The Exhibit: Query Critique

The Exhibit – A query critique service for fiction writers who are submitting to literary agents and publishers

So you're ready to showcase your work to literary agents and publishers. Our query critique options include a workshop of your query letter and a close look at your synopsis and first 5,000 words. 

All Darling Axe query critique services now come with complimentary access to Query Quest, our self-paced course about the hunt for representation.

Query Letter Workshop

Your choice: we will either evaluate two query letters or you can submit the same letter for two rounds of feedback.

Cost: $110 USD


Synopsis Critique

One of our editors will perform a developmental edit on your 500-word synopsis. This top-down analysis is useful for identifying structural issues and other red flags that will snag with agents.

Cost: $110 USD


First 5000

Your query letter and synopsis are important parts of the submission package, but your writing sample is the true test. In fact, many agents read the sample first. This service includes a developmental edit of your first 5000 words.

Cost: $250 USD


Double Dip

A developmental edit of your first 5000 words and your choice: a query letter workshop as described above OR a synopsis critique.

Cost: $300 USD


The Complete Critique

All three services: first, you get a query letter workshop with two rounds of feedback. Second, we take a close look at your 500-word synopsis. Third, we perform a developmental edit on your first 5000 words.

Cost: $400 USD


 

Reality check: the world of traditional publishing is highly competitive. Literary agents can receive as many as fifty unsolicited manuscript submissions per day. We do not guarantee that our query-critique service will result in an offer of representation or a publishing contract. Sometimes, therefore, the best advice we can give is to keep refining your story. In other cases, we might recommend self-publication as the most realistic route to exposure and book sales.

 

 

Query quest: a self-paced course for querying authors