Will be hosted by the Orange County Christian Writers Fellowship on May 18-20, 2012 in Newport Beach, California
Manuscript Critique Service
The OC Christian Writers Conference is now offering critique services by published authors and magazine and book editors in a variety of genres.
Receiving a professional review of your work in progress can save you hundreds of dollars in editing fees and hundreds of hours in lost writing energy. In addition, a manuscript evaluation will help get you back on track if you have strayed and will keep you moving forward on the right path.
Whether you are writing a novel, a biblical application, a poem, a children's book, or a book proposal, a professional critique in addition to our personalized one-on-one consultation is a worthy investment.
Please review the guidelines, payment options, and bios of our consultants below. If you have any questions, please contact us.
Consultation Guidelines
Our consult staff will provide feedback that is both supportive and
helpful so that you can improve your manuscript as you progress toward publication. Feedback will be honest but also
encouraging. All consultants will follow these guidelines:
Consultants will evaluate one book proposal or up to 15 pages of a manuscript for full-length works or 4 poems/devotionals
or up to 2,000 words for picture books.
Consultants are not performing a proofread or copyedit,
but rather, are offering an overall
evaluation of the work's readiness for publication with assessment of
strengths and weaknesses as well as recommendations for improvement.
Commenting on grammar or punctuation might be included in
the critique, but will not be edited in detail.
Consultants will provide a
personalized, 15-minute consultation with you either on the day of our annual conference (April 30th, 2011) or by telephone.
Your manuscript will be made available electronically to the
consultant. It will be emailed back to you with his or her comments within
two weeks of submission, or it will be printed and delivered to you on the day of the conference.
Manuscript Preparation
Please make sure to include a cover sheet with the following information:
name of preferred consultant
your genre (sci-fi, children's, Bible study)
your name
phone number
email address
Brief description of audience (for nonfiction)
Brief description of the purpose or theme of the book. What do you want readers to learn, do, know after reading your work (for nonfiction). What is the plot or theme of the book (for fiction).
Payment
Cost for this service is $50 made payable by credit card or PayPal using the Buy Now button below.
PamelaCaldwell is the
Senior Editor for Precious Times Magazine - the magazine for today's
Black Christian woman. She also is a faculty member in the College of
Communications at California State University, Fullerton. Ms. Caldwell
has a bachelor's degree in Public Relations from Cal State Fullerton
and a master's degree in Theology from Fuller Theological Seminary. She
is a regular contributor to a special Guidepost series, has written for
the Chicken Soup of the Soul Collection and Decision Magazine, and
currently has three books on the docket - a creative non-fiction; an
academic; and a children's series. She publicly performs her poetry in
various venues around Orange County. Pamela wants to encourage Christians to put their love of Jesus into written form to encourage others in their faith.
John DeSimone
Specialties: mainstream fiction, southern fiction, historical and literary fiction.
John DeSimone is a published novelist, adjunct professor of English at
Biola University and the director of the OC Christian Writers
Conference. For six years he's been the fiction editor on Christian
Communicator Manuscript Critique staff. Many of his clients have gone on
to publish their novels. He reads each work carefully, and gives
feedback that focuses on a specific revision strategy to help achieve
the authors intent in their work.
Edie helps Christian authors fulfill their roles as God's ambassadors by
offering full-service book editing, writing and interior layout
services for self-publication and traditional publishing.
With God's support, a Master of Professional Writing degree specializing in nonfiction, two
self-published books (children's educational resource for kids with low vision and a medical guidebook for parents), and experience editing a variety of Christian and
non-profit materials, Edie approaches each project with passion and
proven skill in analyzing and clearly presenting ideas no matter how
simple or complex.
Bonnie Hanson
Specialties: Bible study/curriculum,
self-help/informational, and personal experience articles for
anthologies, such as Chicken Soup for the Soul.
Bonnie Compton Hanson is
author of over 30 books for adults and children, fiction and
nonfiction, including two series for girls, an adult novel, children's
picture books, a humorous book on housework, and several teachers'
resource books. She has also been curriculum writer and product
designer for six publishers, plus an editor at Scripture Press and with
four periodicals. She has also had many poems and articles published,
including 33 with Chicken Soup for the Soul books. A speaker, artist,
writer's mentor, and pastor's wife, she has taught Creative Writing at
Concordia University (Irvine) and Harvest Bible University.
Nancy I. Sanders is the bestselling and award-winning children's author
of over 80 books with publishers in both the Christian and general
markets.
JohnFox’s fiction has
appeared in Shenandoah, Third Coast, Los Angeles Review, Tampa Review,
Pedestal Magazine and Adirondack Review. He won the Third Coast Fiction
Contest, Poets & Writers named him a finalist in their California
Writers Exchange Award, and Relief: A Christian Literary Expression
awarded him the Editor’s Choice for Fiction. He earned graduate degrees
in creative writing from the University of Southern California and New
York University. At BookFox, a literary blog, he has covered short
stories, novels, and literary news for the past five years, gaining
accolades from The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, Utne Reader, Writer’s
Digest, Publisher’s Weekly, and Huffington Post. In addition to
blogging, he’s written about books for the Los Angeles Times, US Airways
Magazine, and PBS online.
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