Professional Manuscript Consultations

Hire an online editor & writing coach to review your latest draft. We consult with writers at all levels of experience across a wide variety of genres, delivering thorough, actionable feedback tailored to your needs.

 
 

novels - short stories - poetry collections - memoirs - essays - academic manuscripts - dissertations - business documents - proposals - more

 

 Part I: Reading & Notes

Manuscript consultations are a 2-part service. The first part of this service is reading: before meeting for your live consultation, your writing coach will need to read your document thoroughly. Clients have the option to purchase reading with or without an in-depth mark-up of their document.

Option 1: Reading

with Mark-up


Reading + Mark-Up: Your writing coach will mark up your document with light editorial notes as they read. These notes may include basic comments on style, mechanics, and organizational flow. When they have finished reading your document, they will send you a copy that includes all of their notes, so that you can reference them in future. Please note that a mark-up is NOT a full-scale edit.

Editorial Letter: After reading your document and marking it up, your writing coach will also provide a brief editorial letter outlining their feedback. This will prepare them to discuss your work in-depth during your live video consultation.

Option 2: Reading

without Mark-up 


Reading (without mark-up): Your writing coach will read your document thoroughly, but will not mark it up with editorial notes.

Editorial Letter: After reading your document, your writing coach will also provide a brief editorial letter outlining their feedback. This will prepare them to discuss your work in-depth during your live video consultation.

Option 3: Poetry

Manuscripts


$7.50 — $15 / page 

view our pricing structure

If you purchase a manuscript consultation for a poetry manuscript, your writing coach will either provide feedback “with mark-up” at the rate of $15 per page, or “without mark-up” at the rate of $7.50 per page.

With Mark-up: Your coach will mark up your document with light editorial notes as they read, and also provide an editorial letter outlining their feedback.

Without Mark-up: Your coach will read your entire manuscript before your live 1- or 2- hour consultation, and provide an editorial letter outlining their feedback.

 Part II: Video Consultation

As stated above, manuscript consultations are a 2-part service. The second part of this service is the live consultation: after your writing coach has read your document (and marked it up if desired) and delivered their editorial letter, they will meet with you on video to discuss their feedback in greater detail, answering questions and demonstrating recommended improvements.

How It Works

Our standard manuscript consultation service includes a live 1- or 2-hour consultation. This meeting takes place on Zoom and a shared Google Doc.

Before your live consultation, your writing coach will read your entire manuscript (either with or without mark-up) and provide an editorial letter explaining our feedback.

During your consultation meeting, we will walk you through the successes and pain points we’ve identified in your work.

We’ll also provide actionable steps you can take to address each of your areas for improvement, answering whatever questions you may have along the way.

How Long It Takes

Prose:

  • Prose documents of fewer than 20k words will receive a 1-hour live consultation.

  • Prose documents of more than 20k words will receive a 2-hour consultation. (Flexible if requested.)

Poetry:

  • Poetry manuscripts of less than 50 pages will receive a 1-hour consultation.

  • Poetry manuscripts of more than 50 pages will receive a 2-hour consultation. (Flexible if requested.)

What It Costs

This consultation will be charged at your writing coach’s standard rate, which depends on their position in our company (Director or Partner).

Looking for a manuscript consultation?

Submit this form to schedule a free 15-min intake call with a representative from our company’s leadership team. We'll connect you with an online editor and writing coach in just a few days.

You can also book directly on our scheduling page:

Brady Gilliam, Founder

Becca Canny, Principal
 

*If you are seeking employment with the Gilliam Writers Group, please do not use this form — it’s for prospective clients. Instead, feel free to send an introduction & resume to brady@gilliamwritersgroup.com.

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