Sometimes you don't need feedback on the whole book. You just need help with this one f#ck*ng part.
Maybe it's your first 10,000 words, and you're wondering whether readers will keep going.
Maybe it's the middle of your book, and everything suddenly feels weird.
Maybe it's the third-act breakup, a major reveal, an important relationship scene, or three chapters you've rewritten seventeen times and somehow understand less than when you started.
A Focused Manuscript Critique gives you detailed feedback on up to 10,000 words of your choosing without committing to a full developmental edit.
Founding Client Pricing
Up to 10,000 words — $75
Longer word count? Reach out for a custom quote!
Whatever section of your manuscript you need another set of eyes on.
Seriously.
You might send:
Your Opening Chapters
Does the story hook me? Am I oriented quickly enough? Do I care about the characters? Is there enough reason to keep reading?
A Section That Isn't Working
You know something's wrong. You just can't figure out what.
A Major Relationship Beat
First kiss. First fight. First sex scene. Breakup. Reconciliation. Love confession. A major shift in the relationship dynamic.
A Big Reveal or Plot Twist
Does it land? Is it adequately set up? Is it too obvious? Is it confusing for reasons you didn't intend?
A Difficult Scene
Maybe it's emotionally complicated, structurally complicated, or you're simply too deep inside it to judge it anymore.
A Section You're About to Rewrite
Before you tear the entire thing apart, another perspective can help identify what's actually causing the problem.
Or:
You don't have to know what's wrong.
“I hate these three chapters and I don't know why” is a completely acceptable reason to book a critique.
What I'll Look At
The critique will focus on the elements most relevant to the section you send and the questions you want answered.
That may include:
Pacing & Engagement
Where the section pulls me in, slows down, rushes important moments, or loses momentum.
Character & Motivation
Whether character choices, reactions, and emotions make sense based on the context you've provided.
Dialogue & Character Voice
Whether conversations feel natural, characters sound distinct, and dialogue is doing useful story work.
Relationships & Chemistry
Whether the relationship dynamic is coming through the way you intend and whether emotional or romantic beats feel earned.
POV & Narrative Effectiveness
Whether the chosen POV is serving the scene, the reader has the information they need, and the narrative distance feels appropriate.
Show vs. Tell
Places where you're explaining an experience the reader might benefit from actually experiencing on the page.
Scene Structure
Whether scenes have purpose, movement, conflict, escalation, and satisfying transitions.
Reader Confusion
Anything that makes me stop for a reason you probably didn't intend.
Emotional Impact
Whether the section is creating the feeling you're aiming for.
And most importantly:
Your Questions
You can tell me exactly what you're worried about.
Ask Me the Weirdly Specific Questions
Questions like:
Is Chapter One starting in the right place?
Does this character come across as protective or controlling?
Do these two actually have chemistry?
Does this sex scene feel emotionally different from the last one?
Is the reveal obvious?
Does this conversation sound too much like exposition?
Am I overexplaining the worldbuilding?
Does the POV switch work?
Is she being an asshole here in a way readers won't forgive?
Is this scene actually funny or have I just been staring at it too long?
You don't need to package the problem in editorial terminology.
Tell me what you're trying to accomplish and what you're worried isn't working.
What You'll Receive
In-Manuscript Comments
I'll provide comments throughout your submitted pages with reader reactions, developmental observations, questions, and suggestions where appropriate.
I'll also point out what's working, because knowing what not to “fix” is part of useful feedback too.
You'll receive a written summary addressing the major patterns I noticed, your specific questions, and the areas I'd prioritize if I were revising the section.
Because I'm only seeing part of the manuscript, I'll distinguish between problems I can identify within the submitted pages and things that may depend on context I haven't read.
That last sentence is important. It protects the integrity of the service.
How Much Context Should I Send?
You're welcome to provide a brief synopsis or summary of relevant context that occurs before or after the submitted section. Context is for orientation only and isn't included in the critique itself.
Please keep supplemental context reasonably concise. If I need to read substantial additional material to properly evaluate the section, I'll let you know before we proceed.
A Focused Manuscript Critique does not include comprehensive:
Line or copyediting
Proofreading
Grammar or punctuation correction
Fact-checking
Formatting
Full-manuscript continuity review
Full-manuscript developmental analysis
Because I'm reviewing only a portion of your manuscript, I can't evaluate the complete character arc, plot structure, pacing, continuity, or relationship development of the book as a whole.
If your submitted section includes BDSM, kink, or power exchange, BDSM & Kink Authenticity feedback can be incorporated into your Focused Manuscript Critique.
Tell me what you're specifically concerned about when you submit your project, and I'll let you know whether the Focused Critique or a dedicated BDSM & Kink Selected Scene Review is the better fit.
I specialize in romance, romantasy, fantasy, and character-driven fiction, particularly stories with complex relationships, multiple POVs, found family, unconventional relationship structures, high heat, and expansive fictional worlds.
I'm comfortable working with explicit sexual content, BDSM/kink, polyamorous and why-choose relationships, dark themes, violence, profanity, and morally complicated characters.
Other fiction genres are welcome on a case-by-case basis.
You don't have to pay someone to analyze 100,000 words because Chapter Twenty-Three is personally ruining your life.
Send me the part that's giving you trouble.
Tell me what you wanted it to do, what you're worried it's actually doing, and what questions you can't answer anymore because you've read it approximately nine hundred times.
I'll give you another set of eyes.