Manuscript Critique

Briana Y. Gwin — Fiction, nonfiction, and hybrid full-length manuscripts; creative/narrative essays; short stories; essay collections; hybrid poetry

Open to: Fiction, nonfiction, and hybrid full-length manuscripts; creative / narrative nonfiction essays; fiction short stories; essay collections; hybrid poetry

Limit: N/A

Praise from Past Clients: 

- “Working with Briana was my first experience being edited as a creative writer. I was anxious and concerned about what would happen to my voice if I let another person into my creative process. Briana was so gracious, careful, and insightful.” — Savannah B, short story writer

- "From day one of working with Briana as my editor, I knew that she was the perfect steward for my creative nonfiction piece Side Effects. She approached the deeply personal, emotional material with both compassion and a keen professional eye, allowing me to hone my voice and grow as a writer through her astute questions, suggestions, and wise encouragement. Briana was also a wonderful communicator and collaborator, which kept the process smooth and on track through multiple edits. I have such respect for her and couldn’t be more grateful that I had the opportunity to work closely with her early in my career. Thank you so much for being such an incredible inspiration and guide to writers everywhere!” — Emi M, essayist

- “I had the pleasure of working with Briana on a novel-length fiction manuscript. Our collaboration spanned several months, during which I grew tremendously as a writer. Briana inspires her writers’ ambition and cultivates their voice. She is opened-minded yet honest. Efficient yet personable. Any writer would benefit from her insight and sharp editor’s eye. I hope to work with her again soon and recommend that other writers do as well.“ Paige L., novelist

- “Briana helped me to parse through my disjointed vignettes and scenes, find the beating heart behind my piece, and shape it into something beautiful and cohesive. I recently reread the  essay we worked on together and was reminded of how much permission and agency she gave me throughout the process to lean into my voice and my authentic self on the page. I remember scrolling through her comments and feeling inspired to keep writing and reaching toward that next step. I am so appreciative for her keen eye and generosity of spirit when it comes to reading work, providing feedback, and how carefully she considers the writer's intent.” 

—Marianne M., memoirist

- "Working with Briana on "Emma," was a wonderful experience. Her edits and suggestions were very sensitive to the particular nature of the piece. She pushed my writing while still respecting the experimental form that I was working in; in fact she encouraged me to play around formally & many of her suggestions bore fruit. Being edited can be intimidating but her edit process always felt like a safe space to explore and develop the writing.” — Veronica W., hybrid writer

- “As a tender poet it's always hard to submit stuff for publication - there is always the risk of rejection or feeling like they "just didn't get it." But I never felt that way with Briana. Even when I asked that certain pieces remain untouched that decision was respected and heard. Workshopping and editor relationships can sometimes be traumatic, but there is something healing that happens when someone reads your work and says "I hear you, and I agree." Briana heard me and my hesitations, but also challenged me on the pieces I was okay with diving into. As a POC, I don't get many opportunities like this in publishing spaces.” —Tina L., poet 

What You’ll Submit: Individual short stories; full-length fiction, nonfiction, or hybrid manuscripts (including collections of essays); fiction, nonfiction, or hybrid manuscripts-in-progress; individual narrative/personal essays; prose/hybrid poetry. 

What You’ll Get: Your choice of detailed, Chicago-Manual-of-Style-compliant line-edits, an in-depth editorial letter, or a combination of both for your submitted materials. A 30-minute zoom or phone consultation will also be offered to clients interested in discussing the feedback in more depth. 

Critique Details: When it comes to providing feedback, I’m interested in sitting with the way a work has changed me before making suggestions on how to change the work. There is no one-size-fits-all approach for me, as I’ve learned that some writers can find success in breaking their own (or others’) rules, and others might benefit more from a sense of increased structure. In this way, I think of my approach as more intuitive than instructional.

Through my own trials and tribulations as a writer, I’ve found that the point-blank, assertive “do this, cut that” approach can often feel alienating and unnecessarily critical, so as an editor and mentor, I aim to guide from a place of openness and generative questioning. I won’t tell you what I think I know about your work; I’ll treat our time together as an ongoing conversation rife with discovery. I’ll get to know you through your words on and off the page, and help you examine where the pulse of your piece is. Through these gentle interrogations, I hope to push you outside of your comfort zone, and to reaffirm your belief in this process—but most importantly, I hope to remind you that you are always in control of your own story, and you will have the ultimate say in the final shape of your work.

Pricing: 

For a 45-minute consultation over Zoom: $45

We can discuss manuscript feedback in-depth if this is an add-on service; otherwise, I’m happy to talk all things writing, submitting, goal-setting, and publishing! During these consultations, you will be encouraged to bring as many questions as you have—they can be as specific as developing a personalized reading curriculum or list of magazines and publishers to submit to regarding an extant project, or as general as requesting free-writing and other generative prompts and exercises to keep your mind in motion.

For detailed (CMOS-compliant) line edits : $15/page 

For an in-depth editorial letter: $125 

15 pages or less: one week

16+ pages: TBD (negotiable upon request)

Please note that pages must be formatted with a standard manuscript format of 12pt serif font, double spaced with no less than 1in margins. If poetry is part of the submission, each poem must begin on a new page.