Lucy A. Snyder

I'm offering professional critiques of short stories, novellas and novels; I can critique entire or partial manuscripts. I will critique speculative fiction: works that fall somewhere in the realm of science fiction, fantasy, or horror. I will also look at paranormal fiction, but bear in mind that I am not a romance reader.

I have a lot of experience as a critiquer. I'm a graduate of the Clarion workshop and for several years I've directed the Context Writing Workshops. Since January 2010, I've been an adjunct faculty member in Seton Hill University's MFA program in Writing Popular Fiction; my job is to help MFA students turn their works-in-progress into market-ready novels.

I used to be an editor for the prozines HMS Beagle and Strange Horizons, and I published Dark Planet for seven years. I know what helps grab the attention of a weary slush reader.

To date, I've made over 80 short fiction sales, over 50 poetry sales, and three professional novel sales. My work has won the Bram Stoker Award and has been selected for the LOCUS Recommended Reading List.

"When it came time to obtain a critique of my novel manuscript, I didn't hesitate to contact Lucy A. Snyder. I knew that as a veteran writer with a no-nonsense approach to her craft, she would not only spot grammatical mistakes and structural problems, but she'd also have an eye for voice, scene flow, and even the pitfalls facing my novel's potential commercial success. In short, I went to Ms. Snyder because I wanted the whole package of editor/mentor/professional. She turned my manuscript around in a timely fashion. Her analysis was clear and concise, and she provided me with the feedback I needed to craft what I feel is my strongest novel to date."
- Lucien Soulban

I charge $10 per 1K words plus the cost of mailing manuscripts (I prefer to work with electronic files). A critique of a 4500-word short story would cost $50. A critique of an 80,300-word novel would be $800. I generally prefer to receive payment through PayPal, but I can take a check or money order by arrangement.

I will evaluate the content and craft of your story, chapter, or novel with an eye to making it market-ready. I will flag grammatical errors, misspellings, and language problems and give examples on how to fix them. However, this will not be intensive copy-editing. I will make suggestions for improvements, and may in some cases present you with alternatives, but I will not re-write your prose.

I prefer to work with Word .docs because I can use the Track Changes feature to make editorial comments directly in the file; if you prefer to send a hard-copy manuscript, I can make edits directly on the pages. You will be responsible for paying for the return postage.

In addition to the file comments, I will send you a page (or more) of overall commentary on your work that covers the strengths and weaknesses of your manuscript and my suggestions for improvements; the length of my commentary will be proportional to the length of your manuscript.

I will be looking at:

Manuscript Basics: Your formatting, punctuation, grammar competency, dialog tags, spelling, etc. In short, all that nitpicky stuff you need to take care of before you send your manuscript out.

The Story Premise: Is the idea/concept of your story original, compelling and marketable? If not, how can it be improved?

Plot: Is your work strongly plotted? Are there some holes you might need to fill?

Pacing: Does your story move along at a good pace, or is it dragging (or leaving your readers behind)?

Point of View: Are you telling your story through the eyes of the right character(s)? Is your POV consistent?

Characterization: Are your characters well-rounded, sympathetic, compelling, and believable?

Dialog: Is your dialog interesting? Does it help build characterization and move the story along?

Style: Is your writing style effective? Is it exciting to the reader?

World Building and Setting: Is your setting described in appropriate detail? Is the world you've created for your characters vivid, interesting, and believable?

Beginnings, Middles, and Endings: The opening of your story or novel is crucial in getting the attention of an agent, editor, or reader. Middles can get muddled and saggy. The ending is crucial in providing a satisfying reading experience. If you know you're having particular trouble in one of these areas -- for instance, you've got an opening, and you know how your novel will end, but you are having a hard time getting there -- I can help.

My critique of your manuscript will be subjective, of course, but I promise you I will give my honest assessment of your work. It will ultimately be up to you to act on my suggestions for revision, and I cannot promise you that you will sell your revised manuscript to any particular market. There are too many variables for me or any other critiquer to make such a promise.

My turnaround time depends on the length and quality of your manuscript and on the other work I have to do. I will give you an estimate once I have accepted your manuscript for critique and you have provided payment.

In general, though, if my schedule is otherwise clear I can critique a short story or a couple of chapters within a week.

Please email me at lusnyde@gmail.com and we can get started. Please use the subject line "Professional manuscript critique query" and briefly introduce yourself. Tell me if you've been published before and give me the word count of your manuscript and whether or not you have special concerns (for instance, you're seeking a quick turnaround so you can submit your manuscript to a contest, or you are particularly worried about your dialog, etc.)

I will respond to your query within 48 hours to let you know if you should send your manuscript along or not. Please do not send a manuscript until I've asked for it.

If upon receipt of your manuscript I feel that I cannot adequately assist you, I will let you know promptly. If you don't hear from me within 48 hours, please email me again -- at that point it's likely your initial message was spam trapped or otherwise didn't reach me.

Once I have received your manuscript and have confirmed that I can provide a critique for it, we will arrange for payment. Once payment has cleared, I will provide an estimated turnaround time and begin work on the critique.

Once I have delivered your critique, if you have any questions, I can provide one follow-up email to clarify any points.

If after you've received my critique you wish for a more detailed conversation about your work, or would like help working through issues such as project planning or writer's block, we can set up mentoring sessions.

Mentoring can take place via email exchanges or we can schedule text chats or Skype sessions. My price for mentoring service is $50/hour with a 1-hour minimum.

Please email me at lusnyde@gmail.com and we can get started.