Reviews: What Writers Are Saying

February 2023

Thank you so much for all your excellent help. I feel so confident in sending this out to agents now. 2/12/23

Thank you so much! This process and your keen notes have been revelatory. I was blind to the excessive words, descriptions, and more telling than showing in my manuscript - so much more than I was willing to admit. 2/1/23

January 2023

This query letter is much stronger now than when I started. I learned a lot through this process. Thank you. 1/26/23

I can't thank you enough for the honest feedback, including telling me to throw my first draft out completely. 1/24/23

Thank you so much for your help! I feel much more confident in the letter now. 1/17/23

December 2022

Thanks to what I’ve learned from you I was able to re-edit the whole book. When I compare all of the query letters I’ve sent you I’m pretty impressed :) 12/17/22

November 2022

My query is much, much improved because of you, and I'm confident to try my luck with agents. 11/29/22

I can't thank you enough for all your brilliant input. My query has really came along leaps and bounds thanks to your excellent tutelage. 11/22/22

I'm looking back at my first query attempt and it's amazing how much it has changed and how much better it is now. 11/21/22

I feel much more confident with this polished query and opening chapter than I did when we first started. 11/15/22

I want to thank you again for all your support, direction, and suggestions. The amount of time and attention you have paid to my query far exceeded my expectations, and my only regret is that I didn't discover your services much earlier in the process. 11/7/22

October 2022

Again, thank you so much for your help. I really feel as though the query has direction now and matches the pages in a much more polished product. 10/28/22

I feel ready to pursue the next step, and really appreciate the notes and insights you gave throughout! 10/20/22

To say you've been helpful to me these past few years (and queries) is a gross understatement. 10/16/22

It is unbelievable to compare the first draft to this one and see how much my query has changed and how much better it is now. Thank you. 10/13/22

Your help has been incredibly valuable - thank you a million times over. 10/8/22    

September 2022

I am so thrilled with the first request for a complete manuscript (Thrilled?? This should be more realistically described as being super excited, and uncharacteristically for my age and position bouncing on the office chair, unable to hide a foolish grin). To compare, the first queries I sent, prior to your revisions, didn't generate any result. 9/12/22

Working with you has been amazing! 9/9/22

August 2022

Thank you for your help with this, it's worlds better than what I started with. 8/26/22

I truly appreciate your expertise, and I believe the query is greatly improved over the first version I sent. I feel much more confident reaching out to agents now. Thank you again for your help! 8/6/22

Thank you so much for everything, taking the time to revise and edit so carefully and for all of your help over the past several months to get the query to this point. It  helped me not only formulate a solid query but enhanced my entire process and helped me revise the story for the better, for which I am extremely grateful! 8/5/22  

July 2022

Thank you again for your help with this, I feel like I've learned so much during this process and I'm excited (and nervous) to officially query this story. 7/24/22

Your feedback helped me not only to revise my query letter but also to improve my manuscript.
Your knowledge and dedication have been invaluable. You are someone who really cares about helping writers achieve their goals. 7/23/22

THANK YOU SO MUCH! I'm thrilled about this query and eager to use it soon - the approach with this query process (and reading so many possible comps) inspired me to refresh my synopsis and first chapter to really make them all sing together. I revised the book multiple times over the last year and you helped me see how I have the spark in me to do such great work, I just needed the time to think and apply it in a way that shines much brighter. As you insisted early on, taking time and fresh eyes really are a secret ingredient. 7/15/22

Writing queries has always been like pulling teeth for me. But you made it fun. I’m excited to jump back into the query trenches so thank you thank you thank you for whipping it into shape! 7/15/22

I can't thank you enough for your gentle, professional, competent, and thoughtful critique of my work, I hope to thank you again someday in the acknowledgements of the published version. 7/10/22

I just wanna say thank you so much for your suggestions and feedback! When I first sent you my query, I was super discouraged, mainly because I was staring at my query everyday hoping it would fix itself (it did not). The more I looked at my writing, the more I ended up hating it -- so having that objective feedback was SUPER, super helpful. 7/8/22

I found an agent! Thank you so, so much for your help. I wouldn't have gotten this far without your help. 7/5/22 

June 2022

You have been a lot of help, and the process itself has been enlightening. 6/20/22

You have been such a godsend. 6/15/22

Thank you again for the feedback, especially all the critiques of my website. It's an insider look at something I hadn't given enough thought to and I am now committed to getting it completely ready by the time I query. So thank you again. 6/13/22

I went over this query so many times before I sent it to you. I  knew it needed changes but weren’t sure exactly how to improve it. After your help, ... it is 1000 times better than it was before.
Your suggestions for tightening my sample pages were also incredibly helpful. I see now how I can continue to improve the rest of my manuscript by going through and shortening sentences and making things more direct. 6/7/22

Well I started off cursing you (in the best possible way), but this really pushed me to dig deep (again, in the best possible way) and I think (hope) the query is a ton better. 6/2/22

Thank you so much for your help with my query. The growth of the letter from where it started to where it ended up is incredible and I couldn't have done it without your guidance. 6/2/22   

May 2022

The service you offer is really special, and honestly somewhat of a steal. So thanks. 5/25/22

You have been a life saver! 5/16/22

I cannot thank you enough for all the help you have provided. 5/12/22

Thank you again for all of your help with my last novel. I would have never received a contract on this one without you! 5/9/22

This is definitely a more polished and better version of my query and your critiques really helped make all the difference. 5/4/22

April 2022

Thank you again for your time, insight, and generosity. I really feel your advice made a world of difference. 4/28/22

Thank you again. You are amazing.4/27/22

I've had nine requests, with two fulls and a partial outstanding, and definitely wouldn't have had those without your help! 4/22/22

This is so much better than it was originally. You've taught me a lot. 4/22/22

Thank you for your helpful and to-the-point feedback. You're the first person who got down to the nitty gritty details, took my sentences apart, and questioned every word and every phrase. 4/21/22

Thank you for your time and consideration, the care you showed with your feedback 4/19/22

It has been a great experience. 4/13/22

I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you did for me. Your insightful comments and corrections are appreciated and valued. You helped me beyond the paragraphs and sentences. 4/7/22

I cannot imagine doing this without your help, especially with the industry the way it is. I am excited to dive in! Thank you for your patience, your understanding, and, above all, your knowledge! 4/6/22

March 2022

Your help has been fin-valuable 3/16/22

Thanks much for your great editing, it’s been a great investment. 3/7/22

Your feedback has helped not just the query and query pages but my entire book. 3/11/22

February 2022

I appreciate all of your help, comments and questions answered. I think I'm going to have a much better shot at getting requests with this letter than with my original version. 2/1/22

January 2022

Thank you so incredibly much, you are a godsend. 1/29/22

I know I've said this a million times, but here I go again: thank you! You've been incredibly helpful and I hope you keep doing this for many more years to come (or at least until I have book #2 written). :) 1/23/22

I just went back and read my first submission to you and my goodness, the sheer level of progress has shot my confidence right up! Thank you so much for all your help and kind direction. It's really made all the difference! 1/21/22

Thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your help in whipping this query into shape. I appreciate your time and patience; most of all, your expertise. 1/21/22

December 2021

Thank you so much for the help in elevating my query. You truly are the query shark! 12/21/21

I cannot thank you enough for your advice. Truly. 12/13/21

Thank you so much for your help. It's been a pleasure working through this with you. 12/10/21

I appreciate your specific edits and also your reasoned explanations for them. 12/9/21

You were meticulous, honest, and encouraging 12/5/21  

November 2021

Thank you for these final excellent polishes, and for all of your guidance along the way helping me find the sculpture in the lump of stone I came to you with. This process has exceeded my expectations in content and in process--you've been an absolute delight to work with.  11/30/21

Just wanted to let you know that I started querying Friday and got a request for full that night. I know a ton of that is luck with timing, but I definitely wouldn't have gotten a request at all without your help. THANK YOU AGAIN!! 11/22/21

I learned a lot from your feedback and am proud of how the letter turned out. I even showed my mom. 11/10/21

Thank you for walking me through this process over the past few months. It's been an enjoyable and educational experience for sure! 11/17/21

You have been an amazing help and I’m so grateful!! 11/17/21

October 2021

Your advice has gone beyond just the query and has helped reshape major points in the story itself and for that I'm very grateful. Both pieces have come out of this stronger. 10/25/21

Your suggestions throughout have been so great and I've learned a lot. They made the whole book stronger and better, actually. 10/24/21

I appreciate your critical eye so much. It's given me confidence. 10/22/21

I just want to express my immeasurable gratitude to you for your help in this process and your continued willingness to go above and beyond. Thank you for everything!! 10/21/21

I appreciate the thorough nature of your attention. 10/18/21

I’ve learned so much through your feedback – not only about writing query letters, but you also helped me to be able to articulate the heart of my story… which will be critical when it comes time to entice potential readers to pick up my book. Thank you for that 10/9/21

I was completely clueless as to where I was going wrong. Now, it’s blindingly obvious why I was receiving form rejections. 10/6/21

I re-read the first draft that I sent to you and am amazed at how far this has changed – and undoubtedly for the better. 10/3/21

September 2021

This query is so much better than where I started thanks to you. 9/28/21

I had read your website, but I guess I learn better from tailored feedback. I'm very glad I reached out to you. 9/27/21

I just want to say again how grateful I am for all your help and hard work. I really appreciate every little bit. 9/24/21

Thank you for all your work and helping me make this coherent. I came into this whole process looking for guidance and some direction and you've done so much to get me headed in the right direction. 9/23/21

Many, many thanks for your very actionable feedback! 9/14/21

The process of querying has been wildly different from writing the novel, and I’ve needed assistance. Thank you for helping! 9/13/21

Just wanted to let you know as you helped so much with my query letter. Night and day from what I started with and the process also weirdly helped me get the crux of what the story was about. I’ll let you know how I get on but thanks for all your help in getting me an agent. 9/10/21

I’m glad I kept a copy of every revision you’ve helped with, because it has gotten better with each one. 9/9/21

I’m very happy with this version of the query letter and pages - what a difference from the original! 9/6/21

I’m just relaying my spades of appreciation to you for your invaluable feedback through this process. I’m much happier with this than the version I originally sent! Now onto the the actual querying. 9/4/21

Well I think we have it! I really appreciate the detailed feedback you've provided me over the last few months and on a greater note, that you offer this invaluable service to authors. Thanks to your guidance, and edits I am now super confident in my query :) 9/3/21

August 2021

I was relieved that the first version of my query letter already had decent bones: the pitch needed some fine-tuning, and I committed one blunder in the comps. But the point is that I had no idea if my letter was good, so-so, or terrible until I consulted with you. With your help I'm embarking on the querying process with a much better letter and much more confidence. 8/22/21

Thank you for the time you do take with your words. The teacher in me loves carefully thought out constructive criticism. You've stretched us in a positive way. When I look back from our first draft to this one, the difference is clear. 8/22/21

July 2021

You finally dragged me into a quality query. 7/30/21

You've been an inexpressibly wonderful coach and mentor. 7/29/21

I feel really happy with this query letter now, thanks to all your help. 7/25/21

Thank you for all your support and encouragement over the past few years. Your feedback helped me improve my query game AND gave me confidence in my writing when I was starting to doubt myself.  7/21/21

Thank you so much, you've been such a massive help. 7/16/21

I appreciate your comments.  I have to say, I completely rethought the focus for any synopsis after your first iteration, and that was a very good thing. 7/14/21  

June 2021

This definitely looks great and I can see how much stronger it is compared to the original. 6/23/21

I've been incorporating the changes we've made into my second draft as well and it's been a game changer. 6/22/21

Thank you so much. You've been an incredible help! I feel really confident in my query now! 6/18/21

I think I finally understand what the query is supposed to do and how it's supposed to do it. Thank you so much. This has been a great process. 6/17/21

I'd like to thank you for your invaluable assistance with my query 6/13/21

Thank you very much for all your time and advice---it's been invaluable. 6/6/21

Thank you so much for helping me during this process. I have learned so much and love this query letter! 6/6/21

My materials will be much better thanks to you. 6/5/21

Thank you again, and again, and again, for your help. 6/4/21

May 2021

Thank you again, and again, and again, for your help.  

It's been a pleasure working with you

This was unbelievably helpful

April 2021

Thank you for your feedback and final suggestions. Your assistance throughout this process has been incredibly helpful, and I've taken your comments and applied them throughout the novel to strengthen the narrative and tighten the writing. 

Reaching out to you was more than worth it, and I won't hesitate to recommend your services to others who want to improve their work.

I hardly recognize it from the beginning and yet it represents the story more accurately than my lame attempt at the start. I wish I had reached out sooner. ;-)

Your feedback has given me such valuable insight. This is so much more than a query review process

February 2021

I am extremely happy with the finished result and I’m looking forward to sending it out. What I wasn’t expecting was to gain new insight into what I’m looking for in an agent. I now realise the degree to which it is a creative relationship and I hope I can find someone who matches your ability to guide me to my best work.

I’m in awe of your brutal clarity and empathy.

I can legitimately say you write my favorite edit letters!

January 2021

I could not be more pleased with the service you provided. I started with something that I thought was solid and learned that I had much farther to go than I realized. I also learned the "why" to do things a certain way which is usually much more interesting and important than the "what" is actually done. I feel that more important than the final product, I learned (at least at some level) the theory that produced it.

I cannot even tell you how incredible this process has been and how grateful I am for your expert advice. THANK YOU!! 

I want to thank you for all your help. I’ve been offered representation. I don’t think I would’ve been able to do this without your help, so I just wanted to let you know how grateful I am. 

Thank you so much! I'm very pleased with the way the query and my pages have evolved - your notes have made such a difference to my entire manuscript! I really appreciate your expertise..I am so excited with the way my book has transformed.

My query is freaking awesome now. I'm so pleased and confident with it. You're really amazing at what you do. 

And I just want to thank you again for all of your feedback and advice over the last few months. It's been invaluable. I still have a lot to learn, but this is a fun challenge, and your guidance has been (and will continue to be) immensely helpful. 

Signing up for critiques with you was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. Thank you so much for being so thorough. It was worth every penny, plus you are so funny, you made me laugh with every email! Doubly worth it in these dark times. 

December 2020

I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your candor and sense of humor! As much as writing is fulfilling, editing is possibly the most intellectually challenging process I've gone through in my life. Still, your comments have brought light and laughter into my day, and for this, I am truly grateful :)

I feel really great about this query letter now. It's so much better than what it was in the very beginning. I learned so much during this entire process. 

November 2020

Thanks for all of your help!! The feedback you’ve provided has been phenomenal and it really was a true pleasure (and honor) getting to work with you. 

October 2020

Your advice was worth ever penny. I just read my original version and the final and it's a night and day difference. Thank God I didn't send the original out, because I actually contemplated doing that.

Thank you again for the work you did on it. I was really stumbling about in the dark before you ripped it to shreds and rebuilt it!

Thank you so much for your support, your comments and sticking with me on this process. I'm so happy with how the query has turned out 

I've found your editing style very helpful. I think it's fantastic.

I’ve been the senior writer and editor in my career for so long that I forgot what it was like to work with a kickass collaborator who not only helps the work get better but helps me spot issues and bad habits in my own style

You've given me way more than a hundred bucks worth of insight. 

September 2020

This query is a million times better than the first one I sent, and it is all thanks to you. 

I cannot express how grateful I am to have had your help. Seriously. You’ve done so much to push me to where I needed to be and I am so thankful. 

Thank you so much for your assistance in crafting this query letter. Throughout this process I have learned so much from you, and I truly appreciate you taking the time to mull over every word with me.

August 2020

I re-read my original letter and I can’t believe how much better this one is. I really appreciate all of your help.

July 2020

There are far too people afraid to speak the truth. I love writing. I need to create something I can be proud of.

You helped me get closer to that goal. So carry on being you and red line the heck out of those wanna be authors. If they are smart they will suck it up, put a band aide on their wounded egos and really listen to your advice.

June 2020

You've shown me that the difference between good clarity and great clarity is, to borrow Twain's idiom, the difference between the lighting bug and the lightning bolt.

Your critiquing has also revealed numerous weaknesses in my manuscript that I'm currently fixing. Weaknesses I would've never seen without your help, so thank you again.

The changes are substantive, important, and helped make the query come alive. Your notes brought the query to a whole new level.

April 2020

You certainly seem determined to make me write a better book. 

I can't thank you enough for all the work you've put into this. It's come so far from the first version, and I could see it improving each step of the way. This entire process has been such an experience, and one I'm incredibly happy to have gone through--and would readily recommend to everyone else. 

March 2020

I feel that the dollars I have invested in this process are the best investment I have made in my writing. This experience has been so valuable, not only about how to write a query, but how to improve the book. Thank you for your generosity, constructive candor, and for applying your skill and experience to my efforts. I hope to have the opportunity to learn more from you.

You are right! Writing is the work. I know the lessons learned will ultimately improve my writing. No matter what, know this. I can never thank you enough for all you have taught me.

Thank you so much for everything.  You have no idea how much I appreciate your services.

February 2020

I worked with two other critiquers. Neither spent the time or came close to taking the kind of thoughtful,  disciplined approach you did. In fact, they mostly just told me what I was doing wrong, not how to make it right. In fewer words - The Shark Rules!  Thank you!

January 2020

I can't tell you how much I appreciate your help and guidance!! I feel infinitely more confident submitting this query than I did when we started. 1/20/20

I’ve learned a lot from you and this process. It’s been invaluable and I’m immensely grateful. 1/18/20

Your notes are wonderful. It's like a breath of fresh air that's reinvigorating something I've been pounding the life out of for more than a year. I feel so lucky to have your help. 1/15/20

Here's the latest revision! I am so excited about this query -- it is a million times better, thanks to all of your help - both from your blog and from having your one-on-one help! I've learned a ton about how to craft a great query -- I'm forever grateful to you for that! 1/7/20

December 2019

Thanks so much for your help! This has been incredible learning for me. 12/31/19

Thank you so much for the new feedback/critique and for the extra pass. It is amazing to see how far this query letter had come with your professional guidance. Your critique helped improve not only my query letter writing skills but my writing skills in general too. Your service is invaluable. 12/16/19

The relief I felt reading this latest critique had me sagging to the floor in relief.  You’ve not only helped me transform these first five pages, but my entire manuscript. Every revision and critique gave me fresh perspective. Thank you for giving me a fighting chance. 12/4/19

Thank you so much for all of your help. You manage to be both savage and encouraging—and it is amazing. I am so proud of my final product, and I know I have you to thank for it. Thank you for providing such directive and helpful feedback. 12/3/19

Working with you is probably the best decision I’ve made since embarking on this insane journey towards publication.  12/2/19

November 2019

I wanted to tell you how much I appreciate all the guidance you've given me. You really have a unique ability to cut to the core of what isn't working and also provided wonderful examples that helped me understand what to do, which was so useful. I'm so thrilled with the way this has turned out and I can't wait to query! 11/26/19

It's been such a pleasure working with you! Thank you so much for all your help and patience. You've given me much needed clarity. I am very happy with how the letter turned out, couldn't have done it without you. 11/25/19

Fantastic, thank you so very much!! Your help has been invaluable and I can't thank you enough. I'm very happy with it. It's been a struggle getting this opening chapter right for some reason and I'm really excited about it now. 11/24/19

I can not thank you enough for your patience and assistance. I think this query has taken almost as long to write as the book and has definitely been more painful. :) 11/18/19

Your help was amazing, and I appreciate your time.  It was also a lot of fun.  I will miss looking forward to your comments arriving in my inbox. 11/14/19

Thanks so much for your help along the way. You've really gone above and beyond what I thought I was paying for and I appreciate the help. 11/9/19

I've learned from you it really does help to let things sit overnight, which is why I re-read it again this morning and am hoping I finally got it. 11/8/19

October 2019

I wanted to let you know that I've gotten 3 requests for fulls from the query letter we worked on together. As you said in one of your blog posts, now I know the query works; the next step will be seeing if the novel works. I'll let you know how it goes. 10/29/19

Thank you, truly, for all your support and guidance. It’s bad form for writers to be lost for words, but there’s no way I could convey over email how much I really appreciate it. 10/10/19

I cannot express my gratitude into words.

Thank you for all of your help. 10/5/19

September 2019

I cannot thank you enough for all of your amazing, endless help throughout this process. You've taken what was a big mess and spun it into something far better than I ever could have achieved on my own. Thanks to your guidance, I'm excited to query! 9/29/19

Thanks again for all your help throughout the process. I'm feeling much more confident about my query/first pages thanks to your encouragement, critique, and advice! 9/25/19

Your insights have been extremely helpful and I'm very pleased with how my revisions, at your direction, are coming along. 9/24/19

Thank you so much for all of your help and expertise. I appreciate it wholeheartedly! 9/10/19

I can’t thank you enough for taking me under your “fin!” 9/9/19

With each revision you have uncovered and identified several weaknesses. 9/5/19

I just want to give you a quick follow up to say "thank you" once again. I was fortunate enough to receive an offer of representation this morning, and I wanted to let you know how much I appreciated your time, your advice and your words of encouragement. 9/4/19

August 2019

Thanks so much for your assistance. It’s been so lovely to work with an industry professional and get a taster for having a real live agent. I feel so much more confident with my query now and can’t wait to try it out on some unsuspecting Middle Grade agents. 8/29/19

I've really enjoyed this process, and it's definitely given me a bit more confidence about what I'm trying to do! 8/29/19

thank you so much for your sage query-crafting support, and the kind words too. 8/17/19

Previously

I was so stuck before your help. Thank you! Thank you! 5/30/19

I've been drafting for months and your feedback has really cleared things up for me. 5/17/19

Thank you so much for all of your help with this. It scares me to think I would've started querying with my original submission had I not seen your blog. 4/23/19

"Thank you for being such an incredible help in this process. We are so happy and grateful to have worked with you." 4/6/19

"I worked hard on this project but it's more important to work smart.

The smart part was getting you to help." 4/2/19

"Thank you thank you thank you." 3/28/19

"I can’t even tell you how much I’ve learned from your critiques and suggestions. I’m forever grateful!" 3/21/19

I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve taught me and for the continued help you’ve given me. I was at a loss before I came to you and now I feel much better going forward. 3/6/19

I’m so grateful for your feedback, suggestions, and answers to my questions! This whole experience has been incredibly helpful and has boosted my confidence. I can’t thank you enough-2/21/19

Thank you so much for your help -- it's been truly invaluable. 1/17/19

"Thank you so much for your help, it's been absolutely invaluable. And we greatly appreciate that you didn't give up on us until you felt it was absolutely clear." 1/11/19

Holy crap, this is an awesome critique! Thank you so much! 1/8/19

You were so gracious and patient with me. Thank you for your constructive feedback, motivation, and kind words! 1/2/19

I really appreciate your help. You have no idea. 12/30/18

"This has been really helpful for me and I really appreciate all the notes and feedback you gave."

12/20/18

"Thanks again for all of your notes, it has been immensely helpful."

12/16/18

"I hope you know I love every single idea and suggestion you have."

12/12/18

"Thank you for your valuable advice and constructive feedback." 12/11/18

"I have a tremendous amount of gratitude for your help." 12/10/18

"Thanks again for your notes, which have been souseful in allowing me to see my work with fresh and sharper eyes.  You are very good at this!" 11/29/18

"just wanted to say thank you for your critique and guidance. ... I'm learning so much from your suggestions and feedback (which I have implemented in the rest of my manuscript)." 11/20/18

"I loved your feedback. I can’t tell you how much I’ve struggled with this thing!" 11/6/18

"your help and feedback has been invaluable." 11/5/18