Daisy Fried
Poet

 

Manuscript Critique 

Full-length poetry collections (48-90 pp) and chapbooks (18-45 pp)

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​How it works: 

On a mutually agreed-on date, you will send me your manuscript along with a letter providing any commentary and asking any specific questions you have about individual poems, manuscript sections, or the manuscript as a whole.

 

I take four weeks to read, think about, and write back to you  your manuscript after you first submit it.

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I write a detailed report about individual poems, down to a line-by-line level as needed, and also commenting on what’s at the heart of the manuscript, thematically and stylistically. I consider the arc and order of the poems in the manuscript as a whole, in terms of dynamics, development of themes, and overall impressions and my sense of the manuscript’s force and success. Different manuscripts need different approaches to the mysterious thing called “arc.” Some have content/theme-based development. Some simply need varied arrangement according to tone, form, length, pacing, etc. Some need both. Some need more poems, and I may suggest directions for those. Some need fewer. My goal is always to let the individual work guide me rather than to fit your work into some pre-existing mold. 

 

You then get a mutually-agreed-on amount of time to do one of two things:

• write back with questions about my report to you, and to raise any questions you have which I didn't answer, after which I would write back to you in response again, with another mutually-agreed upon deadline,

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• same thing: questions, etc., on what I have sent you, with responses from me, but conducted as a conversation via zoom or Facetime of 1-2 hours.

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Cost: Full-length manuscript critique: $1500. Chapbook manuscript critique: $900 

 

My approach: I get excited by the fact that each manuscript has its own set of rules, logic and necessity. I believe it’s important to tell you in detail what I think is working well, and what you are doing, very specifically, to make things work well. I am also respectfully frank about what I think might not be working. I believe that critique doesn’t provide the last word as to what should happen as much as it does a strong opinion to which you can react. Maybe you take some of the advice because it coincides with your vision of yourself and your work. Maybe you reject it, but it helps you articulate said vision. Maybe you reject it, but it sends you in a new direction you hadn’t thought of before. Most likely it’s a combination of the three.

 

I try very hard to put on your ears and eyes and understand your intentions—I’m not interested in some external standard of the way poetry should be written. I think there are a million different ways for poems to be good, and that the writing of a poem and of a manuscript is a series of hundreds? thousands? of choices that have to do with who the poet is, not who I am. I will also acknowledge my biases as honestly as possible so that you can take that into account when thinking about my advice. I don’t say any of this as a disclaimer but as a strong belief that no one has the “right” advice for another person’s poem, nor that there’s any truth to the way poems should be.

 

Logistics: I prefer to get manuscripts as e-mail attachments in a word doc, and I have various methods of responding to your work: 1) extensive marginal comments, using the “review” function in Microsoft Word (if Word is a problem, let me know and we’ll figure something else out) 2) with editing suggestions worked in (clearly and identifiably) to the body of your poem(s) (that is, you’ll always be able to tell when I’ve added something to the page—there won’t be any invisible changes!) and 3) in narrative format in a letter. You can expect to get a multi-page letter from me with comments on each poem. 

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Private Mentorships

In which you write poems, and I read and comment on your work.

 

Overview

I conduct most private mentorships by email packet exchange.  On mutually agreed-on dates you send a packet of prearranged number of poems (or poems and craft papers, if preferred), and a letter accompanying each packet. In most cases I respond with a detailed letter and comments on your work. A Zoom, FaceTime, or in-person meeting in place of the written response is an option. In a subsequent packet, you can include responses to my feedback or, if there is no subsequent packet we can schedule a final follow-up exchange in writing or in real time.

Logistics

We determine the number of packets exchanges and of poems (and papers, where relevant) per packet according to your needs and my availability.

 

Some people like to try out a single packet before committing to more.  

 

We also decide on the number of poems and page limits for the packet, and the corresponding fee-per-packet (see below) in advance, depending on your needs and my availability.

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Some poets ask for prompts; others prefer not to work with them.  
 

Your letter can be any length, and may raise specific questions about your poems, offer necessary information, comment on process, readings, and craft—really anything that comes up for you in relation to poetry—in order to build a conversation that connects process with product. 

 

My letter back to you includes detailed commentary on individual poems, responds to your letter, and often makes suggestions for further reading. 

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If you’re uncertain about how many packets you want to do, you can try out a single packet first. 

 

When scheduling a series of packets, the spacing of submissions will be decided according to our needs and schedules. Many poets find that sending a packet once a month or once every six weeks works well. 

 

Once I receive your packet I respond within 3-5 days. 

 

You send work by e-mail attachment. My preference is to receive Microsoft Word Docs. I respond in kind, with: 1) extensive marginal comments on your poems, using the “review” function in Microsoft Word, and/or 2) editing suggestions worked in (clearly and identifiably) to the body of your poem(s) (that is, you’ll always be able to tell when I’ve added something to the page—there won’t be any invisible changes), and also 3) in narrative format in a letter. You can expect to get a multi-page letter from me containing comments on all poems. 

 

I am open to the possibility of following a different format and structure per your needs. 

 

My Approach

In my critique I do my best to honor each writer’s intentions, aesthetics, temperament, and themes. I actively try to avoid operating from my own biases while also being honest about them. I think of critique as offering a viewpoint against which mentees can react, rather than as something which ought dutifully to be followed. This means I may express strong opinions without believing you should conform to them. 

 

You might decide my advice is spot-on, but you might also, for example, use the advice to articulate for yourself why you made the choices you did. Or you might decide that while I’ve identified a problem, my proposed solution isn’t the right one—but perhaps this will send you towards another solution entirely. I don't have fixes or answers, but I hope to help you figure out what questions you should be asking yourself about your poems. I also like to describe to you what you're doing well. That's not always obvious to the writer, and I believe it is helpful.

 

I think of revision as re-seeing. Tidying the poem can also be important, but it’s re-vision that gets you to discovery. 

 

Some poets prefer to work with specific craft foci in each packet; others are interested in more general comment and critique with a focus on whatever craft and other issues arise organically from the work submitted. Some poets find it helpful to write craft papers as they work on their poems. Let’s figure out together what will work for you. 

 

Fees

Fees for packets depend on the number and length of poems you send; we will decide that in advance. A 6-poem packet of up to 12 pages is $350. The number of poems and pages you send for a particular fee is somewhat adjustable with pre-planning or, for example, if you have a 10-page poem, you could send that and two other short poems for the same fee as the six shorter poems. If you're interested in feedback on, say, a 20-page poem, that one poem might constitute a single packet. If you came up short one packet it would be okay to add extra poems to the next packet, with notice.

 

Payment for each packet is required when you send the packet. 

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If I am ever unable to complete work on a packet, I will refund your payment for that packet in full.  

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Email me to inquire further about manuscript critique and mentorships. 

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