About the work

A closer look.

Send me up to 3,000 words of your writing and one line about what it's for. I read it from outside and send back, in writing: what actually landed, where I lost the thread, the line doing the real work, and the one change I'd make first. This is a read of your pages as a reader meets them, not a line-by-line proofread. One revision of my notes included. Delivered within 5 days. Before you pay: send me your opening line or first page (up to 500 words) and I'll send back the one thing I'd keep, free, once per person. Judge the taste first. A sample, so you can judge the read before you buy. A page of mine: "The ferry pulled out at six. Anna stood at the rail, her coffee going cold in both hands. She had left the apartment without waking him." My read: the only sentence with a decision is "She had left the apartment without waking him." Everything else watches Anna; that one indicts her. That is the spine, buried under a coffee cup. Cut the announcements and open on the act. Search words: outside read, beta read, feedback on my writing, critique my story, edit my essay, manuscript feedback, first chapter feedback, writing feedback, developmental read, close read.