“Leah has provided me with exceptional developmental and line edits on many manuscripts in a variety of genres. She is extremely detail oriented and has found things to improve that would never have occurred to me even if I spent months mulling over it. Some words to describe Leah’s editing style are careful, precise, encouraging, and inspiring. I highly recommend her.”

— Marie Hoy-Kenny

"Thank you so much for the very thoughtful and thorough critique! I was so inspired that I started revising right away."

-J.P.

“Leah Kessler's gentle, in-depth, and insightful critique of my children's picture book manuscript left me feeling upbeat about my story and provided me with specific recommendations that tremendously improved my story.”

— Di Litwer

Picture Book Critique - $65

Tight word counts and the need to share narrative space with illustrations make picture books a unique and highly specialized form of writing. Areas of focus in a picture book manuscript critique include bringing out the heart of your story, tightening the prose, and providing you with feedback about pacing, organization, character development, and story structure.

I’m not the best match for critiquing rhyme, but I am happy to look at your rhyming manuscript for all of the story elements mentioned above.

The $65 price applies to fiction and non-fiction picture book manuscripts of 1,000 words or less. Longer manuscripts will be charged $5.00 per additional 100 words or any fragment thereof.

What I provide:

• Notes and comments within the text using Track Changes (unless otherwise specified)

• A detailed edit letter highlighting areas of strength and areas for growth

• The option to contact me one time after the critique has been provided with follow-up and/or clarification questions. If you would like me to critique the same manuscript a second time I charge a $35 fee.

Picture Book Query Critique - $25

Your query is your one chance to make a memorable first impression and grab the attention of an editor or agent. A good query is clear and concise and makes a strong case that your story is unique and marketable. I will help you organize and polish your query in order to give it the best chance of piquing the interest of industry professionals. If desired, I will suggest strategies for finding strong comparison titles for your picture book manuscript.

What I provide:

• Detailed notes about what is already working in your query and areas that could be strengthened.

• The option to contact me one time after the critique has been provided with follow-up and/or clarification questions. If you would like me to critique the same query a second time I charge a $15 fee.

Picture Book & Query Critique Package - $80

What I provide:

• All of the feedback listed under Picture Book Critique

• All of the feedback listed under Picture Book Query Critique.

• Your edit letter and notes will include feedback that addresses how well your critique matches your story in tone and content in order to set your story off to best advantage.

• This package comes with the option to contact me one time after the critique has been provided with follow-up and/or clarification questions. If you would like me to critique the same manuscript + query a second time I charge a $40 fee.