Short Story Critiques

Short stories offer a window into other people’s worlds—a glimpse of humanity that can inspire us to laugh, cry, and even grow. They are also a great way to bring attention to your work through contests, awards, and publishing credits. That said, these magical little portals can be notoriously difficult to write and even harder to publish. While rejection is part of the process, a story that keeps bouncing back may benefit from review.

Struggling to find your short fiction a good literary home? A detailed short story critique by an experienced editor may be exactly what you need to knock your piece into publishable shape.

• My comprehensive short story critique is designed to identify exactly what is and isn’t working in your story and give you clear, actionable advice about how to improve it.

• You'll receive a full draft markup featuring editorial comments and in-text edits (including spelling, grammar, and style errors) as well as a detailed eight-to-ten page rubric evaluating the following storytelling elements:

—title
—hook
—language (e.g., voice, description)
—plot and premise
—structure and pacing
—character development
—dialogue
—theme
—conclusion
—creativity and reader interest

• Each section of the rubric is scored on a five-point scale and followed by editorial comments or suggestions for improvement.

• I also offer an hour of follow-up support via email. Questions or concerns about your story or critique? Feel free to reach out!

Request a Sample Short Story Critique

• While I may provide examples, I will not directly revise or rewrite your story for you.

• I will not perform any fact-checking as part of my critique.

• Regrettably, I am not an author/editor and a lawyer, and I can't provide any legal answers or advice regarding copyrighted material or anything else.

$0.01 per word plus a $5 base payment for each piece

• Fees are due at the time of submission. Please follow the link below and fill in the submission form. Price will be auto-calculated based on word count. Please make every effort to correctly represent your word count. Submissions with incorrect word counts will be returned minus a $5 service fee.

• I aim to return your critique (and the associated markup) within two weeks, but it may take longer if the queue is over-saturated, in which case, I will contact you.

• All story submissions must adhere to professional manuscript formatting standards (Arial, Courier, or Times font; size 12 text; double-spacing throughout with one-inch margins). Please name your file in the following manner: Last Name-Your Story Title

• If you have questions or would prefer to discuss the project further before submitting, please reach out!

Submit a Story