Manuscript Critique

Esther Porter—Short, Long, or Novel-Length Fiction or Nonfiction

Please query for availability and timeline before signing up. 

"Esther picked up on exactly what I was trying to do (with narrative voice, narrative distance, first and third person, the mind of this particular narrator) and consequently her edits were pitch perfect."
— Steven Lang

Open to: Short, Long, or Novel-Length Fiction or Nonfiction

Limit: Please check on projects more than 100,000 words

What You’ll Submit: Your manuscript of short, long, or book-length fiction or nonfiction; your poetry of up to 10 pages; your text-only picture book manuscript.  

What You’ll Get: Esther sees her editorial role as one that helps you reach your goals as a writer by bringing your work closer to your ultimate vision. In addition to providing an overall manuscript review, she can offer a thorough copy edit that gets into the nitty-gritty of how to improve your work. She will use Microsoft Word’s Track Changes tool to highlight edits and to insert electronic notes (asking questions about setting or dialog, explaining suggested changes, asking you for clarification, for example). She will watch closely for spelling, grammar, punctuation, tone, continuity, word choice, correct sentence structure, and any “author ticks” that emerge. On a larger scale, she will make sure the narrative is smooth and progresses naturally, pointing out where the story needs clarification or the characters seem inconsistent. She will focus on the presentation, structure, and organization of your work as a whole, and will ensure that the content is as coherent and effective as possible. 

Pricing: Loft manuscript critique consists of a flat base price, plus a per word fee. You can enter your word count below and the system will calculate your price. 

• $300 (base price) + 2.5 cents/word

Turnaround:

• Prose up to 3,000 words: one week
• Prose up to 10,000 words: three weeks
• Prose up to 50,000 words: four weeks
• Prose up to 100,000 words: six weeks