A few weeks ago a friend pointed me to a new site: Fiverr, a site that asks, "What are you willing to do for $5?"
As many of you know, every now and then I run various fundraisers for my pet charity, First Book. So I though to myself, "Self? How can we combine the two and raise more $$$ than ever before?"
So here is what I will do for $5:
I will read your query letter and tell you if I'd request your manuscript or not, and why for $5
OR
I will read your query letter and tell you if I'd request your manuscript or not, and why for $5
OR
I will read your first five pages and tell you if I'd request your manuscript or not, and why for $5
"But Lindsay!" you say. "You already provide sample edits of the first ten pages, free of charge, to prospective clients! And now you're charging for it??? And if I wanted to know if my query letter would get rejected or not, couldn't I just send it to an agent for free???"
Of course not! I'm not changing any policies here. This is NOT a sample edit. Sample edits are a free service I provide ONLY to authors who I am considering adding to my schedule or waiting list - authors who I expect to work with on full evaluations. They are far more time intensive and involved.
What I'm offering here is simple - you send me what you'd send an agent. I, using my super-powers gained in my agency days, will do just what the agent does - tell you if I'd want to see more or not.
But here's the key difference, and the reason why you're going add $5 to the charity pot: instead of a standard rejection letter, I'm going to tell you WHY I'd reject it and *gasp* WHAT YOU CAN DO TO FIX IT!!!
"But Lindsay," you say again. "Can't I just send my query to Query Shark and my pages to Evil Editor for the same thing???"
Yes! Of course! And I highly recommend doing so! But not everyone wants their work torn apart and then posted online for all the world to see. And, again, it's for charity. Think of the children.
"Okay," you say. "I'm in. What do I do?"
Easy! click on one of the links above. Once you get to the Fiverr website, take a quick minute to create an account, then click "Order Now!" and send me your query letter or sample pages. That's it! Your job is done! Now just sit back and wait for advice you can really use.
