Testimonials And Reviews

I really enjoyed the energy and information from all the people involved. I wrote so many notes down which I think will really help me get my work published. My search continues for an agent to help me start the process. I am so glad I found your group.

Anyone out there working on a novel, picture book, etc. needs to know about The Manuscript Academy. This group can offer so much relative information which will help answer the many questions we all have starting out as writers. I feel so privileged to know about this group.

Sincerely,

Sandra

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.

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.

Jennifer was incredibly thorough with my query critique. She went through it line by line to let me know what she felt was working and what could be fine-tuned. She also provided a few short details on why some areas had confused her. It was exactly what I needed. I filled an entire page with notes while I listened to her and felt confident moving forward with editing my query when we were finished. I am SO happy I met with her!!! Thank you, Manuscript Academy, for this connection!

I enjoyed talking to Caitlyn. She was highly analytical and professional. Her reading was astute--she picked out inconsistencies and unclear spots in a piece of writing I have read at least 300 times. She helped me see the writing from the point of view of the reader, which is not always easy to do. She clearly really thought about the piece and packed in a lot in 15 minutes. I would of course love to work with her as I came away from our meeting eager to rethink not just the first ten pages but parts of the whole thing.

Agent Andrea Somberg provided on-the-mark insights about my manuscript. She clarified what was muddy and gave me hands-on suggestions for improving. I've already begun implementing her wisdom. Thanks, Manuscript Academy, for offering such a fabulous service!

Although I'd shown my adult sci-fi manuscript to a couple waves beta readers, including Meetups and a writer's retreat workshop with an industry editor, this live session was a great experience. Foremost, Kiana Nguyen provided unique advice about starting the novel at a different point in the event timeline. She provided solid rationale, and even kindly offered a sentence stem to kick off with. Two days later, I had a first draft to show my Meetup, and seven out of eight readers-- both new and old-- preferred the new beginning. Apart from that, Kiana also offered detailed thoughts on weaker and problematic word choices, and how to get the story feeling more appropriate to the timeline. Unexpectedly, she also went the extra mile and sent written notes, including suggestions for my query letter. When Kiana's recommendations conflicted with other beta readers, that was also really informative. A good reminder of subjectivity, and how agents have specific approaches. Mind you, she also said nice things about my premise and certain passages. She was extremely friendly, reassuring, emphasized the need to write frim the POV/style/etc. that one prefers rather than focusing on 'the most commercially viable' strategy. Also, she was communicative when we had technical problems at the start, and shared neat opinions about representing racial minorities in fiction. I can't emphasize how nervous I was at the beginning, but I'm so glad I signed up!

My time with Samantha Wekstein from the Manuscript Academy was a wonderful experience! Not only did I gain some incredibly solid and productive input on my query letter, but I also received some much needed validation and encouragement about my concept. So often, the world of the writer is an isolated bubble of questions and worries and wondering whether what we have to say will be of any interest to anyone beyond our desk, and quite often, the email responses we get don't give the kind of feedback that we really need to realize our project's worth or potential -- perhaps that it's just not a great fit. Samantha gave me honest and concrete feedback, and she did it in a professional, yet safe and comfortably human way. Thank you SO much!

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.

Katharine was gracious with her guidance and generous with her advice. The best conversation with an agent I've ever had! Her tips were spot on and backed up from her substantial experience. I finished feeling that she "got" my memoir and saw the bigger picture for my career as a writer and speaker. I recommend Katharine highly and without reservation.

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.

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. Also—and I'm STILL kind of coasting on this—I 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.

My consultation with Fiona Kenshole was awesome. I scheduled a 15 minute consult w/ the 10 page critique. and I certainly got my money's worth. She gave me great insight into my story, into my own writing tics and provided me with tools for revising my book. She took her time to ensure I understood what I meant. She asked very specific questions about the story. It was clear she took a lot of time reading and digesting the pages. I learned so much from her. This consult was the best thing I've done this year to improve my writing skills. Thank you so much!!!

Kiana walked me through my query, almost line by line. Her critique was thoughtful, specific, and kind. She even offered comp titles. The query that I end up with after re-writing it based on her notes is going to so completely different than what I began with. Writers, I would recommend meeting with her before sending a single query out. Honestly, this was invaluable.

Fiona's brilliant and insightful comments shed so much light on the areas I needed to strengthen in my manuscript. In a matter of seconds, she identified core issues that otherwise may have taken me months to figure out.

Jessica Sinsheimer was fantastic! She was kind, personable and helpful. She gave positive feedback and helpful editing suggestions. She even went out of her way to show me how to look for agents using key words on twitter and using the manuscript wish list website. I left my session with her feeling more confident than ever.

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.

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.

It was a delight talking with Marilyn Atlas. I had several questions about the book-to-film process and the differences between writing novels and writing for television and film. Marilyn answered all of my questions and then some. She is a wealth of knowledge. She really gave me the information and insight I needed to make a long-term plan for submitting my work, and she was able to advise me on certain market trends that are happening now so that I can better prepare my next submission. I have heard that the television and film industry can be brutal, but I must say that Marilyn Atlas is the opposite of that stereotype -- she's smart, accomplished, kind, and clearly generous with her time. I'm so grateful that I had a chance to talk with her.

John Cusick’s 10 minute query critique was fabulous. He narrowed down areas in my query that could be shortened and helped me reword a paragraph to be more from my protagonist’s point of view. He also pointed out areas in my query that worked well. John used the time masterfully, providing valuable insights during every minute of the call.

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!

My talk with Danielle Chiotti was nothing short of inspirational–and it was absolutely motivational! She was cheerful, inquisitive and well-prepared. I got several very concrete pieces of advice that transformed the query I had been struggling with. I now feel confident about sending the revised one out. What more could a writer ask for?

Jessica was extremely thorough, professional and compassionate in helping me to improve my query letter. The day after I took her precise and useful notes and revised my query, I got a full request for my manuscript as well as a note from an agent that my query letter was SOLID. The proof is in the pudding, and Jessica is a gem.

Jessica was awesome! She gives specific feedback, is personable, and clearly is very knowledgeable about what she does. If you want to have a positive, helpful, and fun conversation— she’s your gal.

Loved this event! I've been submitting for awhile, and have done a lot of research on queries and first pages so I wasn't sure what I would take away from the event. But, I found this event to be the shot in the arm I needed. I learned some new research techniques, that's always helpful. Jessica's presentation on organizing rejections and taking the emotion out of it was amazing. Every little thing along the way was just what we needed to be able to revise our submissions until they were nice and shiny. I think Julie's final presentation really showed how little time we as writers have to impress agents.

I'd heard Fiona on the Manuscript Academy several times over the last two years and always came away so impressed with her knowledge and her warmth, so I booked her for a 1st page review. I can say she is just as lovely on the phone as she seems on the podcast! Her advice to change my first sentence, because it didn't match the rest of the tempo (or mood) of the first paragraph, was very insightful. A small tweak that had never occurred to me, but absolutely made sense. I had some questions for her about whether or not my first paragraph was starting in the right place and before she answered she asked me several things about the manuscript, so that she could give a good answer. Ultimately, I came away confident that I am starting in the right place, and that is what I was looking for.

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.

Each critique I’ve had with Manuscript Academy has provided new insights. Alyssa Jennette asked me numerous thoughtful questions to help me narrow down the main points for my query. She shared what attracts an agent and what is not necessary to mention. I found her critique extremely practical.

I had a written critique of my first ten pages done by Fiona Kenshole. It was amazing! It’s like having a critique done by your wise, funny, loving aunt (whom you’ve 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. Don’t we all wish we could have a Fiona in the family. Well, now you can! Or, at least you can pretend to

Fiona is an amazingly experienced professional, but also so warm and friendly and funny. Never expected to enjoy myself during such a potentially terrifying meeting! Great insight, generously delivered.

Stephanie's feedback on my first ten pages has been invaluable. She took the time to breakdown scene, setting, character, and motivations. It allowed me to see everything more objectively, and my brain was buzzing with ideas before even finishing the call. I can't recommend her enough! Thanks Manuscript Academy for putting together a wonderful resource for writers!

Going into the query trenches is daunting no matter how many times you have edited, and re-edited your materials. While I totally respect the need for form emails when an agent feels your project is not the right fit for them, it does leave you wondering if something is WRONG with your query! Is something not up to par? Is that cuss word in the first chapter turning prospective agents off?! My Skype call with Alyssa was just what I needed. She gave some fantastic suggestions to tighten my query letter and it was great hearing from an agent in my field that the important things were there (she said the voice of the chapter was great 🥰) and that I'm not totally off track. Money well spent!!

I have an agent! I signed with Emily Forney at BookEnds this morning, on the basis of my roller derby young adult novel, and I'm so excited!

Manuscript Academy made a huge difference in getting me the info I needed and in getting me to take the effort to get published seriously. HUGE shout out to Jessica Sinsheimer and Julie True Kingsley!
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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!

This was my third or fourth session with Melissa. As always, a highly productive 15 minutes. She had strong recommendations from the start and her advice is much appreciated.

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

John gave great feedback and was incredibly encouraging! I would absolutely work with him again! Highly recommend!

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!

I'll admit, my heart ramped up in the few minutes before my meeting with Lane. I mean, c'mon, meeting with a pro who's going to tell you if the intent of your hard work, uh, works or not? It's a special sort of apprehension.

Lane helped ratchet down the angst pretty quickly. He was clearly comfortable in his role and the ease was infectious. Well, maybe a different adjective would be better during Covid era.

Transmittable?

Communicable?

Drat.

...he made me feel welcome in his world, how's that?

Lane was hospitable during the critique process. He was clear about his thoughts, praised what worked, pointed towards the mistakes I'd made that undercut my goals, and just generally made me feel good about using this service. It felt worthwhile enough that I've recommended to all the people in my Creative Writing Masters degree program.

Would I use it again? Well, quality industry feedback with fairly quick turnaround time? Yep. I'd give it another go.

I really enjoyed my 1-on-1 critique session with Stephanie Winter. I feel my manuscript 1st page has been "turbo-charged." In a mere ten minutes, Stephanie combined her erudite literary insight, knowledge of the publishing industry, and experience as avid reader and writer's advocate, while always displaying a diplomatic balance of both praise and criticism, for her succinct and powerful recommendations to improve the first page of my manuscript. Now that I see the result, I'm excited to proceed forward with confidence with the querying process.

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!

Rachel was fantastic. I received more clarity about my query letter during my brief consultation with her than I have in all the articles I've read and the webinars I've attended. I feel much more confident now about how to revise it so I can start sending it to agents. Rachel also was generous with her time and called me back after my phone disconnected itself, as it is prone to do. I can't recommend her highly enough.

The greatest value of spending 10 minutes on the phone with an agent and former editor, was that I could get feedback from someone who is objective and experienced. Whitney provided a few nuggets of advice that were helpful in rewriting my first sentence. She was encouraging and kind. She also helped me think more about comp titles and how to categorize my manuscript.

As with all Manuscript Academy events, this was so incredibly helpful. I have been perpetually confused and frustrated about hooks- like its been a thorn in my side- and I finally have some clarity on what they are, which is literally so wonderful!! I still am not sure what my own hook is, but now I have a formula to work with, which is all I can ask for, and so much more than I had at the beginning! Yay! And of course, the vibe tonight was so cozy and personal and uplifting, which is exactly the kind of tone we need for growth and community! Which is what I always come for anyways 🙂

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.

I received eye-opening information at this event that I will definitely use. I liked the trio of speakers, they complemented one another well and I'd like to see more panels with them. I like the addition of Melissa because she gives honest feedback and is funny. Jessica is always sweet.

Samantha is very helpful with great, constructive feedback. She’s also fantastic at making authors feel at ease and relieving anxiety on phone calls.

Caitlin 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!!

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.

This was a FANTASTIC series! I love all the very specific, usable tips, especially the ones on how to research agents using metatags and advanced Twitter and Google searches. I had never thought of that before. I couldn't attend live so watched the recordings. I found all the information extremely helpful and inspiring. It was such a supportive environment. Thank you for all the useful strategies on how to track agent submissions and read rejection letters (that was super helpful!). I've had a few "this isn't right for me. But send me another manuscript" type of rejections. It reminds me not to stop listening at "this isn't right for me." but to make note of that agent for "send me another manuscript." - got to find that silver lining!

I love all the events and classes Manuscript Academy has to offer. Thank you for making industry professionals so accessible to writers.

Excellent value for the cost, and perfect for people who either haven't started querying yet and want to get off on the right foot, or those who've had trouble getting responses on their queries.

Meeting with Brian was super helpful. He was able to clarify what publishers were looking for in my niche, and he provided areas in which I might change my manuscript and my query for a better chance of competing in the saturated YA fantasy market.

I had a meeting with John Cusick to go over my MG query letter. He was very helpful. We refined comps, edited the second summary paragraph, and he answered questions. I definitely recommend him.

I was so excited to have a 10 minute call with Caitie because she was one of the agents who liked my #DVPIT tweet back in October. She loved my MC's voice, which was so affirming for me. Caitie also gave me solid tips to strengthen my opening page.

I'm in the middle of an R&R for another agent, so it really helped when I asked her for tips on that. She helped me see that there really isn't a 'time limit' per se for my R&R. Caitie believes in my story enough to wait for my strongest version, so she'll wait for me to resubmit my revised first 50 pages to her. I am so, so, grateful and delighted I got to have such a lovely Skype call with her. Thank you, Caitie and Manuscript Academy!

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

Melissa was very prepared and got right into the heart of what needed to be addressed in my first 10 pages. Fifteen minutes goes by quickly, and she was able to give me highly workable action items on my pages and my query.

My consultation with Amy was extremely helpful. She gave me feedback on both my query letter and my pages and her clear explanations of strong and weak points in the letter have put me on a path to a much more powerful and direct query letter. Her feedback on my pages reinforced my own sense of what was and wasn't working and I am revising with more confidence. I am so thankful!

My meeting with Melissa went extremely well! She was kind and friendly and easy to talk to. She made me feel relaxed and asked me just the right questions to help me see what was needed in my query. It made so much sense and now I think my query letter is ready. I would definitely recommend Melissa for a consult!

My ten-minute meeting with Andrea was fabulous and incredibly productive. Andrea was so nice and supportive and helped me feel more confident about sending out my query letter. I got so many answers in just ten minutes!

I had the pleasure of speaking with my 'dream agent' Andrea Somberg for my consultation. She was really nice and had so many great suggestions for the pages that I sent. I'm glad that I booked the appointment and was so excited when she asked for my full manuscript! This was a very insightful appointment and an amazing opportunity to receive feedback from a true professional. Thanks again for the opportunity!

I had a helpful conversation with Andrea. She answered my questions honestly and thoroughly. Despite my nerves, her accessibility put me at ease and allowed us to get through several of the subjects I'd hoped to touch on. Turns out ten minutes gives you a good bit of time to learn! I'm glad I did this.

Hannah was amazing! She gave me thoughtful, specific, actionable feedback on my query letter in a straightforward and encouraging manner. She also gave me insight into what agents and editors are looking for when evaluating nonfiction book projects like mine. It was clear she engaged with my query and really thought about how to revise it to make the book's unique aspects shine. Based on her feedback, I am really encouraged to continue to hone the query/pitch as she suggested to make the book's premise, market, and content clear and irresistible. If you have a nonfiction book, particularly practical nonfiction, and are looking for an expert eye to help you with your query/pitch, you need Hannah's perspective. I am so glad I took advantage of this opportunity!

Andrea's love of language---delight, actually---was quickly evident in our First 10-pages manuscript feedback call. Her notes were precise but also served the whole. She pointed to areas needing simplification, suggested a word change or three, and we had a laugh over an unintended image (um, 'overhead pages bursting' in my medical mindset vs. her literary one. Oh!) She was enormously encouraging about my query letter, my prose and my pages. Best of all, Andrea's enthusiasm is absolutely infectious. This woman sparkles! What a lovely and much needed reminder that agents are truly motivated first and foremost by the written word. Thank you, Jessica and Julie, for a great experience!

Caitlin was off-the-charts helpful. I worked with her twice, and both times, she gave incisive, well-reasoned feedback that immediately resounded with me. Also, she offered me information about presses that handle literary sci fi (and gave me that term, which I hadn't even known was a designation before). She was also very personable. I really enjoyed working with her.

Melissa was wonderful giving all the detail from submission to shelf—I had no idea about ALL the steps required nor the length of time. It was important information but also rather daunting!

Hannah was very helpful in responding to my questions and addressing areas where I could improve my writing. She gave me confidence in my ability to make my memoir what I want it to be.

John Cusick gave me tremendously helpful and positive feedback! I know my YA story is good (OK, I think it's more than good!:)), but my query letter was all wrong. I've revised it and resumed the journey. Thank you Manuscript Academy for your great program to support authors.

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.

Melissa is WONDERFUL! The 10-minutes was packed with great feedback I could implement immediately and then explained WHY she was giving me this feedback. It was so helpful and I’m feeling incredibly refreshed and excited. Thank you so much!

What a wonderful experience! Yes, I was nervous—it 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!

We had a very thorough and insightful chat, not only about tips for the first 10 pages but the rationale behind it. I appreciated her insights suggestions. But for me, the best part was talking about the MS as a whole and how best to start readers on the journey, based on what I am trying to accomplish with the MS. It was a different conversation than what I expected--more discussion about the book and the industry than actual critique, which was exactly what I wanted, needed. Plus, she's just great. So glad I did it.

Danielle was fantastic! I got so much out of our talk. She was really insightful, and I felt like she both understood what I was trying to do, and the ways in which I needed help achieving it. She had actionable suggestions that made sense, she recommended some excellent articles to read, and just overall I felt like I learned a ton. I think my first chapter is going to be much better as a result of this meeting. I would absolutely recommend doing this.

I had a written critique of my first ten pages done by Fiona Kenshole. It was amazing! It’s like having a critique done by your wise, funny, loving aunt (whom you’ve 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. Don’t we all wish we could have a Fiona in the family. Well, now you can! Or, at least you can pretend to

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.

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!

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!

My consultation was amazing. Cecilia provided me with excellent feedback and opened my eyes to some (now) obvious errors in my prose. Honestly, her consultation was more enlightening and informative than many of my writing classes I attended in my MFA program. Thank you for creating this valuable opportunity.

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.

Danielle was very helpful. I had a tricky problem with my query and she talked me through the fixes I needed in order to add a lot of new information without going into a flood of detail. This is my third consultation and each one has helped me in a meaningful way.

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.

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.

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.

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

Eric was so helpful in critiquing my query. He pointed out what worked and what didn't, and even helped me brainstorm ways to clarify my stakes and polish up my wording. He was so nice and approachable too – it felt like chatting with an old friend, which really helped my nerves!

The beauty of the design of the 10-minute meeting is that you can do whatever you want with the 10 minutes. It's like being a kid in a candy store. It's a chance to go behind the scenes and get a perspective you'd never have access to otherwise. It's a chance to work one on one with an agent and experience that particular agent's editorial process. It's a chance to evaluate where you are in the development of your craft. It's a chance to get eyes on your writing piece. It's invaluable. For me, it was a game changer.

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.

My meeting with Danielle was absolutely lovely. She had clearly spent time with my work and had concrete feedback ready for me, which is incredibly helpful because sometimes it’s hard to form the right questions to ask! And she’s also such a bright, warm human, which made the experience delightful as well as helpful. Highly recommend her as someone to consult!

My time with Rachel was very productive.

Despite the fact that my query had been past a professional editor, and reviewed by another, Rachel offered some great tips to improve the letter.

We also had a great discussion about the book itself, which left me feeling encouraged about the months ahead.

Would highly recommend Rachel to other budding authors out there. She was very helpful and great to talk to.

I found the craft pack to be extremely helpful, particularly Laura Zats' class on voice. She provided actionable advice on deepening POV that I was able to use on my manuscript that same day, and I can already see the difference in my writing. Since I watched the classes, I have frequently referenced back to the notes I took on all of them.

Aneeka was so thoughtful during our meeting. She wanted my vision for the book prior to sharing her feedback on my first page. I was able to bounce an idea off of her and get instant feedback, which is amazing! I had been unsure how to get the "voice" of my character in that first page and I believe the edit I made after our conversation greatly improved it. She gave me a recommendation on a book series I could read that might be a good comp and she critiqued my genre to include contemporary. After the meeting I felt confident on how to position my book and query it. I hope to work with her again in the future.

Kayla was friendly and helpful, and was keenly appreciative of making the most out of our 10-minute session. She didn't hesitate to praise my writing when it was warranted and offered constructive, applicable feedback for the first 10 pages of my MG steampunk fantasy. We fit in a lot in such a short timeframe but Kayla didn't make our conversation feel rushed or impersonal. It was a truly productive and fun experience.

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!!

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.

I had a wonderful consultation with Eric Smith. Eric offered me a valuable mix of critique and positive feedback, and his comments really made me think about where to go in future edits. He was kind and supportive, and I felt comfortable asking any questions I had. I would highly recommend pursuing one of these consultations.

The ten-minute query-page consultation with the astute Hannah Robinson was full of good humor and good advice. Hannah made several helpful suggestions for improvement, and I feel that I and my query letter greatly benefitted from our cordial discussion. I am grateful to have had this opportunity to consult with such a fine editorial professional.

Danielle Chiotti was personable and made me feel comfortable. She critiqued the first page of my MG, giving me some valuable feedback. Danielle was thorough as we went over every paragraph, what worked and what didn't, and suggested enhancing foreshadowing using bread crumbs. I love that! It was a positive consultation and I'm eager to send her my query.

Stephanie gave me so many solid insights into how to make my query solid. She commented on things I'd never even considered and offered guidance on how to move forward with the changes.

She offered clear explanations for why certain things weren't working and also offered plenty of praise for things that were.

Stephanie is very engaging, and I felt fully at ease talking to her. I highly recommend booking her for a consultation.

I had a super session with Stephanie Winter. My novel is dual perspective, and I've struggled trying to get both protagonists stories in the query. But Stephanie provided some great ideas and really helped strengthen my query!

My consultation with Linda was incredible. She was so encouraging and warm, but equally insightful and considered. She asked great questions, which showed that she had thought about the whole story not just the first ten pages. She gave me some fabulous advice to help set the scene in the first chapter and a couple of line edit suggestions, which whilst small will really impact the reader as they engage with the story. I left the call buzzing with energy and enthusiasm and was so grateful for her time and expertise.

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.