About a week ago I saw an author offer to critique the first ten pages of manuscripts featuring a trans protag in response to the latest hateful edicts spewed by the US government. I love that idea and am going to take it a step further.

If you identify with a marginalized community (racially, ethnically, sexuality, gender, economically, health-wise, religiously, etc.), I’ll critique the first chapter for free. There’s currently no deadline for when you need to send an email with the intake survey in the body of the email.

In order to take advantage of this standing offer, please do the following:
1) Fill out the intake survey that is at the end of this post. (If you have any questions about filling it out, please email me with your question.)
2) Copy and paste that into an email
3) Write in the subject line: Marginalized Voice Story Applicant
4) Send the email to literary(dot)sidekick(at)gmail(dot)com

I’ll reply that I’ve received your email within 24 hours along with a time frame you can expect to receive your critiques back in. I’ll follow-up to ask for you to send your story.

Intake Survey
Title of story:
Length (chapters, pgs, words):
Submitted in full? Y / N
Part of a series? Y / N

Comparison titles?
Why do these titles compare?
Summary of story:

Where are have you submitted?
What have been the responses?
If you haven’t submitted, where are you thinking of submitting?

Your favorite authors:
Your favorite books:

What do you want a reader to say about your story? (Be specific.)

Any stylized spellings or unique uses of grammar you want to keep?

Who is your ideal reader?
Where do they hang out?
Ideal readers’ favorite authors:
Ideal readers’ favorite books:

Characters:

What is it the point of your story?

Why does the reader care?

Who do you want your voice to be compared to?

POVs Used In the Story (please indicate which ones): 1st, 2nd, 3rd limited, 3rd omnipotent

Fantasy/sci-fi writers, please mention what kind of world-building has taken place. (Is it a completely differently world? Is it based on our world? Is it an alternate past or present? Is it set in the future?)