Critiques

I am taking on private clients for manuscript review. I will critique picture books, easy readers, and magazine pieces, either fiction or nonfiction. I will also consider nonfiction books. I gravitate towards science, religion, and memoir. No novels at the moment (you may contact Marcia Hoehne for those).

I charge $50/hour. Expect a minimum charge of $25. A thousand-word manuscript can take anywhere from 30-90 minutes depending on what you need, from copyediting (correcting spelling, grammar, punctuation, and offering suggestions for clarity and flow) to a detailed critique on narrative structure, plot, characters, pacing, and voice. I also crack the whip when I need to :)

Qualifications: I am a multi-published author in all the areas in which I offer critiques, and have mentored over a hundred students as an ICL instructor, SCBWI speaker, and volunteer. Teaching has always been a labor of love for me, and I truly enjoy helping others follow and reach their dreams.

Please note that I reserve the right to refuse my services.

Contact me at vijaya_bodach at yahoo dot com (remove spaces and replace dot with .) or use the contact form on the right column.

Some tips before you contact me: Make your manuscript the best you can, then have a writing partner or friend critique it for you. Only after you revise should you consider paying for a professional critique.

Testimonials:

Vijaya Bodach is an honest critiquer with an eye on helping you create your best work. She will not let you settle for lukewarm storytelling with a fuzzy plot and weak characters but will help you find the heart of your story and offer practical suggestions to help you reach your readers in  a meaningful way. Vijaya has a strong eye for details and will help you shore up any logistic problems you might be facing from POV to timeline. I happily recommend her critique service and know that your story will be stronger after you implement her suggestions.  ~ Molly Blaisdell. 

"Thank you so much for your detailed feedback on my nonfiction article. Your in depth critique not only made my article stronger, but it also made it more kid friendly. Thanks again!" ~ Sharon Chriscoe

Vijaya Bodach has critiqued for me, both short stories and novels. As a published author with many credits under her belt and an instructor for the Institute of Children's Literature, she has a great deal of experience on which to draw. Vijaya's critiques are fair and detailed and can cover everything from plot and sentence structure to characterization and description. ~ Bish Denham

Vijaya’s expert guidance and help took me from being a beginning children’s writer to a money-making professional!  She was instrumental to my publication in CRICKET and HIGHLIGHTS magazines. My first middle-grade adventure novel will be out in 2014. Thank you, Vijaya, for getting me off to a great start in my writing career. ~ Bryn Fleming

I can heartily recommend Vijaya’s services. She is prompt, thorough, thoughtful, and balanced. She praises your strengths, but, when she finds weaknesses, doesn’t let you get away with doing less than your best. If you want honesty and encouragement both, trust Vijaya. ~ Marcia Hoehne

Besides having a keen eye for detail, Vijaya possesses a rare talent for seeing clear to the heart of a story and steering you right toward it. Her insights have proved invaluable in bringing out the best in my writing. ~ Faith E. Hough

Vijaya's reading of my manuscript was very insightful, filled with examples and suggestions of how best to simplify the information and make the article friendly for children. Her feedback was timely and she also took time to answer questions and clarified the queries I had on her suggestions. Thank you, Vijaya! ~ Rani Iyer

Vijaya has a unique set of skills - she's both analytical AND creative! Her critique of my non-fiction biographical chapter for a book I'm writing was thorough, insightful and left me with many "on target" suggestions to consider. I highly recommend her! ~ Anne Kleehammer