mANUSCRIPT CRITIQUE
Level up your writing career with professional feedback on your manuscript and candid publishing advice.
“For years I’d been slogging away on my first work of fiction (a satirical millennial workplace novel), my frustration, burnout, and despair growing with every draft that saw my vision go unfulfilled. And then came Leigh. Her astute, intelligent appraisal of my manuscript, advice, edits, and, perhaps most important of all, her genuine enthusiasm for the project, not only steered me in the right direction, but stopped me from giving up completely. Almost a year to the day that I first met with Leigh to discuss my manuscript, I signed with a literary agent, and we’re preparing to submit to publishers. I doubt I would be able to say that today if I had not sought her help.”
After years of sitting alone at your desk, you’ve finished writing a complete novel or memoir manuscript. And you want someone to tell you the truth: does this actually work?
As a coach and editor, I work one-on-one with writers who are driven and serious about publishing their work and building a career in a competitive industry.
I am one of the few book coaches who is a working writer. I’ve published five books in three categories (memoir, fiction, and poetry), and written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, Allure, ELLE, AirMail, and The Cut. I have sixteen years of experience working in media and publishing, beginning at The New Yorker. I closely follow changes in the book publishing and media industries (e.g., BookTok; ChatGPT) so that I can give my clients the most relevant, honest, and up-to-date career advice. My clients have sold projects to imprints of Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, and Hachette, as well as Audible, Bloomsbury, MIT Press, and Zibby Books.
If you’re seeking a professional opinion on the strengths and weaknesses of your manuscript, and an honest assessment of where it fits in today’s market, I am currently booking manuscript critiques for July and August 2024.
I work with writers who are seeking a professional edit before they query agents. I also work with writers who already have literary representation.
I love working on:
Literary fiction, upmarket and women’s fiction, and literary plus (literary suspense; literary thriller; literary novels with romantic elements), satires!
Memoir, especially Memoir+
I love books that make me laugh and cry.
Some recent books I loved:
(fiction) Wellness by Nathan Hill; Leaving by Roxana Robinson; The Book of Ayn by Lexi Freiman; Birnam Wood by Eleanor Catton; Trust by Hernan Diaz; Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin; Y/N by Esther Yi; The Guest by Emma Cline; Yellowface by R.F. Kuang; Victim by Andrew Boryga; Big Swiss by Jen Beagin; The Idea of You by Robinne Lee; The Pisces by Melissa Broder; Nora Goes Off Script by Annabel Monaghan; Several People Are Typing by Calvin Kasulke, A Touch of Jen by Beth Morgan
(memoir) Splinters by Leslie Jamison; How to Be Old by Lyn Slater; Grief Is for People by Sloane Crosley; Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner; Sure I’ll Join Your Cult by Maria Bamford; This Is Not a Book about Benedict Cumberbatch by Tabitha Carvan; Also a Poet by Ada Calhoun; Easy Beauty by Chloé Cooper Jones; The Third Rainbow Girl by Emma Copley Eisenberg; In the Dream House by Carmen Maria Machado
I do not edit picture books, middle grade, YA, or commercial genre (romance, mystery, thriller, horror). I’m open to novels that blur the boundaries between genre (e.g., literary suspense).
“Leigh Stein lay her hands over mine and helped me shape this story into something that was ready to sell, sort of like the pottery scene in Ghost, but with a book.”
“For decades, I wanted to write a book about the class action lawsuit I brought as a young lawyer during the ‘80s farm crisis. Leigh took my idea and helped me turn it into a book proposal. Leigh also connected me to the literary agent who sold the book. Without Leigh’s advice, editorial skill, and publishing industry insights, The Farmer’s Lawyer would never have existed.”
Manuscript Editing
BIG PICTURE FEEDBACK
I read your manuscript twice.
I provide big picture, editorial feedback on the novel’s plot and structure, paying special attention to the main character’s desire line and how that impacts the pacing.
For memoirists, I provide big picture feedback on the book’s structure and the narrator’s journey.
DETAILED MARKUP
I give detailed, written feedback on manuscript pages, including line edits and comments. I suggest cuts, raise questions, mark passages where more clarity or character development may be needed, and note continuity errors or inconsistencies.
PUBLISHING STRATEGY
I do market research and strategize with my clients about how best to position the book in terms of category and comparative titles. I help my clients describe their work in a succinct and compelling way.
>> Ready to get started?
My rate for a complete manuscript critique is $0.06 per word and includes:
a big picture editorial letter
detailed feedback on your manuscript pages in TrackChanges, and
a one-hour Zoom call to go over my feedback
I am currently booking manuscript critiques for July and August 2024. Please apply here and if your project sounds like a good fit, I will ask to see the first 20 pages. As of May 19, 2024, I am now closed to applications.
I am also happy to recommend other experienced editors.
Get started. Apply to work together.
About Leigh
Leigh Stein is an author, an extremely online cultural critic, and a book development expert who works with ambitious writers from concept to publication, with a finger on the pulse of the zeitgeist. She works with writers who are serious about turning their great ideas into successful, published books. Leigh’s status as a working writer, along with her publishing experience and relationships with agents, makes her uniquely positioned to help writers sell their books. Leigh is a liaison between what creative writing programs offer students and what the book publishing industry is actually looking for.
As an author who has published five books in three genres and written for the New York Times, the Washington Post, the New Yorker online, Allure, ELLE, and The Cut, Leigh has closely followed the ups and downs of both the book publishing and media industries and she knows what it takes to stand out in the attention economy. Her novel Self Care, launched during the pandemic, was in the top 2% of new releases in 2020.
“Highbrow brilliant” - New York Magazine
“Poet laureate of The Bachelor” - The Cut
“World’s foremost authority on the girlboss” - Vox
Please note: Leigh Stein provides services as a book development expert and will perform to the best of her abilities, but there is no guarantee of literary agent representation, or of publication.