Dear readers, I’m interrupting my regularly scheduled bookish musings to offer you an opportunity. Wait, don’t go—I promise this isn’t a form letter inviting you to join me on Substack Notes. I’m not even sure I want to be there.
I’m writing to let you know that I’m now, officially, in the business of getting paid to read. If you’re working on a family story of any length, in either memoir or fiction, I would love to read it. I offer two different services:
Beta Reading I’ll read your work once in my non-professional capacity, as a family story super-fan who also happens to have personal experience with widowhood and raising kids, both solo and partnered. I’ll provide my honest opinion in a letter, and will address up to three specific questions, if you have them. Maybe you’re writing about toddlers or tweens and want to know if your dialogue rings true. Or maybe you have never experienced bereavement, but your protagonist is grieving, and you want to be sure you’re getting it “right”. I would love to answer these questions.
Manuscript Evaluation I’ll read your work at least twice and will draw on ten years’ experience in literary magazine publishing to provide more detailed feedback on all the major elements (plot, character, pacing, style, dialogue) in a report complete with page references.
More details, including rates, are available here.
But wait—there’s more.
I’m also looking for solo parents who are willing to take my Solo Parent Questionnaire. Inspired by the fabulous Oldster Questionnaire, I’m developing a list of questions designed to reveal the beautifully diverse reality of solo parenthood, and to find out how it relates to the stereotypical portrayal of solo parents in books, movies, and news media. As ever, my definition of solo parent is any unpartnered adult who is a primary caregiver for at least one kid.
If you’d like to learn more, please give me a shout at the allbyourshelves (at) substack (dot) com.
I’m waiting to hear your thoughts on Judy Bloom. The book and the movie. Your opinions and those of perhaps some children’s.