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BOOKS •
FEATURES •
KEEP IN TOUCH
It all began with a Fearless critique. In early 2003, unknown and unpublished author Gary Renard sent Fearless Books a manuscript entitled The Disappearance of the Universe for a literary assessment. By late 2003, that title was published under the Fearless imprint and went on to become a metaphysical best-seller. After 25,000 copies of the Fearless edition were sold, the title was taken over by international New Age publisher Hay House, which now has approximately 200,000 copies in print worldwide. See Gary’s website for more information.
Fearless Literary has been assessing both fiction and nonfiction manuscripts for over fifteen years, and has given scores of authors pricelessadvice on refining and preparing their work for publication. Whenever possible, we help promising authors make publishing connections. If you’re wondering whether your manuscript has what it takes to succeed in print — and what you can do to improve its chances — investing now in a Fearless critique might be the smartest literary move you’ll ever make!
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What is a literary critique?
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A critique is a full, professional assessment of your work in progress. Working with the Word file of your manuscript, we usually make comments and offer some sample editing on the first 50-100 pages. This gives you some detailed feedback on both the strong and weak points of your prose style. After examining the full manuscript, we provide you with a comprehensive letter of review, usually about 2000 words, that summarizes the comments and editing provided with your Word file, and offers further observations on what’s working in your project, and what could be improved. We answer follow-up queries without charge, and offer discounts on subsequent assessments of revised manuscripts in progress. In some cases, critiques provide the start of a coaching relationship for the continuing development of a project.Our advice deals with both the literary quality and publishing potential of your work. We aim to help you achieve a greater sense of accomplishment as a writer and find the most efficient route to publication. That may mean helping you land representation with a literary agent, find an appropriate independent publisher, or pursue independent publication, an increasingly viable alternative in the current market. Through the years we have found that too many writers invest in editing prematurely, often spending several thousand dollars on a full line-edit of their manuscripts before necessary developmental work has been done. Thus, a critique can be a valuable time- and money-saving investment. If we feel that your work only needs line editing — or is in fact ready for consideration by an agent or publisher — we will let you know and recommend the most efficient route to publication. We have relationships with a number of literary agents and are also well connected in the independent publishing field.
Who are we?
The principals of Fearless Literary are both widely-published writers who have made a living in the fields of writing and editing for most of our lives. Fearless founder D. Patrick Miller has published fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry with several major New York houses, two large independent presses, and under his own Fearless Books imprint. Sari Friedman is an award-winning fiction writer, poet, and journalist who earned her MFA from Columbia University. She has also sold numerous nonfiction pieces and taught writing in a variety of venues. For details on our experience, see our biographical statements below. Although one or the other of us focuses on a particular project, we discuss all projects together and thus give clients the benefit of our combined expertise.How long does a critique take?
We generally allow six weeks from the time of submission and payment to the return of a manuscript with comments, sample editing, and the letter of assessment. Short or partial manuscripts will usually be assessed more quickly.How do I submit a manuscript for assessment?
Write to Critiques@fearlessbooks.com and let us know of your interest in pursuing a full critique. We will reply with instructions for submitting payment and submission of your manuscript in Word as an e-mail attachment. For a novel, we also require a synopsis of the storyline; for nonfiction work, we require a table of contents and chapter outline. With any work, you should submit a cover letter in the text of your e-mail, describing the history of the project to date and your writing experience.If you are working in nonfiction, you can save money with a Fast Assessment of a proposal. See our rate schedule below for costs of critiquing a long manuscript, short or partial manuscript, poetry, and query or cover letters.
We’ve both been helping writers refine their work for over fifteen years, and we share a keen sense of what it takes to survive and succeed as writers in a rapidly-changing market . We look forward to seeing what you’re working on!
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Basic Rates and Conditions for Literary Critiques
$1800.00 is the standard fee for critiquing a book-length manuscript (150+ pages or 35,000-100,000 words). Manuscripts of more than 100,000 words are subject to a $300 surcharge. All manuscripts should be accompanied by a synopsis (for fiction) or table of contents and chapter summaries (for nonfiction) of the entire project. It’s also helpful to have a brief biographical description of you, including your age, education, writing experience, and a statement about your short-term and long-term writing goals.
Payment can be made online, and we accept submissions as Word files submitted via e-mail. You will receive a written critique of approximately 2000 words, providing a professional opinion of your material’s strong points, weaknesses, marketing potential, and overall impact. We generally include sample editing and additional comments directly on the first 50 to 100 pages of Word manuscript files. If we feel that your work may be interesting to an agent or editor, we will inform you before making a referral.
$1250.00 is the standard fee for reading and critiquing complete or partial manuscripts of 150 pages or less, such as short stories, poetry collections, book chapters, and so on. The written critique will be about 1200 words. Payment must accompany manuscript.
$950.00 is the standard fee for a “Fast Assessment”of a project presentation (cover letter, query, and short sample) intended for agents and editors. For more details, see the Fast Assessment page.
$500.00 is the standard fee for reading and critiquing a poetry collection. We will review one to five poems (maximum 200 lines) for $250. Payment must accompany manuscript.
STUDENT DISCOUNT: MFA, MA, BFA and PhD candidates receive a 10% discount on all rates listed above.
$150.00 is the standard fee for critiquing and editing a query or cover letter. Turnaround is within 48 hours, in most cases. Payment must accompany manuscript. See our Business Media Services for information on the review and editing of professional introductions, resumés, press releases, and other business-related media.
$125.00 is the standard fee for a review of a book idea. See Great Idea Review for more information on this service.
We prefer electronic files in Word format. Please inquire about other submission methods or media.
PLEASE NOTE THAT RESERVATIONS ARE NOW BEING TAKEN FOR ASSESSMENTS & CRITIQUES. If you would like to reserve a start date for the next available Fast Assessment or Critique, write Critiques@fearlessbooks.com for the current schedule and reservation information.
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Comments from authors
who have worked with Fearless Literary
“When I first contacted Fearless Literary, I knew my book was a winner — but something wasn’t quite right. When two friends who do not know each other suggested I contact Fearless, I decided to give it a go. We started with a Fast Assessment. Immediately, Patrick felt as I did, that the book was a winner but needed restructuring. His ideas so aligned with what I knew inside that I sent him the entire book. Patrick’s suggestions completely took the book from not-quite-right to better-than-you’d-ever-imagine. He edited out extraneous, unnecessary detail, telling me why and making me smile, because I knew he was right. His ideas made the book and its proposal. His inspired ‘hits’ and ‘hunches’ have launched AARON'S CROSSING (his title suggestion, by the way) on a path of great success.” — Linda Alice Dewey, author of AARON'S CROSSING: A True Ghost Story (originally self-published on the advice of Fearless Literary; later sold to Hampton Roads Publishing with the recommendation of Fearless Literary.)
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“I believe Patrick Miller’s counsel was vital as I pitched my first novel. His advice forced me to fundamentally rethink the manuscript I was about to present. His critique was not sparing, and at first I said insulting things about him. But it made too much sense to ignore. Patrick’s remarks were savvy on two levels: they forced me to imagine a thicker story and, frankly, had me produce a more marketable book. I'm not sure I would have sold it without his help -- and I plan to seek his wisdom on future projects.” — Brian Brown, author of TV: A Novel of Media, Madness and Redemption (Crown, 2001)
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I was a book editor for a decade and never achieved the kind of bird’s eye clarity that Patrick has brought to my manuscripts. His critiques are as thorough and impeccably reasoned as his suggestions, which are surprising and always helpful. One of my biggest challenges when I embarked on a writing career was finding honest and objective criticism. Patrick delivers both, and more. — John Meils, former book editor (Workman; Macmillan; Stewart, Tabori & Chang)
After completing my novel Settling I received favorable feedback from agents who liked my style but didn’t love my story. A full critique helped me understand that I needed to re-imagine Settling on a larger scale... and start over. I wish I had known about Fearless before I sent out all those queries! If you want polite encouragement, look to your friends. If you’re ready for honest criticism that will help you write a better book, I sincerely recommend Fearless Literary. — Rachel Arends, author of Settling (novel in progress)
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Before founding Fearless Books in 1997 to continue the publication of his writing, D. PATRICK MILLER sold three solo projects to major publishers: Viking, Henry Holt, and Dell. He is now the author of nine titles, including his current book Understanding A Course in Miracles (Celestial Arts/Random House), and recently sold a proposal for an upcoming book to Tarcher/Penguin. As a collaborator, ghostwriter, or principal editor, Miller has helped other authors prepare manuscripts for such publishers as Viking, Doubleday, Warner, Crown, Simon & Schuster, Jeremy P. Tarcher, Hay House, Hampton Roads, and John Wiley & Sons. His poetry has been published in a number of magazines and several anthologies. A top-ranked volunteer expert on publishing at AllExperts.com, Miller provides professional consultations to literary agents and publishers as well as published and unpublished authors working in fiction and nonfiction. He has worked for many years with the Linda Chester Literary Agency of New York, which recommends the Fearless Literary critique service. He is a member of the Authors Guild and Independent Book Publishers Association, and serves as president of the Northern California chapter of the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA), as well as serving on ASJA’s national board of directors.
SARI FRIEDMAN’s poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, and book reviews have appeared in literary magazines, trade journals, and anthologies including the O. Henry Festival Stories Collection, San Francisco Chronicle, Berkeley Daily Planet, and Manhattan Poetry Review. She has been nominated for The General Electric Younger Writers Award and The Pushcart Prize Collection, and won the New Voice in Fiction First Prize from The Writers Voice in NYC. She is the former Assistant Director of the Summer Writers' Festival sponsored by Columbia University Graduate Writing Division, and served as an Advanced Fiction Workshop Instructor in the Washington Heights Writers’ Workshops. Sari has consulted on manuscript acquisitions for Avon Books and New American Library. She is a member of PEN, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, and the National Writers Union.
