Critiques for Manuscripts - Poetry
Cheryl J. Fish, professor, author of several full-length poetry collections, chapbooks, and numerous poems published in journals, anthologies, and features, will read and offer supportive feedback for your poetry manuscript. Our service is best for collections that:
- Are written with commercial intent: finding a publisher, or maximizing sales in a self- or hybrid-publishing context
- Feel "stuck" or lack direction
- Keep getting rejected, but it's not clear what to do about it
- Lack a distinct style, voice, or overly rely on rhyme
- Contain poems that do not fully draw on poetic technique, such as figurative language and appealing to the senses
- Might contain dated, clichéd, or exploitative content, which the author wants help in identifying and removing
This service is not recommended for manuscripts that:
- Were written primarily to serve the author on a personal basis (i.e., to process emotions and memories, to serve as a family record, or to provide an artistic outlet without commercial intent)
- Already feel finished to the author (the author has no desire to make substantial changes in a future draft)
Please submit a digital copy of your work. You may upload it as two files if your manuscript and cover are separate files. It is acceptable to leave identifying information on your documents. We will keep your submission private, and we will provide your critique for your personal use (i.e. please don't publish our critique without our permission).
Your manuscript should include 44-80 pages of poems. Please ensure each poem begins on a new page and has a title. Number your pages. A font of 12-point Times New Roman is preferred. Poems are typically single-spaced, with an extra blank line between verses or stanzas. If your poems have unusual formatting, please tell us your intention for your chosen spacing or formatting when submitting the manuscript.
You can expect your critique to be 1,500-3,000 words long. It will include the following sections as relevant:
- Critique summary
- Comments on how the poems use stanzas, formatting, and line breaks, and which poems might be revised for certain emphasis
- Use of language (voice, tone, tonal consistency, literary devices, artistic style, imagery, sense of mastery, relation to themes, use of metaphor and simile, forms, and lyrical style)
- Technical execution (layout, spelling and grammar, technical consistency, etc.)
- Recommendations with links for reference
- Practice 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. You can expect your critique within eight weeks of your order. After delivery, we will welcome one round of follow-up questions from you.
Price: $299. Your satisfaction is guaranteed. If our critique does not deliver value for you, you can request a prompt refund from adam@winningwriters.com.