Testimonials And Reviews

Hear from writers–just like you–who’ve worked with our agents, editors, authors, and experts.

We’re here to support you every step of the way.

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.

Scott Evans

April 25, 2025

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.

Cassandra Worrell

April 25, 2025

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.

Lorie Greenspan

April 25, 2025

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.

Ellen Adair

April 25, 2025

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.

Glenn Morgan

April 25, 2025

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.

April 25, 2025

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!

Christine Roy

April 25, 2025

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.

Mary Soliday

April 25, 2025

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.

Glenn Morgan

April 25, 2025

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.

Kerry Brown

April 25, 2025

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.

Megan Stewart

April 25, 2025

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!

David Wildman

April 25, 2025