Critiques

Hello, my fellow writers. Welcome to my little corner desk in cyberspace. This is where you'll find me, coffee in one hand, red pen in the other, partnering with other authors to help make their work SING.

What makes a manuscript sing? Knocking out the flat notes of cliches, keeping a steady rhythm of pacing, knowing when to reach for high notes and when to dive for low ones, and opening up to let the rich sounds of your personal vibrato reverberate through a scene. That's voice. And you don't want one that cracks and squeaks, you want one that...yep, sings.

I have a knack for Deep POV (you can find my tips here), and I'm very nit-picky so we'll target any lazy writing and banish it from your work.

Want to test my mettle?

Jobs over 25 pages receive a FREE one page sample.

Send me an email telling me about your work (genre, length of the piece, one sentence hook if you have one) and attach your one page in *.doc format (no .docx). You must include the requested info in the body of the email or I won't open any attachments. Work should be the standard format: 12 pt font, 1-inch margins, double-spaced.

How can you know if I'm the critique-partner-for-hire you need?

Endorsements:

"Michelle has been critiquing my manuscripts for close to two years. Her keen eye and expertise has been invaluable! She's critted three manuscripts for me, as well as blurbs and synopses. I wouldn't want to send any of my work to my agent without her eye on it first!"

          ~ Jessica Patch, (represented by Rachel Kent of Books & Such Literary Agency)

"For over a year, Michelle has critiqued just about every word I've written whether a manuscript, an article, or a sensitive document. I'd be lost without her feedback. Not only does she help me tighten and clarify my work, she offers a perspective I wouldn't otherwise have. She is confident and fearless in her approach, clearly stating why each alteration is needed. Most often, she's dead-on. I'd hate to think what my novels would be without her keen eye! I owe much of my success as an author to her."

          ~ April W Gardner, Award-winning, Multi-published Author

"I've recently discovered Michelle Massaro's critiquing skills, and I am thoroughly impressed. She has an eagle eye, and a keen sense for voice and style. Very little gets by her "red pen" - and that's exactly what I look for in a critique partner/copy editor."

          ~ Delia Latham, Inspirational Romance Author

"Michelle Massaro truly has a gift in not only recognizing issues in stories but gently delivering her critique in a constructive way. My critique group is going to benefit from what I learned from her. She pointed out my beginner writer errors in such a way that I'm now able to recognize them myself throughout my manuscript. No longer is there passive language like "was driving" and "was sleeping" for my readers to have to slog through. Michelle did both my readers and me a favor."

          ~ Natalie Sharpston, 2012 Fiction Writers Contest Winner

"When I decided to rewrite my novel in deep POV, Michelle's critique gave me the nudge and encouragement I needed to tackle it. Her comments were insightful and challenging, without detracting from my voice. If you're looking for iron sharpening iron, look no further."

          ~ Bethany Kaczmarek

My regular prices are:

$1.00 per page for content editing

$1.00-$2.00 per page for line editing (depending on how clean the ms already is)

10% price breaks starting at 50 pages.

At this time, I'm open to fiction only. I'll look at: Contemporaries, Women's Fiction, Historicals, Suspense, and YA. Sorry, no Speculative or Sci-Fi (supernatural elements are okay.) CBA preferred but I'm willing to look at clean mainstream as well.

Happy Writing!

~ Michelle Massaro

2012 Genesis Finalist

Asst. Editor for COTT