Paid Critiques
For an additional fee of $35.00 (over and above Conference Registration Fees) you may opt to purchase critiques of your manuscript and/or synopsis and a fifteen-minute critique session with the reviewer of your choice.
All submissions should follow standard manuscript formatting unless otherwise noted (Courier or Times New Roman font, 12 point font size, double spaced with 1-inch margins). You will be contacted and provided with instruction regarding your reviewer's preferred method of delivery. Submission must be received by the reviewer's deadline.
The Conference Appointment Coordinator, Casey Miller, will schedule your critique appointment. You will receive the date/time/location of your appointment in your registration packet you receive at the conference.
Adding a Paid Critique to your choice of additional options will be part of the Conference Registration process. Payment will be submitted along with Conference Registration Fees.
PLEASE NOTE: The Paid Critique service, includes only ONE critique of the work submitted. Critiques of revised pages ARE NOT included and SHOULD NOT be requested from your reviewer.
Reviewers Available
Please read each reviewer's guidelines as they vary per submission length and entry deadline. On the Conference Registration Form, you will be asked to indicate a first and second choice, in the event your first choice is unavailable. Critiquers only have a limited number of slots available. Selection is done on a first come basis, so be sure to register early.
Genre(s): Contemporary Fiction
Submit Via: Email
Status: open
Web Site: www.AngelaBreidenbach.com
Bio: Angela Breidenbach is a multi-award winning inspirational speaker and author. Her works include Gems of Wisdom: For a Treasure-filled Life, Creative Cooking for Simple Elegance, and on Kindle Creative Cooking for Colitis. Other works by Angela include compilation books and devotionals from Guidepost, Group, and articles in magazines, ezines, and newspapers. Angela also coaches writing, courageous confidence, weight loss and exercise, and personal appearance for TV, radio, and stage. She’s certified in mentor/peer counseling as a Stephen Minister and life coach. Angela serves as an assisting minister for her congregation in Missoula, MT. Look for her next book, A Healing Heart, from Abingdon Press April 2013.
What to Send: Novels: First 30 pages (up to 3 chapters), please include genre, paragraph book description at a minimum prefer synopsis. Proposals: I'll critique book proposals and give tips on how to improve them. Include the entire book
Genre(s): Contemporary Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Romantic Suspense, Speculative Fiction, Women's Fiction, Young Adult
Submit Via: Email
Status: open
Web Site: http://charactertherapist.com
Bio: Jeannie is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist who runs The Character Therapist, an online service for fictional characters where writers can receive her professional insight to improve characterization with psychology. She specializes in editing manuscripts with any psychological or therapeutic component. She has been a finalist twice in the ACFW Genesis Contest, and she writes monthly columns for Christian Fiction Online Magazine and Choose Now Ministries.
What to Send: 25 - 30 pages including a synopsis
WIlling to critique any and all genres, especially those with a psychological component that they want a pair of therapist eyes on
Genre(s): Contemporary Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Women's Fiction, Young Adult
Submit Via: Email
Status: open
Web Site: www.VannettaChapman.com
Bio: Vannetta Chapman has published over one hundred articles in Christian family magazines, receiving more than two dozen awards from Romance Writers of America chapter groups. Her first novel, A Simple Amish Christmas, quickly became a CBD bestseller. Her second novel, Falling to Pieces, is a Gayle Wilson Award of Excellence, inspirational single title finalist. Chapman currently writes Amish mysteries for Zondervan, Amish romances for Harvest House and Amish novellas for Abingdon. With a MA in English, she taught at the high school and collegiate level for 15 years. She recently retired to write full time and lives in the Texas hill country with her husband.
What to Send: Synopsis (or one sheet) and first chapter or first 15 pages
Genre(s): Contemporary Romance, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Romantic Suspense, Women's Fiction
Submit Via: Email
Status: open
Web Site: www.susanpagedavis.com
Bio: Susan Page Davis is the author of 40 novels in the romance, historical, mystery, and suspense genres. She's a past winner of the Carol Award and the Inspirational Readers' Choice Award in historical romance. Her books have been selections of the Crossings Book Club and Faithpoint Book Club, and three have been chosen as Top Picks by Romantic Times Book Reviews. Her books include the Ladies' Shooting Club series, Prairie Dreams series, Mainely Mysteries, and Texas Trails series.
What to Send: Contain up to 20 pages double-spaced (or 10 single-spaced) AND a synopsis of one to two pages single-spaced. I need to see where the story is heading, and also know what genre it is, projected word length, and any publishers the author has in mind to send it to.
Genre(s): Contemporary Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Romantic Suspense, Speculative Fiction, Women's Fiction, Young Adult
Submit Via: Hard Copy
Status: open
Web Site: http://www.lenanelsondooley.blogspot.com
Bio: Award-winning author, Lena Nelson Dooley, has more than 650,000 books in print. She is a member of ACFW and president of the local chapter. Lena loves James, her children, grandchildren, and great grandson. She loves chocolate, cherries, chocolate-covered cherries, and spending time with friends. Travel is always on her horizon. Cruising, Galveston, the Ozark Mountains of Arkansas, Mexico. One day it will be Hawaii and Australia, but probably not at the same time. Helping other authors become published really floats her boat. She is the recipient of three Carol Award silver pins, and is currently contracted for 6 books with Charisma House. A high point of her day is receiving feedback from her readers, especially her fans. And she loves chocolate, especially dark chocolate.
What to Send: Info coming soon
First 15 pages of a manuscript, one of the pages can be a brief synopsis of the novel. Also include the word count and what publisher you want to target if you know which one.
Genre(s): Historical Fiction, Historical Romance
Submit Via: Email
Status: open
Web Site: http://www.lauriealiceeakes.com
Bio: Author of eleven books and two novellas, Laurie Alice Eakes has won the National Readers Choice Award and has been a Carol finalist. She has also sold numerous articles on writing including one for the debut issue of the new ACFW journal. She is an experienced writing teacher and speaker and has her master’s degree in writing.
What to Send: First chapter or first 15 pages and one-page synopsis
Genre(s): Contemporary Romance, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Romantic Suspense, Women's Fiction
Submit Via: Email
Status: open
Web Site: http://www.lynetteeason.com
Bio: Best-selling author, Lynette Eason has written/contracted twenty-three novels, including the best-selling, award winning series The Women of Justice. Her most recent novel, When the Smoke Clears debuted at #8 on the CBA bestseller list for April 2012. Lynette writes for Harlequin’s Love Inspired Suspense line and Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group. Lynette is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) and Romance Writers of America (RWA). She and her husband and their two children make their home in South Carolina.
What to Send: 20 pages max properly formatted. (Courier new/times new roman 12 pt font, exactly 25 lines per pages formatting, etc.)
Genre(s): Contemporary Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Romantic Suspense, Speculative Fiction, Women's Fiction, Young Adult
Submit Via: Hard Copy
Status: open
Web Site: www.renegutteridge.com
Bio: Rene Gutteridge is the award-winning author of eighteen novels, including Heart of the Country, her upcoming novelization release with director John Ward and Tyndale House Publishers. Her recent suspense titles include Listen, Possession and the Seven Hours project Escapement. She’s been published by Bethany House, Tyndale House, WaterBrook Press, Thomas Nelson and B&H. She is teaming again with screenwriter Cheryl McKay for the romantic comedy Greetings from the Flipside from B&H and releasing her new suspense title, Misery Loves Company from Tyndale. Her romantic comedy Never the Bride won the 2010 Carol Award for Women’s Fiction.
What to Send: First twenty pages of manuscript, double spaced. May include a short one page or less synopsis if you want, including the genre.
Genre(s): Contemporary Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Romantic Suspense, Speculative Fiction, Women's Fiction, Young Adult
Submit Via: Email
Status: open
Web Site: www.KathyIde.com
Bio: Kathy Ide has been a published author since 1989 and a professional freelance editor since 1998. She has written books (fiction and nonfiction), magazine articles, play and movie scripts, short stories, devotionals, and Sunday school curriculum. Kathy speaks at writers’ conferences across the country, teaching workshops and continuing-education sessions, leading mentoring clinics, and offering professional consultations. Kathy works as a full-time freelance editor/mentor/writing consultant for new writers, established authors, and book publishers (commercial and subsidy). She is the founder and coordinator of two groups for editorial freelancers. The Christian PEN: Proofreaders and Editors Network (www.TheChristianPEN.com) is a professional support organization for aspiring and established freelance editors, which offers an e-mail discussion loop, online courses (most of which Kathy teaches), a quarterly e-newsletter, active leads for editing jobs (mostly for authors who are self-publishing), and more. Through the Christian Editor Network (www.ChristianEditor.com), Kathy serves as an editorial services coordinator, matching authors, publishers, and agents with established, professional editorial freelancers.
What to Send: 10 pages max
Genre(s): Historical Fiction, Women's Fiction
Submit Via: Email
Status: open
Web Site: www.Susan Meissner.com
Bio: Susan Meissner is a multi-published, award-winning novelist who loves to help writers write unforgettable stories. She has earned three starred reviews in Publishers Weekly, been awarded the ECPA book of the Year for fiction and is a Christy and RWA nominee. When she is not working on a new novel, she is directing the small groups ministries at The Church at Rancho Bernardo. She also enjoys teaching workshops on writing, spending time with her family, music, reading great books, and traveling. She lives in southern California with her pastor husband and their four grown children.
What to Send: Please provide first 2,000 words or first chapter, which ever is shortest, and a half-page synopsis
Genre(s): Contemporary Romance, Historical Romance, Romantic Suspense
Submit Via: Email
Status: open
Web Site: www.sandraorchard.com
Bio: Romantic suspense author Sandra Orchard writes for Harlequin's Love Inspired Suspense imprint. Her current series, Undercover Cops: Fighting for justice puts their lives—and hearts—on the line, debuted in September 2011, with two more novels scheduled for release in March and October 2012. She also recently signed with Revell Publishing to write a trade-length romantic suspense series. An ACFW member since 2007, Sandra was a 2008 Genesis finalist, then in 2009 won the Daphne Du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense. That win led to signing with her agent, Joyce Hart, of Hartline Literary Agency, and to her subsequent contracts. Passionate about encouraging aspiring fiction writers, Sandra judges manuscripts for several writing contests, and in addition to ACFW, is an active member of The Word Guild, Romance Writer's of America, and several of it's chapters.
What to Send: 2 page synopsis, single spaced; first 15 pages of ms, which ideally includes a scene (or partial scene) in each of the hero and heroine's pov
Happy to critique romantic suspense in category or full-length; category romance; category historical romance
Genre(s): Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Women's Fiction, Young Adult
Submit Via: Email
Status: open
Web Site: www.allisonpittman.com
Bio: Allison Pittman is the author of eight novels including the Christy finalist For Time and Eternity and the Carol Award winning Stealing Home. At home in San Antonio, she is the vice-president of her local ACFW chapter (Alamo City Christian Fiction Writers) as well as the co-president of another large, multi-genre writing group where she gives weekly critique and mentors a dozen other novelists. She edits and critiques for The Christian Communicator, specializing in fiction proposals, and has presented at several Christian writing conferences and ACFW chapter meetings. She is a busy mother of three teen-age boys, the wife of the world’s greatest guy, and the companion of the world’s most neurotic dog, Stella. She has a heart for writers, especially those striving to glorify God in their stories.
What to Send: Synopsis and up to 50 pages
Will critique any other genre as needed
Genre(s): Contemporary Fiction, Women's Fiction
Submit Via: Email
Status: open
Web Site: www.deborahraney.com
Bio: Deborah Raney dreamed of writing a book since the summer she read Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House books and discovered that a Kansas farm girl could, indeed, grow up to be a writer. After a happy twenty-year detour as a stay-at-home mom, Deb penned her first novel, A Vow to Cherish, which won a Silver Angel Award and inspired the acclaimed World Wide Pictures film of the same title. Since then, her books have won the RITA Award, HOLT Medallion, ACFW Carol Award, National Readers' Choice Award, as well as twice being finalists for the Christy Award. Deb teaches at writers' conferences across the country. She and her husband, Ken Raney, love small-town life in their native Kansas––the setting for many of Deb's novels. They have four children and four precious grandchildren who all live much too far away.
What to Send: First 15-20 pages of the novel, plus 1-pg. brief synopsis if desired
Will consider historicals
Genre(s): Contemporary Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Romantic Suspense, Women's Fiction, Young Adult
Submit Via: Email
Status: open
Web Site: http://www.carrieturansky.com
Bio: Carrie Turansky is the award-winning author of ten novels and novellas. She writes contemporary and historical romance for Barbour and Love Inspired. Her latest releases are A Man To Trust, Surrendered Hearts, and Christmas Mail-Order Brides, which won a 2011 Carol Award. She has been a member of ACFW since 2000 and has critiqued and edited for other writers for several years. She enjoys helping aspiring authors and always points outs strengths as well as weaknesses when she critiques. Her goal is to encourage and pass on tools and tips to make your writing the best it can be.
What to Send: Please include a short synopsis (1 - 2 pages) , genre, possible publisher (if known), first chapter or up to twenty pages.
Genre(s): Contemporary Fiction, Contemporary Romance, Historical Fiction, Historical Romance, Mystery/Suspense/Thriller, Romantic Suspense, Women's Fiction, Young Adult
Submit Via: Email
Status: open
Web Site: http://www.kathleenybarbo.com
Bio: RITA and Carol award nominee Kathleen Y’Barbo is now the best-selling award-winning author of more than forty novels, novellas, and young adult books. In all, more than one million copies of her books are currently in print in the US and abroad, and her books have been translated into Dutch, German, and Spanish, to name a few.
Recently, Kathleen was nominated for a Career Achievement Award from Romantic Times magazine. In addition, her novel THE INCONVENIENT MARRIAGE OF CHARLOTTE BECK (Waterbrook Press) was nominated for a Reader’s Choice Award as well as being named an RT Top Pick. Kathleen is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers, Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, and Romance Writers of America. She holds a BBA from Texas A&M University’s Mays Business School and a certification in Paralegal Studies, and is a member of the Texas Bar Association’s Paralegal Division.A tenth-generation Texan, Kathleen Y'Barbo has a daughter and three grown sons. She recently added her own hero in combat books and is proud to be a military wife even if it did mean giving up her Texas drivers license.
What to Send: I want to see the first 1-2 chapters (maximum total of 20 pages double spaced--please end in a "logical spot" and not mid-sentence if you chose to send all 20 pages!) PLUS a choice of one page synopsis (single spaced) OR a one-sheet. Send these two items in a single Word file (doc, rtf or docx). In your email please tell me the genre, approximate word count (or actual per the computer if manuscript is finished), and which publisher(s) you're targeting. Also let me know if you have an agent or editor interested in the proposal.
Anything except speculative and fantasy