QUERY & SYNOPSIS CRITIQUE

HAVING TROUBLE WITH YOUR PROPOSAL PACKAGE?

You’ve spent a lot of time and energy on a novel you love — one you’re sure other people will love, too.  But you’re having a tough time getting the manuscript into an editor’s hands.

Maybe you’re pulling your hair out trying to fit your whole beautiful, complex story into five or ten pages.  Maybe your skin is crawling, trying to figure out how to write  a query letter that doesn’t sound like either a used car salesman or a beggar.

Or maybe you’ve just attended a conference, and an agent or editor told you to send something — and now, you’re paralyzed with fear, wondering what to send that won’t blow your chance at publication.

Query letters and synopses are two of the most difficult things for novelists to tackle.

Thankfully, you don’t have to do it alone.

How the proposal critique works:

First, you’ll fill out a simple questionnaire about your novel — how you’ve positioned it, what agents/editors you have or might be targeting, etc.

You’ll then send in your query letter and synopsis. 

After going through all of your materials, you will receive a detailed report that includes:

• a revised or rewritten “mini-synopsis” paragraph to emphasize hook and conflict
• a revision of your personal details, to show you at your most “sale-able”
• suggested genre positioning
• comments on the synopsis itself, pointing out possible trouble spots, plot issues, and questions that need answering
• detailed comments on the partial:  identifying potential pacing problems, or incomplete character arc issues.

PRICING

Query and synopsis alone:  $150. 

This includes feedback on genre positioning, as well as a detailed critique of one-page query letter and one- to two-page synopsis, with comments on the documents themselves as well as a higher-level overview.

Nonfiction query and proposal: $300

This includes feedback on a targeted query letter and the nonfiction book proposal, as well as a sample chapter. This is usually more comprehensive since it can (and should!) include things like market overview, competitive titles, about the author (with the lens of expertise,) and proposed marketing plan. 

Query, synopsis, and fifty proposal pages:  $350

This includes all the above, plus comments on the partial document itself.  (Please note:  a “page” is defined as double spaced, one inch margins, Times New Roman 12 pt.  This is for the partial only — the query and synopsis should be single-spaced.)

Billing and delivery.

Query, synopsis, and proposal critique is billed upfront via Paypal. (Don’t worry, you don’t need a Paypal account to use it.) Delivery in Microsoft Word is preferred. Turnaround is usually a week, although scheduling will depend on the project queue.