Critique service
The editing team at The Orange & Bee—Nike Sulway and Carina Bissett—offer professional and supportive critiques for writers of short fiction, poetry, and essays (as well as hybrid or experimental forms of writing).
Who is it for?
Our critique service is for writers at any stage of development, including new and experienced writers, who are seeking the services of a critical friend: someone who will act as your ally in identifying the strengths of your submission, and providing practical, supportive advice on how to further develop what you have created.
What’s included
Critiques are provided in the form of written reports. Your report will include honest and informed feedback on the overall strengths of your work, and advice for how to develop it further. We’ll offer constructive and practical advice for addressing issues with structure or argument, voice or style, characterisation, setting or worldbuilding, and (where relevant) what aspects of the folkloric tradition could help you to enrich your work, or strengthen your writing skills.
Our report may include recommendations for further reading, either craft essays or books, or examples of short stories or poems that might inspire you to go deeper, wider, or fly higher during your revision process.
If your work is close to being ready for submission, we may recommend suitable markets for your work.
What’s not included
We do not offer a copy editing or proofreading service. Our reports do not, therefore, include line editing of your work.
We cannot guarantee that application of our recommended edits/revisions will ensure your work is published, or that if you submit to a market we suggest they will publish your work.
Our fees
$75.00 for flash fiction (1000 words or shorter), and poetry up to 30 lines.
$150.00 for fiction and essays 1001 to 4000 words, and poetry from 31 to 50 lines.
We offer 10% off for all current paid subscribers to The Orange & Bee.
How it works
To schedule a critique, please send an email query, in the first instance, to theorangeandbee@gmail.com.
In the subject line of your email please indicate the service you are requesting, and the type of work you are submitting (eg: CRITIQUE: Short story).
The body of your query should include a clear indication of the length and form of your submission (eg: I am seeking feedback on a short story of 4500 words). It would also be helpful if you could offer a brief insight into your aims or hopes for the story, its genre, and anything else that will help us to provide you with targeted and relevant feedback. This might include questions, but does not have to. While we appreciate any information you can provide that will help us help you, don’t feel you need to write an essay! A single, shortish paragraph will do perfectly.
Also, if you can, do try to be an ally to your work. Avoid telling us how terrible the story is, how under-developed, how broken and impossible and difficult. Think of it as like a small, precious creature that you adore and for which you are responsible and instead, perhaps, speak to us of its possibilities and strengths. Its potential. This doesn’t mean you can’t identify what you think or feel isn’t working right now. That would be helpful! But do try to focus on craft problems or challenges, rather than how you feel about those challenges.
While we are kind folk, who want the best for you and your writing, we are not therapists or counsellors. We cannot help you with the kind of emotional concerns that afflict so many of us as writers: self-doubt, in particular, is a plague in our community. And one we have no magic spell for curing.
If you are hoping that a particular one of us (either Nike or Carina) will be your reader, please tell us so in your cover letter.
Our initial response will provide you with a window/time for submission, as well as an invoice for payment for your critique service. We require payment prior to starting work on your critique, and so the date when you receive your report will be based on the length and form of your work, and the date when you both submit your submission, and we receive payment. We will be clear about this timeframe in our response to your query (eg: We would be happy to receive your submission between now and 14 November. Your report will be sent to you by email two weeks (14 days) after we receive your submission copy of ‘The Ranger’s Sparrow’ and payment of your invoice).
Once we have everything we need from you, we will send a follow-up email, letting you know that we have received your story in a readable file format (!), as well as payment, and confirming the date when you can expect your report.
From there, it’s very simple. We’ll read your story several times. Poke at its edges, ask it questions, sleep with it infecting our dreams for a time, and then write a report that aims to help you make this story the best version of itself. Your report will be sent by email, as an attachment, on the date indicated in your confirmation email.