Payment protectionDetails
- Revisions within the package are free.
- If you do not respond within 3 days of delivery, the work is accepted automatically.
The money is reserved when you pay and released only once you accept the work.
Example result
Manuscript critique: opening chapters of a small-town mystery
Overall impression
The voice is the strongest thing here: warm, a little wry, with a clear sense of the harbour town. The mystery itself starts too late. The body is found on page 19; until then we have two chapters of setup that are pleasant but low on tension.
Plot and structure
- Chapter 1 introduces Nell's bookshop, her cat, her ex-husband and the festival committee. Four threads at once, none with a question attached.
- The lighthouse keeper's death would work far better as the end of chapter 1, not the middle of chapter 3.
- The festival deadline is a good ticking clock. Mention it early and keep returning to it.
Characters and dialogue
Nell is likeable, but mostly passive in the opening: things happen near her rather than because of her. Give her one small choice in chapter 1 that has consequences later.
Dialogue is natural, but characters often explain what both already know:
"As you know, Nell, the lighthouse has been closed since the storm three years ago."
Suggested: "Still closed?" Nell nodded at the lighthouse. "Three years, and they still haven't fixed the door."
Style and language
- Strong sensory details: "the smell of tar and lemon soap" sets the scene in six words.
- Overuse of "just" (41 times) and "suddenly" (12 times) softens tension.
- Several long paragraphs of backstory in chapter 2 (pp. 11–13) stop the scene; spread them across later chapters.
What works
- The cat, Admiral, is a charming running joke without stealing scenes
- The town feels lived in; secondary characters are distinct from first appearance
- Nell's humour fits the genre perfectly
Revision plan
- Move the discovery of the body to the end of chapter 1; cut or compress what comes before
- Give Nell a decision in chapter 1 (e.g., she lends the keeper a book that is later found with him)
- Remove "as you know" exchanges; let the reader infer
- Search and trim "just" and "suddenly" by at least half
- Move backstory from chapter 2 into short flashes later in the book
- Plant the festival deadline in the first two pages
Client: first-time novelist. Text: chapters 1–3 of The Lantern Keeper, a cozy mystery, 4,800 words. Author's question: "Does the opening hook readers, and is my detective likeable?"
The client and all details are made up.
About this service
We critique literary fiction on its own terms, where a quiet plot is not a flaw but the prose, the interior life of the characters and the shape of the book have to carry the reader. We look at point of view and psychic distance, whether the themes emerge from the scenes or are stated, the rhythm of your sentences and where the slow pace turns into a stall.
What is included
- What you getA written critique: what the text is reaching for, its strengths, problems quoted from your pages, notes on voice, point of view and structure, and a revision plan. Premium adds line edits of the opening. You get it as text on the order page and as a Word (.docx) file.
- Prose and rhythmSentence music, imagery and overwriting
- Point of viewPsychic distance and slips between heads
- Theme in sceneMeaning shown through action, not stated
- Structure and paceWhere quiet becomes a stall
- Comparable titlesHow your book sits beside the ones you name
How it works
- 1BriefYou paste or attach the pages and your intentions
- 2ReadingWe read closely, line by line
- 3CritiqueYou get the assessment and a revision plan
What we need from you
The text or excerpt pasted into the brief, a few lines on what the book is about beneath the plot, two or three books you see it beside and what you want the critique to focus on.
We will ask you:
- What is the book about beneath the plot?
- Which published books do you see it beside?
- What would you like us to focus on?
- Is this a complete manuscript or an excerpt?
Compare packages
| Packages | BasicExcerpt up to 2,000 words$20 | StandardUp to 5,000 words$39 | PremiumUp to 10,000 words with line edits$75 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deadline | 2 days | 3 days | 5 days |
| Revisions | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Text length | up to 2,000 words | up to 5,000 words | up to 10,000 words |
| Revision plan | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Line edits | No | No | first 1,500 words |
| Order Basic | Order Standard | Order Premium |
Payment protection
You pay when you order, but the money is released only for accepted work.
- Fixed priceThe package price does not change after you pay.
- The money is reservedWhen you pay, the amount is only reserved. It is released to the service once you accept the work.
- Checked before deliveryEvery result goes through a quality check before it reaches you, and you see it on the order page before accepting it.
- Free revisionsAsk for changes within your brief as many times as the package allows.
- Acceptance after 3 daysIf within 3 days of delivery you neither accept the work nor ask for changes, it is accepted automatically. If you write in the order chat after delivery, the order waits; once we answer, we may start the 3 days again and will say so in the chat.
- Redo or a full refundIf the result does not match your brief and the revisions did not fix it, or the work takes more than twice its deadline, write in the order chat: we will redo the work or refund the payment in full.
Questions and answers
Will you push me to add more plot?
No. We respect the kind of book you are writing. We point out where the reader loses the thread or the tension, and suggest ways that fit literary fiction.
Can you comment on my experimental form?
Yes. Tell us what the form is meant to do, such as fragments or second person, and we judge whether it achieves that on the page.
Is my manuscript kept private?
Yes. Your text is used only for your order.