Laura Lee Anderson

If your dream is to land an agent or editor and be traditionally published, you’re in the right place. Whether you need a query critique, a developmental edit, or a sentence edit, I can help you navigate the world of traditional publishing with confidence.

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The Diagnostic

(Most Popular)

Are you sick of form rejections and dying for some feedback? Maybe you’ve been submitting to agents or editors for weeks, months, or even years, and have never gotten a single request. Send your manuscript (under 110k) my way, and I will give you the comprehensive manuscript feedback you crave, along with specific revision ideas for your submission package. 

“Before I found Laura, I literally spent over five years querying agents without a single request for more pages. I’d just endured another round of rejections for my latest novel when I stumbled across Laura’s website. I hired her to do The Diagnostic. After working with her to revise my novel and letter, I sent in a new round of about a dozen queries, and within just a few weeks got three—yes, three—agents asking me for the full manuscript (and one asking me for an exclusive revision). I cannot recommend Laura highly enough. I only wish somebody would have told me about her when I first started querying agents. It would have saved me years of frustration and rejection.”

-Jason, a querying writer.

A La Carte

Query Critiques

A good query letter grabs the attention of the reader and leaves them begging for more. Following industry best practices and conventions, I will help you find the essence of your story so you can best exhibit it to agents or editors.

1st pass: Examines hook, content, and plot. I’ll give my real-time reactions in comment boxes. You’ll also receive a detailed Query Questionnaire explaining what your query shows regarding your characters, stakes, action, plot, and genre and where it can be improved. I’ll leave comments on your grammar and punctuation as well as your bio, and include a summary email as well.

Passes 2 and 3: Correct and polish your query to make it more active, interesting, and immediate. We’ll focus on voice, word choice, punctuation, and final details.

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Developmental Edit

I have spent decades of my life studying the art of storytelling, so this classic editorial offering is one of my favorites. With a lifetime of reading and over 10 years of editing under my belt, I can speak to almost all genres, from chapter books and MG to YA, women’s fiction, sweet romance, thrillers, and inspirational fiction. My job is to help you tell your story so you can sell your story. A Developmental Edit includes:

*A promise to read every word of your book (under 110k) in just a few sittings to best understand your story’s flow and rhythm as well as the over-arching plot and sub-plots.

*A lengthy email detailing my notes on plot, characters, setting, world-building, story arcs, pacing, etc. I’ll include positive as well as constructive observations and some big-picture editing suggestions. I will occasionally comment on saleability and sentence-level habits. I will always focus on any concerns that you, the author, have.

*Support with any questions that arise as you revise.

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Sentence Edit

This little beauty is what makes my Critique Partners love/hate me. After formatting your manuscript for submission with a proper font, spacing, paragraphs, headers, indents, chapter titles, etc., I’ll comb through it line-by-line. From noting awkward sentences to fixing punctuation, every part of your manuscript will be put under the microscope. This package includes:

*Formatting your document to ready it for submission.

*Real-time reactions- both constructive and encouraging- as comments in the sidebar of the Word document.

*Highlighting sentence-level challenges and suggesting fixes.

*Correcting punctuation, spelling, grammar, and typos (with Track Changes in the Word document).