a systematically engaging ways are tips I will use every time I write. LOVE HER.

Detailed and Encouraging Query Critique

Caitlin’s critique of my query letter was excellent; she went into depth about what her thoughts were and how to improve each paragraph. She made sure my questions were answered in a calm, quick manner, and was very encouraging.

Actionable and Thought-Provoking Guidance

My meeting with Katharine was very insightful, productive and action oriented. Her review and suggestions were specific and thought provoking. I left my meeting recharged from her passion, detail and wealth of knowledge of the publishing world. The Manuscript Academy is a fabulous resource that creates a solid framework for aspiring authors make their voices heard in our transforming world. If you are ready to take your manuscript from paper to people The Manuscript Academy is for you! Glowing bubbles of appreciation.

Reinvigorated and Ready to Revise

Fiona was simultaneously enthusiastic, funny and as direct as an arrow as she honed in on what needed work. Small details or a sweeping change. She was extremely adept at seeing both. I came away reinvigorated to dive back into a story I had already queried. Okay! Back to work for me.

Fresh Perspective on Story Structure

Katherine Sands was amazing! She was sensitive and clear, explaining why the introduction that I had sent her, wasn’t doing its job. Her comments gave me so much to work with, and I’m back at work with a new perspective. I think each writer has her/his own challenges. For me, because the writing itself is easy, I write and then hope that the structure makes sense. But using the “other” brain that Katherine talks about, the brain that has to answer hard questions about the work, has given me a way to make my work much stronger. Because it was clear from her comments that she wanted to help me, I felt it was easy to listen and learn. Save yourself the heartache of rejections and book a meeting with Katherine. You won’t regret it.

Specific Ideas That Strengthen Writing

Another productive meeting. She shared two very specific ideas about strengthening my work that were spot-on and that I’ll be able to use throughout my work. I’m learning more from these sessions than any webinar I’ve attended. Love the personal touch. Thanks again.

Industry Knowledge with Personal Insight

Fiona was delightful. She brought to my session wit and empathy along with a deep, intuitive knowledge of the industry. “Knowledge of the industry” is a term that’s thrown around a lot but here I mean that she not only has the pulse of what editors are looking for but what kids will understand and find joy in. She seemed quite intent on making sure we extracted every ounce of value from the session. My manuscript will better for having been looked at by Fiona but so will my larger writer’s journey.

Above and Beyond Expectations

Kiana sent me fantastic notes and suggestions after our discussion. She went above and beyond what I expected. She was super nice and helpful!

Techniques for Stronger Storytelling

Katharine was GREAT! She gave me honest and incredibly helpful advice on how to rework my first chapter as well as my query letter. She helped me understand Why areas needed rework and then gave terrific techniques on How to do it.
Katharine has an immediately likable personality that put me at ease. She gave great instruction and listened well to help with my concerns. She also went out of her way to put me in contact with a local resource that could help me further.
Thanks again Katharine!

Concrete Suggestions for Query Improvement

Caitlin was great! I did a ten minute query review with her, and she made the most of every minute. She told me exactly what was working and what could be improved, and even gave me concrete suggestions for making changes. Iím so happy I booked a consultation with herómy query is much improved!

Wonderful and Reassuring Experience

I cannot recommend using this service enough! Caitlin was so wonderful and helpful. I was nervous going into the session but was immediately at ease and it was a fabulous experience. I have already recommended this service to my writing group!

Reframing the Pitching Mindset

My query-letter consult with Katharine Sands was absolutely fantastic. She immediately zeroed in on what could be improved in my pitch and helped me see why it might not be landing. She also offered a lot of encouragement by pointing out what worked, and she provided insights into pitching that went well beyond my query letter. I chose her because in her MA class she talks about thinking of the pitch as a way to SHARE your work vs. as a pressure-filled vehicle to SELL it, and that really resonated with me. I felt comfortable sharing my work with her, and I am confident that her insights will make my query letter WAY stronger.

Clarifying Key Query Letter Focus

Caitlin did a written critique of my query letter and then I followed up with a 10 minute meeting with her to review my re-write. Both experiences were very beneficial and encouraging. I have been struggling with understanding what topics from my novel that I should emphasize in my query letter and Caitlin’s comments provided the final key to knowing what to focus on.

Helpful Query and Pitch Insights

I had a phone call consultation with Saba Sulaiman yesterday. She was very nice and easy to talk to. She asked if I wanted her to talk about my query or if I wanted to ask questions first. We had time for both, and her comments and suggestions were very helpful.

Balanced Feedback and Thoughtful Answers

Stephanie was great! She was patient, kind, and helpful. She gave me a great balance of voluntary information as well as answered questions. I got a lot out of our ten minutes!

Friendly, Honest, and Helpful Advice

10 minutes with an expert. I had my first page critiqued. Linda is friendly and honest. I believe she knows her stuff and will give helpful tips for any writer.

On a personal note, “Thanks Linda.”

Expert Critique for Children’s Nonfiction

I got a written critique of my manuscript from Amanda Shih. She has a lot of experience with childrenís nonfiction and her advice and suggestions were really great. She was very encouraging and helpful. Iím so glad that I got the critique and that I chose Amanda!

Pinpointing What Needs Work

Caitlin was great! This was my second time using her for a consultation – once with my first page and then again with my query – and she’s been very helpful both times. She points right to the parts that need the most work, while also highlighting the best bits of each. I end up taking a ton of notes with her, as she is descriptive with her feedback, and it has already helped me a lot. I’d definitely recommend her for anyone needing help with their SFF manuscripts. Thanks Manuscript Academy!

Boosted My Confidence and Writing

Jessica Watterson represents several authors whom I adore, so I was thrilled to have the opportunity to have her review my query letter. She shared some incredibly helpful tweaks. Additionally, we talked a little about my book’s premise. From that and from my query letter, she had an inspired idea about my book’s title! This, in turn, is spurring me to tweak my novel ever-so-slightly. Most of all, she buttressed my self-confidence. Putting your writing out into the world can be terrifying; and to get such a warm, supportive reception from someone who knows what’s what absolutely made my day. I swear I feel like I’ve been hugged, albeit virtually.

Highly, highly recommend!! Thank you, Jessica!!

She Never Disappoints

I’ve used Caitlin for two other novels and she never disappoints. This was the opening page of my third novel, and she gave me some great advice on how not to distract the reader with too much information, or in this case, the wrong information for the very beginning. She is endlessly smart about these things, extremely helpful and a very pleasant person to talk to.

Inspired and Creative Feedback

Very productive and Eve had plenty of insightful comments. She “got” my writing and had suggestions that were easy for me to apply. Can’t wait for my next session with her.

Focused and Concise Writing

We covered a great deal in only ten minutes. Caitlin had specific, very constructive ideas for sharpening my first page and left me time for questions. Thanks to everyone.

Productive and Insightful Session

I had a fifteen minute consultation with Danielle Chiotti and I highly recommend it. She was kind, personable, and most importantly, she gave me concrete feedback that I could immediately act upon. I left the meeting encouraged, inspired, and ready to revise; it was exactly what I needed!

Insight-Packed Ten Minutes

My time spent with Alyssa Jennette was priceless. Kind, knowledgeable, and patient, Alyssa took the time to answer every one of my questions. I am confident my writing will be better for it.

Clear and Immediate Insights

CeCe provided me with immensely helpful feedback that I can readily put to use in my writing efforts. She is as much a teacher as an agent, and artfully provides feedback in an encouraging manner. Be prepared to take notes – CeCe does her homework in advance of the call. She knew my main character well, asked informed questions, and gave me a ton of great ideas to work on. I am so appreciative to have spent time with her discussing my work.

Priceless Writing Guidance

Linda was great! She was generous, kind, and gave a lot of actionable advice that Iíve already started applying to my query letter. Making an appointment with her was definitely the best choice I couldíve made.

Clear and Actionable To-Dos

This was my second meeting with Molly, and again, she didn’t disappoint. She gave me pointed, positive feedback and I left with a specific to-do list to polish my manuscript. Thanks to those 10 minutes, I now have a submission-ready MS! (At least, I hope I do…)

Overcoming Writing Roadblocks

Working with Valentina Woodson as an Accountability Partner has been invaluable to my process. I found myself stuck, and with Valentina’s encouragement and excellent advice, I was able to progress to the finishing point–a feat that seemed almost impossible for a long time. She is professional but fun, light-hearted, approachable, and provides thoughtful, well-informed advice. It was this advice that helped me leap over that final hurdle and type the blessed words “THE END!”

I couldn’t be happier with Valentina’s services, and I would recommend her to anyone in a similar writing “predicament.”

Encouraging and Helpful Feedback

I sent her what I called a practice query because I’m not done writing my novel. She loved the premise and gave me pointers on my query, how to make it better. She also directed me to a site that will help me write a synopsis when the time comes. Caitlin was friendly and very helpful.

Professional and Actionable Feedback

Hannah’s feedback was professional, specific, and actionable. She actively listened to what I needed, shared feedback efficiently, and offered suggestions that matched my exerpience level. I thoroughly enjoyed working with her.

Concrete and Practical Advice

Melissa always gives great, concrete advice and is incredibly helpful! I highly recommend her!

Motivating and Informative Workshop

I took part in Fiona Kenshole’s Picture Book workshop and had the most wonderful experience. Fiona is clearly a seasoned pro in the writing world. Not only was she incredibly knowledgeable, but she was able to convey the information in a way that was fun and inspirational. I walked away from the experience, more motivated and better prepared to write, revise and pursue publishing.

Whether you are a new or seasoned writer, trying to get published or write as a hobby, a workshop from The Manuscript Academy is a must. And I would highly recommend Fiona Kenshole if you have a chance to take one of her classes or book a consultation or critique.

Clarifying Book Structure and Focus

I have been having a hard time nailing down what I wanted to call my book about myself. It isn’t really a memoir. I have been calling it a hybrid! Kayla helped me realize it’s more of a book of personal essays, and how to organize them, what to take out, and what to do with what I take out. She was very helpful.

Real Feedback for Querying

I really enjoyed my conversation with Caitlin. Ten minutes is a long time to hold your breath or wait for an elevator, but it goes by in an instant when youíre doing a query pitch! That being said, we had a great talk and I left the conversation with some real tangible feedback I think I can apply to my future queries. One of the tough things about sending out queries is you often get a ‘no thank you’ but without really knowing what to fix or how. It’s great real feedback from an agent in the industry and I hope that I can take that feedback to start getting a ‘yes’ on my manuscript in the future.

Inspiring and Constructive Workshop

Fiona is a experienced editor and agent who manages to be inspiring and enthusiastic while also giving excellent constructive feedback. I got a lot out of her workshop! Due to her course’s welcoming and inclusive atmosphere, all of us who participated ended up even forming a critique group at the end.

Helpful and Succinct Critique

I had the opportunity to meet with the editor, Molly Cusick, to discuss my query and first ten pages of my middle grade manuscript. She was prompt, kind and knowledgeable. Fifteen minutes goes by very quickly, but she was able to give me helpful and succinct feedback on my writing. She was gracious enough to answer a few questions concerning appropriateness of content, and writing for middle grade, in general. Overall, a great experience and highly recommend.

Confidence in Manuscript Submission

I recently had a critique with Linda Camacho and I found it to be very helpful. She started by asking background about my story and offered some great insight on my query letter. She helped to confirm the manuscript is ready for submission which I had some doubts about. She asked thoughtful questions about my manuscript while also making sure she addressed any questions I had about the manuscript, the industy etc. I found her comments overall to very insightful. I’d definitely recommend choosing her to critique your manuscript.

Thorough Feedback and Great Ideas

I had a great consultation with Amanda! I went into it without specific questions and didn’t really know what kind of feedback I wanted. She was very thorough, took her time offering me comments, and gave me chances to ask questions throughout. We stuck to the time parameters, but she made it feel like we had the time in the world. I wound up with great ideas and info I can use to move forward – real gems!

Clear Plan and Encouragement

Jennifer was INCREDIBLE! Her easy, personable manner put me at ease and never made me feel rushed. I felt like I was talking to an old friend.
Jennifer provided extremely helpful and specific advice to help me with my proposal and writing. She was also very encouraging and offered a clear plan of action for me to take. This was VERY helpful because I’ve been in a bit of a slump lately. She put a good bit of wind in my sails.
I LOVE Jennifer, I hope she’ll have me again for another session.

Focused, Insightful Query Feedback

Stephanie was so friendly and so helpful! She had really great suggestions to improve my query letter and helped me focus on the parts that made it shine. She also had thoughtful, insightful answers for all my questions, and her feedback really made my pitch and comps shine. I would highly recommend a consult with her – she has so many great ideas and really took the time to dig into my query.

Tightening Queries with Precision

I’m so glad I participated in 10 Minutes with an Expert! I submitted my query letter. Even though I had done my research and thought it was pretty good already, Megan’s comments really tightened it up (word count dropped by 50). Ten minutes goes fast. I had prepared a couple of specific questions, took notes, and then ran back to my letter before I forgot everything. It was totally worth it.

Thanks, Megan and Manuscript Academy!

Eased Nerves with Great Feedback

I was super nervous waiting for the meeting with Kiana, but she set me at ease straight away and provided really insightful feedback. I’m looking forward to diving into her suggestions!

Fun and Insightful Guidance

Fiona is enthusiastic and fun to be with. She gave me great pointers for how to write and illustrate a picture book. We got to laugh together; I felt very comfortable chatting with her.

Honest and Helpful Feedback

I had my query critique with Em and she was great. I feel she gave me honest and helpful feedback. It was the quickest 10 minutes of my life, so I may have to book a first 10 pages with her!

Voice and Genre Insights

I did a 10-minute with an expert session with Em Lysaght of Ladderbird Literary Agency to get tips on how to improve my first page. She was extremely helpful, gave several useful tips on what can grab an agent’s attention. Voice is most important for her. She also gave information on why “genre” is important in the marketing process.

Great Advice, Super Nice

Did a pages critique/15 min call with Jessica. Sheís truly great. Gave me wonderful advice and sheís super nice!

Invaluable Goal-Setting for Writers

I received a good deal of benefit from Valentina’s coaching. Being encouraged to set specific goals, even though I didn’t meet some of them, was invaluable. It taught me a lot about myself as a writer which helps immensely in planning my work and understanding my personal creative process. Valentina was always informative, knowledgeable and encouraging.

Engaging Story Development Advice

Melissa was encouraging and engaging. She made great comments and offered insights for developing my story, plus suggested comp titles. I hope to consult with her again.

Generous, Warm, and Insightful

Fiona Kenshole was generous with her time and comments, warm and easy to talk with, and most of all, she helped me see the key next step for my revision! I am encouraged and challenged, in a good way. I absolutely recommend talking with Fiona to learn how to make your MG more immersive and relatable to the target reader. She also gave me helpful feedback on my query.

Encouraging and Positive Feedback

My consultation with Fiona was wonderful. Her encouraging words and positive feedback inspired me to add a little more personal flavour to my story and I can’t thank her enough for that. I will definitely consult with her again. Those few minutes were an absolute joy.

Clear Guidance on What Works

Caitlin rocked. She took me right to what worked and then to what didn’t work. Getting published isn’t just about having my name on a book, it’s about the experience of working with a genius editor who will guide you through improving your writing. Caitlin gave me a taste of what that’s like. Which is joyous. Alsoóand I’m STILL kind of coasting on thisóI secretly think I’d fit on the shelf next to a certain super famous author and Caitlin mentioned him in the first three minutes of the call and I almost died.

Precise Suggestions and Encouragement

Talking to Danielle Chiotti was a sublime experience. Not only were her suggestions for my query letter precise and insightful, she also delivered a heaping serving of encouragement. I finished the conversation feeling better-informed AND inspired. I know from my research that she is a terrific agent, but during our brief conversation she proved herself to be a superb coach. …So where can I give Danielle her five-star rating?

Brilliant Query Letter Insights

I had a ten minute consult with Jessia Sinsheimer on my query letter. It was obvious she read it ahead of time and gave it some thought, sending me her preliminary notes.
I cannot overstate how helpful this consultation was! Ms. Sinsheimer is so knowledageable about the industry, books, and all things related to pitching a manauscript. She pointed out that I might have put my book in a genre that wasn’t the best fit for it. She was absolutely correct. She also gave me suggestions on how to make the query stronger. She was cheerful, pleasant, personable, wise, and so generous with her effort and knowledge.
I feel so fortunate that I got to have that talk with her–she’s brilliant, and very very skilled at helping authors.

Helpful, Funny, and Kind

I had a fabulous 10-minutes with an expert call with Cece Lyra yesterday! She was helpful, funny, and kind. She really helped me see what I need to do next. Thanks a million for this opportunity, Julie and Jessica!

Prepared, Informative, and Supportive

My consult with Stephanie Winter was everything I could ask for. She was prepared, informative, kind and supportive!
She professionally managed to deliver a lot of advice in ten minutes.

Thank you for all your work to provide this quality platform.

Linda Vazzana

Refining My First Page

Megan was very helpful in refining the first page of my manuscript. She pointed out that my character was not grounded on this page and a few other places where I could tweak my writing to clarify. Thanks Megan and Manuscript Academy for this opportunity.

Personable, Transparent, Encouraging

Ms. Wills was very personable and kind. I appreciated her transparency and the ease of criticism that she offered. She never once remarked on the time spent (which was a bit longer than the appointment was set for) then offered encouragement and advice.

Great YA Market Advice

John was quite helpful and professional. I enjoyed interacting with him about my query. Heís knowledgeable about the YA market and had great advice. I would not hesitate to engage him.

Actionable First Pages Feedback

Jessica was wonderful. She gave specific, actionable feedback on my first 10 pages to help improve them. She also gave praise and answered some of my industry questions. She seems like a wonderful person and the whole experience was delightful.

Six Hundred Seconds of Insight

Hannah Robinson was wonderful to talk with. I enjoyed all six hundred seconds! Would like to have it last longer… but who wouldn’t?

Helpful and Relaxed Critique

It was a great experience. She had some good advice including a great example for a comp book and she sandwiched it nicely with compliments. Overall, it remained professional and yet relaxed. As someone who was pretty nervous going in, I was relieved I felt so at ease. Thanks for a great critique and experience.

Confidence to Keep Querying

Eve Hall was so kind and helpful! She answered all of my questions and gave me the confidence to keep querying.

Spot-On Emotional Depth Tips

Samantha’s suggestions on improving my first page by adding a little more emotional depth were spot-on. I already took her advice and am confident about querying and having my first pages read by other agents.

Excellent and Personalized Advice

My consultation with Valentina was excellent. She had great suggustions specific to me and my situation. Very helpful. It was a real pleasure to talk with her.

A Consummate Professional

Stacey is a consummate professional…the most insightful, valuable 10 minutes of my writing career 🙂

Unrushed and Insightful

It’s incredible how much Em was able to help in 10 minutes! Not only did she give me great general advice as it pertains to query letters’ structure and contents, but she also pointed out specific areas of mine that could be improved and tweaked. She was so informative that she actually covered most of the questions I’d written out in advance to ask, so we had time for me to try and come up with new questions on the fly. I can’t recommend her highly enough to go over your query letter and give insight as to what is or isn’t working as well as how to make it stronger.

Specific and Helpful Manuscript Tweaks

Jessica was super nice and thorough. I didn’t feel like I was rushed, nor that we missed discussing anything. I’m so happy with my experience!

Sharp, Concrete Editing Advice

Jessica was great! She gave me commentary not only on the overall state of my picture book manuscript, but also specific items for me to tweak. She was incredibly helpful, and I highly recommend her!

Spot-On Edits and Suggestions

Amy Bishop was terrific. Very sharp. She gave precise, concrete advice. She’s a very good editor.
And a very nice person. I was very happy with my 10 minutes with her and immediately rewrote my query based on her advice.
I also sent you all a thank you email this morning.
Best to you all,
Sincerely,
Annick de Bellefeuille

Motivating and Clear Query Advice

Megan Barnard was extremely helpful. She got what I’m doing and spotted the bits I’m fond of. Her advice was insightful and clear. I corrected my first page according to her advice and I’m much happier with it. I felt we had a terrific ten minutes and she seemed to be enjoying herself which is a wonderful compliment.
Thank you all for recommending her.
I also sent an email first thing this am to say thank you.
Thank you all at the M.A. Sincerely, Annick de Bellefeuille

Tremendous Experience with Great Insights

I recently had a query critique with Jessica. She was incredibly kind and helpful. She answered all of my questions and gave a lot of great suggestions, while simultaneously being encouraging. I feel more motivated then ever to start querying after my meeting with her!

Positive and Insightful Critique

Lane was a real pleasure to speak with. His comments were so insightful and positive. I highly recommend Lane for any critique or consultation. It was tremendous experience.

Warm and Encouraging Suggestions

Melissa was kind, outgoing, and fun to work with. We discussed the concept and comps, and she gave me feedback on how to improve one paragraph on my first page. I wish we had more than ten minutes; I would definitely enjoy working with her again.

Game-Changing Query Advice

Katharine was unbelievably generous with her time and advice, both on Zoom and via email after her query critique. Her advice was really groundbreaking for me because what I thought was understandable was not to her. She (very patiently and kindly) explained that agents read fast and need simple, chronological accounts. She identified the backbone of my story and got me thinking of how readers will approach my title. She is a gift.

Right to the Point Feedback

I submitted a small writing sample prior to my meeting with Hannah. I was a bit anxious as I knew we only had a short time, but she got right down to business. She was extremely helpful with her feedback as well as her insights on new author websites, social media and query letters. I truly appreciated everything she had to say and felt I really benefitted from our time together.

Encouraging and Collaborative Critique

Jennifer is awesome. She helped me solve issues I’ve been having with my manuscript and encouraged me to continue in my efforts to find an agent. She gave me specific suggestions and more general plot and character thoughts. It wasn’t so much a critique as a collaboration. I highly recommend her for a critique.

Thrilled to Find This Community

I had a wonderful conversation with Larissa, and am so thrilled to have found this online community!

Clarifying Plot for a Stronger Query

Megan gave me great feedback and suggestions on my query. In ten minutes, she helped me with clarifying my novels plot lines leading to a cliffhanging ending.
I would highly recommend her

Mastering Industry Standards in Queries

Caitlin was wonderful! She reviewed my query with me and gave me great insight into how to integrate “industry standard” pieces, such as comps. We also discussed how important specificity is in a query and she helped me identify places where my language was vague. She was a great manager of time, making sure to leave enough time for me to ask questions at the end after sharing her thoughts. I am excited to rework my query and think it will be stronger thanks to her advice.

Reframing Queries for Better Flow

Alyssa was fabulous. Asked questions that helped me understand where I am in my development not so much in novel writing but in query skills. She totally helped reframe the plot description so it flows a little better.

Astute Feedback on First Pages

I was so happy to get Kayla Lightner’s take on the first ten pages of my novel. She offered really astute insights and suggestions. I was concerned that what I was trying to create, in terms of the voice, was not on key, and Kayla provided more than the feedback I needed. Her comments were clear, which of course was helpful–but on top of that she was warm and encouraging. My only regret is that the conversation couldn’t have lasted longer. It was a delightful fifteen minutes.

Magician with Advice and Insights

At our meeting, Lane Heymont proved himself to be a magician. I filled several pages of notes with his information and insights, yet in the short time he didn’t seem the least bit rushed. He answered questions, addressed my doubts, and in the end was encouraging and patient. From my research, I know he’s a successful agent; but after our meeting, I know he’s a gifted teacher.

Clear, Kind, and Expert Guidance

The query consult with Caitlin was a terrific experience. She delivered clear insights and specific suggestions–and did so with kindness. I’m so happy to have had the opportunity to receive her expert feedback.

New Approach to Query Writing

She gave me SUCH good ideas and completely changed the way I think about writing a query. She also made me feel better about the “rules” and telling the heart of the story.

Honest Insights and Encouragement

In our ten minute chat, Rachel was warm, welcoming and generous with her time. She showed enthusiasm for my project while conveying some of the harsh realities of the publishing industry. She answered all my question and gave great suggestions for my query. My thanks to Rachel and The Manuscript Academy team!

Confidence to Start Querying

Meeting with Saba was a great experience. She was down-to-earth, positive, and gave me the confidence I needed to begin querying!

Spot-On Feedback and Advice

It was a great pleasure chatting with Fiona. She was spot-on about my submission and gave me wonderful pointers and advice – plus she’s a dog lover so my pup, Zinnia, was invited into the Zoom and enjoyed meeting her as well!

Insightful and Encouraging Critique Sessions

I met with Melissa Warten for the 10 minute query critique. I enjoyed working with her, so I came back for a 15 minute 10 page critique. Melissa is fantastic. I feel like I have a strong idea of what I’ve done well and what I need to work on. She is very approachable and extremely clear with her feedback. It is evident Melissa is passionate about literature. She arrives to the sessions prepared and excited to discuss the writer’s work. I highly recommend these sessions!

Constructive Feedback Enhances Writing

Caitlin had carefully read my ten pages and offered suggestions I could easily understand and incorporate without losing the integrity of my work. I found the session helpful and began editing after letting her directions settle. I have now rewritten the first chapter and feel it is improved. She was always courteous and on point.

Guidance for Aspiring Author

My consultation with Rachel was just what I need at the moment – direct feedback from an experienced industry professional. To date, my writing has been a creative brain to paper exercise, which has been rewarding. Rachel’s review of my first ten pages, and subsequent consultation, provided me with guidance on structure, and the show don’t tell writing style that I have been eagerly searching for. I hope some day to be an accomplished author of MG novels. Even then, I am sure that I would still learn a lot from Rachel.

Refining Memoir Query Process

Hannah helped me to redefine a query for my current Memoir-in-Progress. By listening to her questions based on my query, I was able to sharpen my query letter and to clarify my mission statement for editors and agents creating a stronger outline for my project.

Expert Manuscript Consultation Benefits

I highly recommend booking a consultation with The Manuscript Academy. It’s incredible how much useful, expert advice can be packed into a short time. I walked away from my conversation with tips that I can use for my current manuscript, and in my stories moving forward.

Insightful and Respectful Guidance

Lane was amazing and respectful. He effectively provided insight on my strengths and weaknesses as well as how to improve. Very knowledgeable, Lane dissected my pages and query and gave in-depth, invaluable advice. I 100% recommend Lane and I look forward to working with him again in the future.

First Page Consult Feedback

I met with Amy Bishop for a first page consult. She gave me specific, actionable constructive criticism to make my first page stronger, and pointed out a few issues to fix the tone of the character.

I left the consult feeling motivated and encouraged about the direction of my writing.

Thanks, Amy

Encouraging and Insightful Critique

Fionaís critique was awesomeóvery kind and also very helpful. I especially appreciated her encouraging me to trust my instincts. She gave me specific examples of where I was telling instead of showing and becoming a narrator instead of letting my characters speak for themselves. I highly recommend Fiona!

Exceptional Guidance and Insight

Working with Hannah was wonderful! She was friendly, prepared, and full of practical advice and recommendations. After talking with Hannah, I knew what changes I needed to make to my book proposal. She gave me the input I needed to move to the next step. I appreciated Hannah’s input and insight based on her tremendous experience in the publishing field. Thank you!

Guidance and Development Success

Alyssa did a great job. I’ve been bracketing the amount and type of information to provide in my query letter and Alyssa gave me clear actionable guidance on what I need to accomplish. All the Manuscript Academy resources have been instrumental in my development to being a professional writer.

Guidance on Fictionalizing Memoir

Hannah was very helpful in making some developmental decisions. I’m at 18,000 words in a manuscript that has skirted the edge between memoir and fiction. She showed me how fictionalizing a memoir would provide the freedom I needed to enhance the story. I look forward to reengaging with Hannah or another professional as needed. Thanks so much!

Helpful and Insightful Query Advice

Whitney Ross was enormously helpful–in just our 10-minute discussion. She provided specific, insightful suggestions for my query letter–and she did so with real compassion and care. I am grateful for her recommendations and am inspired by her encouragement.

Insightful YA Fantasy Feedback

Caitlin was equal parts encouraging and unvarnished feedback – and she packed a lot of insight and advice into 15 minutes. I’m grateful she approached my pages so thoughtfully when I know the end of the year had pretty much everyone running on fumes. I highly recommend her for anyone writing in the YA fantasy genre!

Highly Recommend Consultation Session

Very much enjoyed my talk with Kayla. After seeing her podcast, I knew she’d be great – smart, practical and kind. I definitely recommend a consultation with her.

Outstanding and Supportive Advisor

Caitlin is awesome. I’ve spoken to her twice now and her feedback is so on-point and specific, while always being kind and upbeat. She’s a terrific advisor and I bet she’d make an excellent agent, for anyone lucky enough to get her.

Comforting and Insightful Consultation

Iím so glad I had this consultation. I was a little nervous when I first signed up but Linda was personable and put me immediately at ease. She gave thoughtful feedback and answered my questions, and we laughed a bit, making for a very open and friendly experience.

Helpful and Approachable Consultant

Alyssa was very easy to talk to. Although I was nervous, I had a great time and got questions answered that really helped narrow down which paths to pursue.

I would recommend her for consults for sure.

Guidance Through Experience and Knowledge

Fiona gives me exactly what I need: the pieces to fix, the bits to keep and the books to learn from. Her experience and knowledge are everything.

Refining Style and Identifying Issues

This session was extremely helpful. I am able to pinpoint my style a bit more and know what the main issues are that need to be resolved before querying.

Valuable Writing Consultation Experience

I’m thankful for the time I got to spend with Kayla Lightner on the consultation service. She had clearly read and considered the pages sent in advance and presented concise and specific feedback on my work. I was also able to ask questions about the querying and publishing process, and Kayla gave invaluable insight into the current state of the industry and helpful tips on how to continue pursuing a writing career.
I also participated in an online writer’s session earlier this month. Though I had listened to and enjoyed the podcast this past year, after one month I’m already really feeling the added value of the Manuscript Academy subscription.

Inspiring and Thoughtful Guidance

Ms. Sands was an absolute pleasure to speak with. Her guidance was thoughtful and kind, and I never felt rushed. I was so inspired after our conversation that I immediately got to work implementing her suggestions for my query letter! It was a wonderful experience.

Uplifting and Helpful Consultation

My 10 minutes with Jessica was great! She is fun and easy to talk to, and her detailed feedback helped strengthen my query letter. Also, her words of encouragement gave me hope at a time of doubt. I love these consultations!

Positive Manuscript Consultation Experience

I recently had a consultation with Molly Cusick regarding the first 10 pages of my manuscript. At first I was nervous, as I wasn’t sure if she was going to be harsh, and I didn’t know what to expect. I’m extemely pleased to say that she was kind, encouraging and provided amazing feedback. All of the ideas she gave for improving my work, had the gears in my head turning and had me thinking- I can’t wait to make these changes! Everything she brought up were ways to elevate my pages and strengthen my work, I never felt as if she was cutting my writing down. Aside from the helpful feedback, she made me feel confident about my work, encouraging where the story would fit in the market and going out of her way to answer all of my questions. I never felt rushed out of the conversation, and she was engaging and helpful throughout the whole phone call. It was truly a pleasure having a consultation with her, and I would consider it an honor to ever work with, or recieve feedback from Molly Cusick in the future.

Fantastic Follow-Up Chat Feedback

Caitlyn was so fantastic in this follow-up chat; I’d met with her several months ago and got to work on revising my query based her feedback. To have the opportunity to share the revised version with her–and then dig a little deeper still!–was just immensely helpful. Thank you!!

Insightful Video Review Session

My 10 page video review session with Linda Camacho didn’t disappoint. The 15 minutes was packed with actionable feedback. Linda walked me through my pages highlighting things that worked and the areas that I needed to revisit and polish. She has a wisdom about the industry that is immediately evident and I’ve enjoyed working through her notes. The meeting helped improve my pages and I’m so grateful that I scheduled the time.

Unlocking Your Writing Potential

Like miracles and angels getting their wings, I am sure every time Fiona Kenshole speaks, another writer gets published. You can’t help but level up your writing every time you listen to Fiona; expect to learn 10-12 things that will give you immediate knowledge for how to execute a new awesome plan taking you into your greatness as a writer.

Helpful Manuscript Feedback Received

Jessica did an excellent job answering my questions. I wasnít sure my first page was the best way to open my manuscript, and Jessica helped guide me. Her feedback was kind, collaborative, and helpful. I appreciated the conversation and her professional insights were super valuable. She also gave me great suggestions for comp titles. Thank you, Jessica!

Navigating Literary Agent Feedback

As an author taking a plunge and meeting with literary agents is a leap that can be scary. An author needs to take every bit of advice and sift through it, like a fine cookie recipe. Sift, Sift, mix, add a little here, and a little there. Here and there definitely describes the 15 minute consultation I received with Megan Barnard. Her thoughts, and written notes, and line edits, were well worth the time and fee. She brought numerous details to me and covererd a lot of ground, which I couldn’t see very clearly at first. Sift and sift. That’s what I did afterwords, and thought about adding more detail here and there throughout the beginning of the manuscript to make the flow better, while also capturing my Mrs. Eula’s true essence. Megan’s fascination with the true depiction of my main character prompted me to realize readers are our best critics. She really understood Mrs. Eula and the problem she faced, suggesting there needed to be a more chronological flow at beginning. I appreciate my meeting with Megan, and without a doubt, it was time well spent. I dearly love Manuscript Academy, it’s the link I’ve been missing throughout my novel journey. Writers need critiques from agents who have never seen your manuscript before. That’s the beauty of Manuscript Academy!

Highly Recommended Query Consultation

I would highly recommend both the experience of doing the query consult and doing so with Ms. Kenshole. Not only was she very easy to talk with but she gave me feedback that I could immediately put to use. I also had the opportunity to ask my burning questions. I left the meeting feeling encouraged and hopeful. Whether youíre just starting out or have hit a wallóthe ten minute consult could be just the help you need.

Collaborative and Insightful Partner

Eric was lovely to work with! He listened to my ideas, helped me work out what aspects would and would not work for the market, and even suggested some great comp titles.

Valuable Feedback for Authors

Caitlin’s feedback was incredibly valuable, and from the short conversation I can already see many opportunities to improve both my manuscript and my query letter. I would definitely recommend this to any author, especially those going the traditional publishing route.

Valuable Manuscript Consultation Experience

My consultations with Manuscript Academy faculty have been SO valuable over the past month. I signed up for several, to get multiple opinions and a variety of input. My most recent consultation, this Monday, was with Jennifer Wills from the Seymour Agency. She had both general and very specific commentary on my query that really helped with the final stages of refining that elusive piece of the publishing puzzle. She was also easy to talk to and super supportive. I definitely recommend choosing Jennifer for a live consult!

Improved Query Meeting Success

My meeting with Ms. Bishop was excellent. It was my second meeting with her. For the first meeting, my query was terrible and she pointed that out and gave me suggestions. I did what she asked and in our second meeting she acknowledged that my second effort was much better. She gave me a few tweaks and answered all my questions like a professional.

Exceptional Writing Critique

I highly recommend Linda. Iíve done several versions of critiques and edits on various platforms and Iíve found Linda to be the most engaging with great tips and wonderful insights into my writing and characters I didnít even realize. She was patient and went well past the allotted time. I actually felt bad as 10 minutes became 30 minutes.

I plan on having her critique my next WIP and if my manuscripts were on her MSWL, Iíd absolutely query her. I can tell sheís one of the most engaging people and deeply cares about her authors and friends.

Highly recommend her. Although I want to keep her a secret to myself, I know she can help advance your next steps for your WIP.

Quick Fix for Manuscript Issues

I hired Caitlin for fifteen minutes to fix a problem after several agent rejections on the first ten pages. It was a problem I feared the pages had, but wasn’t sure how to fix them myself, and my beta-readers thought it all seemed fine. In just fifteen minutes, Caitlin was able to help me fix the problem, as well as fix a couple extra problems I hadn’t known about at all. I appreciated that it was not a session full of compliments–we got a lot done in that small amount of time. Money well spent. I believe it will probably save my future queries.

Exceptional Consultations

I had consultations with both John and Molly Cusick and found them to be wonderful to work with. They’re friendly, smart, practical and very knowledgeable. Excellent resources and super pleasant people, too!

Like Gaining a Wise, Insightful Aunt

I had a written critique of my first ten pages done by Fiona Kenshole. It was amazing! Itís like having a critique done by your wise, funny, loving aunt (whom youíve never met) but who still always sends you the perfect thoughtful gift on Christmas and your birthday. But this aunt just so happens to be a professional literary agent who knows everything there is about publishing, writing, film and being kind, insightful and wonderfully genuine. Donít we all wish we could have a Fiona in the family. Well, now you can! Or, at least you can pretend to

Revitalizing Coaching

I had a 10-minute phone consult with John Cusick and I couldnít be happier. Talking to John was like being given a pep talk by your favorite coach growing up. That wily coach that knew how to bring out the very best in their players with kindness, compassion, wisdom and a sense of humour. That coach that still has their skin in the game (John is a successful writer) and still knows all the craftiest plays and sneaks. And he knows how to best wrap an injury (even if itís just your ego). That coach that has you play to your strengths but doesnít fail to point out your weaknesses. Get some critique coaching from John. You may not win … but at least youíll still enjoy playing the game.

Amazing

It was AMAZING! I was able to get redirected and encouraged to share more detail. We discussed character arcs and how things become relevant to readers in a query. I love her energy. This session will definitely make my query letter stronger.

Exceptional feedback

I am grateful for Samantha Wekstein’s insight. In ten minutes, she welcomed my questions first and then provided me the feedback she planned to share after reading my query. She let me know areas of the query that confused her, encouraged me to add more detail to the second paragraph about the book’s summary, invited me to add another paragraph for the story’s content to tell enough about the project, made a couple of minor edits, and told me to be specific about why I selected her that goes beyond “per your manuscript wish list” since she knows what’s on her wish list. I need to highlight in the first paragraph what it is about my book I think will interest her. My advice to other writers is to be certain you come with a list of your own questions, but not too many. Also, know that ten minutes is plenty of time to listen to the feedback to help inform the next revision. In hindsight, I regretted not recording the conversation on my handheld recorded. Writing the notes in the moment was messy; I spent the next thirty minutes rewriting my notes. Exceptional feedback and experience.

Very helpful

Melissa was very helpful. She pointed out which sentences were unclear and how to condense and change the order of some of it. I took her advice and sent out 8 new queries. Two days later I had a partial request from one of them!

Fantastic experience

Kayla was amazing. In 10 minutes she teased out my theme, structure and work needed to move my MS forward. Fantastic experience.

Beyond my expectations!

I had a 10 min zoom meeting for my query letter with Molly Cusick. She was the most generous and kind person you can possibly ask for. I was at ease right away because of her friendly interaction. She gave me so many meaning full and practical feedback that I literary had two full page of note in just the 10 min. She allowed me to ask many questions, and responded very honest yet with care. I got so much out of this short session, and truly learned how to improve my query letter. Thank you Molly and M.Academy for this great opportunity. It went beyond my expectation!

Positive feedback

Really good meeting with positive feedback, constructive critque, and ideas for the future.

Kind complimentary and provided direction

Alyssa provided a wonderful critique of the first few hundred words of my picture book script. She was kind, complimentary, and provided direction. She has a solid confidence and understanding of the publishing world. Alyssa is also extremely personable and easy to chat with. 

Thank you so much, Alyssa!

Great insight

Hannah Strouth offered great insight and encouragement. I recommend her to others for consultation.

Useful insight

The consultation was very helpful. Good critiques as well as encouragement and excellent tips on improving my story. Also the conversation gave me useful insight into how agents operate. It was totally worth the money and I will reach out to her again.

Cannot recommend enough

My call with Jennifer was the most effective one I have had to date. Her advice was spot-on, pertinent, and expertly given. She was easy to converse with and brought a wealth of experience and value to my query writing skills. I cannot recommend her enough!

Insightful encouraging informative

Jennifer was wonderful! She was insightful, encouraging, and informative. I left with a clear idea of what to do to improve my query and manuscript.

New inspiration

I just finished my 10min consult with Jessica as part of my gold membership and it was amazing! She was able to help me get through a plot issue that I had been struggling with and even gave me some new inspiration. I can’t wait to put all the pieces together and share this story.

Fantastic

It was great.  The advice was fantastic.

So helpful

Bibi was so helpful! She helped me fine-tune my query letter and was a pleasure to chat with!

Amazing feedback

I’ve been wanting to do an agent one-on-one for quite some time now, and I finally committed. It was so much more than I’d ever hoped for! The 15 minutes flew by, but in that time, Fiona Kenshole gave me some amazing feedback on my first two chapters, things I never even thought of. I’m energized to put her suggestions in motion, see how it flows, and then I’ll be ready to start querying!

Thoughtful and honest

My query letter review with Alyssa Jennette was fantatastic. She was laid back and kind and helpful. She listened to my questions and gave thoughtful, honest answers. It was one of those meetings that proves how much you can accomplish in ten minutes with the right person in the room.

A dream to work with!

Stephanie was lovely! Her feedback was efficient, constructive, and professional. I really appreciated how she addressed larger themes (voice) while also digging in at the line-level to really improve my first 250 words. I absolutely recommend her consultations. She was a dream to work with!

Detailed suggestions

Amy was absolutely wonderful.  Understood my family saga genre completely, has read all my comps and gave me detailed suggestions for tightening up my query and answered all my questions. 

Feel much more focused

I had a great meeting with Renee on Sunday. Thank you! I began revising immediately after meeting with her. I feel like I was spinning a bit on where and what I needed to revise, and I feel much more focused now and am enjoying the revision process again.

Direct and concrete

Katie gave me direct and concrete feedback that, at first, I didn’t want to hear. But as I thought about it, and imagined how I could revise my opening scenes based on her feedback, I realized it was transformative. Now, although it means I have to re-write my opening again, I am confident this time it will be so much better. And the entire story will be as well.

Professional

Lovely, professional, knowledgeable, encouraging

Jumpstarted my creativity

Savannah was pleasant and professional. She gave me insight into a structural problem that I very much appreciate. It jumpstarted my creativity and got my story “unstuck”. Thank you!