If you plan on writing a picture book that sells, don’t chisel that plan in stone simply because your Aunt Rose or your next door neighbor say your stories are great. Get into a critique group with others that share your goal. If you write picture books, start or join a picture book critique group. Exchange manuscripts either in person or online. You will learn valuable lessons from other writers. Eventually, you will write new manuscripts with that advice in mind. You will be self-editing and creating better stories every year.

If you are at the point where you think a paid critique would benefit your writing, there are plenty of pros (published authors) who offer this service (I’ll give you a couple names if you want them). Their fees are generally $75 or more for a critique. This terrible economy may have some authors lowering the prices of their critiques, but costs could go the other way too.

If you are interested in a great critique from a non-professional (read: unpublished author) with eight years of critique experience and some near misses in the publishing world, please contact me. My prices are $39.00 for picture books under 1000 words (if you read the rules above, you know those picture books you’ve written better be under 1000 words.) I will provide you with a detailed critique with suggested deletions and additions. The more often I work with you as your craft improves, later critiques will come along with suggested names and addresses of editors who have expressed interest in your type of story.