Critiques & Consultations
Outside of the conferences or classes listed above (which may or may not include critiques or direct feedback) I only offer critiques through Manuscript Academy. I do not source clients through these meetings! Please query me if you are interested in seeking representation. In the rare event that I do extend an offer of representation as a direct result of one of these critique meetings and you choose to accept that offer, I adhere to the AALA’s Canon of Ethics and refund the money I’ve earned as a result of the critique.
Manuscript Academy meetings go live for booking the first week of every month. Book here!
Virtual Meeting Types:
Live Consultation: Ten Minutes With An Expert: Spend 10 minutes with the agent or editor of your choice. Discuss your book, query, or your first page over video chat or phone--and get an insider's perspective on your publishing situation. Send up to one page (query OR first page) to review during the meeting.
Which Query Version Is Best? (Send Two): Send TWO versions of your query to discuss. Your faculty member will read them, think about your options, and talk with you over video chat or phone about best next steps (15-minute meeting). Does NOT include written notes. Please note that you must send your work at booking, and you may not send a revision.
Why Am I Getting Rejected? Consultation: Spend 10 minutes with the agent or editor of your choice. Send one page of rejections, your query, and your first page for an educated guess as to why you aren't getting the responses you'd hoped. Please note that of course we can't reach into other agents' brains and know for sure, but we can point you in the right direction.
Live Consultation: Query + 10-Page Read + 15-Minute Consultation: Send the first ten pages of your manuscript (or proposal) to discuss. Your faculty member will read the pages, think about them, and talk with you over video chat or phone about best next steps (15-minute meeting). Does NOT include written notes. Please note that you must send your 10 pages at booking, and you may not send a revision. You may divide the time between query and pages as you see fit.
I am occasionally available for custom consultations, depending on my schedule and availability. Please contact Manuscript Academy to request a custom consultation.
NEW! Written Critiques:
For the first time in several years I am offering written critiques through Manuscript Academy. These are written critiques only and do not include a live meeting. Written critiques are available for booking on a rolling basis—no need to wait for the beginning of the month. Book here!
Query Critique: Receive detailed notes on how to get this all-important document ready for your submission—and how to give your book its best possible chance. Please note that this is a written critique only, and does not include a live meeting. Notes will be delivered on the date selected.
10-Page Critique: Receive detailed notes on how to get your most important pages ready for your submission—and how to give your book its best possible chance. Please note that this is a written critique only, and does not include a live meeting. Notes will be delivered on the date selected.
50-Page Critique: Receive detailed notes on how to get your partial ready for your requests—and how to give your book its best possible chance. Please note that this is a written critique only, and does not include a live meeting. Notes will be delivered on the date selected.
100-Page Critique: Receive detailed notes on how to get your partial ready for your requests—and how to give your book its best possible chance. Please note that this is a written critique only, and does not include a live meeting. Notes will be delivered on the date selected.
Testimonials
“With no muss or fuss, Kelly Van Sant zeroed in on a flaw in my pages that my beta readers also identified but couldn’t articulate; she also supplied an idea for revision that will work for me. As a result, I can revise my novel now with what I believe will be excellent results. Van Sant is an accomplished reader and an excellent teacher—and I say that as an experienced professor myself. I really appreciated her keen eye, close reading, and quick confident pace.”
“Kelly was wonderfully helpful and kind. I couldn’t believe how much she was able to accomplish in the span of 15 minutes, and I was impressed with how much she had prepared for our meeting ahead of time. For someone without a lot of extra spending money, I thought this was worth it and I’m excited to query with my new edits. She was also just lovely to talk to. All around, great experience.”
“Excellent! Kelly Van Sant was right on point. I got the written critique and she gave me insights that others had not. Worth every penny. ”
“Kelly Van Sant was super helpful and very kind, and answered all of my questions!”
“Kelly provided very clear and actionable feedback. She was very encouraging in her critique and offered very valuable advice. It was so helpful to get some answers to some broader questions about the query process, market placement and finding an agency that will be a good fit for my goals. Would absolutely recommend her if you’re considering booking a consultation.”
“Extremely helpful. She answered all my questions, gave solid, actionable advice and pointed me in the right direction. The best money I’ve spent on this project so far. ”
“I had a ten-minute live consultation with Kelly to discuss my query, and I feel so inspired! She is kind and intelligent, and her feedback was clear and insightful. I’m grateful for the advice I received, and I can’t wait to implement it into my query. I highly recommend meeting with Kelly!”
“Kelly was very helpful and kind! She gave me a lot of good advice for editing my query letter with a lot of practical tips that I can follow. Her advice was both specific to my letter and general for edits that I can make when fixing it. I’m feeling a lot more confident for my query letter and am very grateful for her help!”
“My consultation with Kelly Van Sant was amazing and thoroughly eye-opening! For starters, Kelly told me that she would only “start the timer” for the consultation once we began formally discussing the work! She asked if I had any questions prior to beginning and answered each question I had with grace and patience! Beginning the consultation this way allowed me to relax. Kelly truly wants the best for the writers she speaks with, regardless of whether she represents them or not!
We discussed industry-expected standards within a query, the methods to best reduce excessive word count, and prose-stylization dos and don’ts. The ideas and critiques that Kelly Van Sant provided to me have helped me rework my querying and editing approach with tangible guidelines. This was an invaluable consultation and I’d recommend any serious writer to consult with Kelly!”
“Kelly was very positive and made the most of our short time to give me impactful feedback. It’s hard to accept that you still have work to do but I can’t imagine a better way of having the information delivered to me.”
“The feedback I received from Kelly Van Sant was invaluable. After not having much luck with queries, I felt that I needed to hear from the literary agent side of the process to find out what needed to be fixed in my opening pages. Kelly was extremely helpful, direct, and kind. It was exactly the type of feedback I was looking for at this point in my querying journey. I would definitely book again with her!”
“First of all, a special thank you to Manuscript Academy and Kelly for agreeing to do a speciality live critique of my snyopsis. Kelly Van Sant dove deep into my plot and helped me show the world of the main character before the inciting incident. She also encouraged me to bring up the main theme of the novel earlier. I’m so grateful for her assistance in making my snyopsis as polished as possible before a conference submission to an editor.”