Winning Writers has engaged contest judge and literary scholar Annie Mydla to manage our private critiques of your books and manuscripts, published or unpublished, that have up to 200,000 words. Annie has read thousands of self-published books in her work as assistant judge for our North Street Book Prize. She is also a published literary scholar whose works can be
found in Avant Literary Journal, Joseph Conrad Today, and most recently in the international journal Świat i Słowo ("World and Word"). Assisting Annie are Paweł Zagawa, Ewa Stachyra, and Mateusz Naporowski.
You can view a sample critique here, and read insights about what makes a prizewinning book in Annie's guest blog post for the Alliance of Independent Authors.
Our critique service is best for manuscripts that:
Are written with commercial intent (finding an agent, finding a publisher, maximizing sales in a self- or hybrid-publishing context)
Feel "stuck" or lack direction
Are over or under the recommended wordcount for the genre
Keep getting rejected, but it's not clear what to do about it
Lack a distinct genre or intended audience
Might contain dated, cliché, or exploitative content, which the author wants help in identifying and removing
You can expect your critique to be 1,500-3,000 words long. It will include the following sections as relevant:
Critique summary
Structure and content (character, plot, theme, setting, internal consistency, structure, pacing, use of exploitative tropes)
Use of language (register, tone, tonal consistency, literary devices, artistic style, imagery, sense of mastery, relation to themes)
Technical execution (layout, spelling and grammar, technical consistency, technical quality of any illustrations, font, accessibility)
Recommendations and conclusion
Exercises to unlock creativity
You may also submit up to 3 specific questions to be answered within the critique.
We seek to provide perspectives that will provoke new ideas and directions for future drafts. Critiques ordered during this special sale will be completed by April 15. After delivery, we will welcome one round of follow-up questions from you.
For two more weeks, you can order a critique for $240. On February 15, the price will increase to $299. Your satisfaction is guaranteed. If our critique does not deliver value for you, you can request a prompt refund from adam@winningwriters.com.
Optional Zoom Session
During the critique process, you can choose to discuss your manuscript with Annie in an hour-long Zoom session. Receive Annie's feedback face-to-face and ask all the questions you want in real time. The key points of the Zoom consultation will then be included as part of your final written critique. This session is just $60.
R.J.
"It's extremely valuable, showing me how much I need to learn and grow in developing as a writer of fiction."
Graham Campbell
"Your feedback was very helpful for many reasons. First of all, you gave me alternatives to consider about format without criticizing my writing. Very gentle. I have devoured every word of your suggested readings and taken copious notes. And I'll spend time with them today. Also, you provided me with several very actionable exercises, which are very helpful. I have purchased feedback several times previously and been disappointed. Yours was by far superior."
Mark Howen
"I want to commend you on your professionalism. You followed up in a timely manner, and you were extremely thorough in your critique with all the excellent topic sites that I needed to read and consider. Your advice is well-received and appreciated."
Sigrid Schmalzer
"I highly recommend 'upgrading' to include a Zoom call with Annie...it meant that the ten-page final critique Annie delivered not only addressed exactly the questions I wanted answered, but also built in very helpful ways on what was already a very substantive conversation."
Jerri Derlikowski
"I highly recommend her services to any new or struggling writer."
Renee Rojas
"Your critique is the first one that has been very helpful. (The others just gave a few vague suggestions - I often wondered if they actually read the book.)"
