If you’re looking for someone to help you polish your children’s book manuscript before going on submission or get insight into why you are not getting the response you hoped for, I can help. I’ve critiqued everything from picture books through young adult novels. I pride myself on helping emerging authors find and play to their strengths, develop robust characters, and smooth out any wrinkles in the plot. My critiques usually include a marketing assessment of how I think the manuscript will fare on submission, both in its current state and in final form.
My wheelhouse is middle-grade fiction and chapter books. My favorite genres are realistic fiction of any kind, mystery, humor, and light fantasy. I am particularly fond of books about animals with or without human chidren, stories about sports and games, coming of age books, and books that explore boyhood in various way. I think romance is underrated in middle grade fiction, and I find few issues are too dark or serious for kids books if kids experience them in real life. I love a good ghost story or modern interpretation of a classic fairy tale.
My feedback is holistic. I do not provide copyedits or line by line corrections and feedback.
I charge $75/hour and can provide an estimate of both how many hours it would take to read and respond to your manuscript and an estimated time when I could finish the work. I accept payment by paypal; I’ll ask for half upfront and the rest upon completion.
Just drop me a line and tell me more about the manuscript, its current length, and ideal audience. I may ask for a few sample pages by email before I begin.
Kurtis Scaletta's Site 