Consultations

Working on a Young Adult Novel, Middle Grade Project, or Poetry Manuscript? I’ve been working with writers for over ten years to develop their manuscripts, craft query letters, seek literary agents, and approach publishers.

I can read any section of your manuscript, from the first fifteen pages to a full read and provide clear, usable, and encouraging feedback that allows you to return to your project emboldened. In addition to margin comments, I provide a detailed editorial letter focused on issues including: genre, voice, POV, pacing, scene, character development, story structure, and language. During our meeting, I will ask questions that speak to the work’s purpose, driving concepts, and structural integrity. I’ll help you hone in on your purpose as a storyteller as you bring that story to agents, editors and readers.

Pricing

$105/hour

Option One

FICTION MANUSCRIPT. I can read approximately fifteen pages/hour and provide margin notes as well as a comprehensive editorial letter. I offer discounted rates for longer projects. I’m also available to read your synopsis, grant applications, or residency applications. Please reach out for more information.

$150

Option Two

QUERY LETTER I’ll read your query letter, then join you for a 1-hour Zoom meeting to discuss your letter and your agent search.

$105/hour

Option Three

POETRY FEEDBACK I can generally read and comment on 1-2 poems per hour, depending on length. Expect comments to consider logic and continuity, consistency of voice, tone and style, language choices, impact and thematic resonance.

$60/hour

Option Four

COACHING Sometimes you just need to meet with a writing coach to clarify your goals, identify your needs, talk through your writing problem. I’m available for Zoom meet-ups.

Testimonials

  • "I'll take anything Karen Finneyfrock teaches, and I'm never disappointed. The one-on-one care and knowledge she generously offers in class is constrained only by time and the number of students. I can't begin to imagine what I could accomplish during an independent manuscript consultation. I guess I'll be signing up to find out!"

    Allison Augustyn

  • "As an instructor, Karen helped catalyze my bud of a story into a full-length manuscript and provided the guidance I needed to avoid many pitfalls of novel creation along the way. Once I began the revision process, her belief in my work and ability to see what was strong about my writing buoyed me through uncertainty. Karen has the ability to pinpoint specifically what is special, naturally successful, and uniquely genius about any writer’s work, regardless of their experience level or genre. Her encouragement helped me to pinpoint my own strengths, and her critique was always delivered with curiosity and care that allowed me to think deeply about less successful aspects of my work without feeling discouraged. Karen is careful to make distinctions between her personal likes as a reader from more objective advice on craft, and her questions and observations are thorough and thoughtful. Karen is not only a brilliantly talented writer, but also a present, engaged, and caring instructor. Her attention to my work has strengthened not only my manuscript, but my confidence as a writer and my ability to guide my own growth."

    Molly Thornton

  • “I strongly recommend Karen Finneyfrock’s editorial services. With expertise in both poetry and novel writing, she offers incisive, constructive critiques of style, technique, and large-scale character, scene, and plot development. An admirer of her fiction and poetry, I ultimately came to her classes on recommendation from a fellow writer who described her as “the best teacher I’ve ever had in my life.” She is truly an excellent teacher. Through her instruction and critiques, I was able to diagnose problems in my work and completely revamp a book that, despite the advice of other writers and teachers, wasn’t working. I’ve found her critiques of my own and other writers’ work to be honest, accurate, enlightening, and highly sensitive to the writer’s intentions and to what the book wants to be."

    Ruth Schemmel