YouWriteOn.com offers members a professional manuscript critique service by established authors and editors for leading literary agents and publishers. Our critique service professionals include editors for publishers who represent authors such as Maeve Binchy, Ian Rankin, and Elmore Leonard. Our editors have worked with bestselling writers, and provide critiques from opening chapters through to completed manuscripts.

Our professionals provide expert advice to help writers develop their stories, as well as guidance on the potential market for stories. Our literary professionals are displayed below. Our critique service fees and terms and conditions are viewable by clicking on the links on the right hand side of this page.

To order a professional paid critique, simply provide us with a choice of your three preferred reviewers from the list below, by clicking on contact us. You can also query us if you have any questions. 


YouWriteOn.com Critique Service - Our Literary Professionals


SARA O'KEEFFE - SENIOR EDITOR ORION

Sara O’ Keeffe is a Senior Editor working for leading publisher Orion. Orion publish some of the world's best selling authors, including Ian Rankin, Michael Palin, and Elmore Leonard. Sara works with many best selling authors and specialises in editing crime fiction, women’s fiction, action-adventure and historical fiction. Sara previously worked for a large bookseller as a crime fiction buyer. She has sat as a judge on the CWA (Crime Writers Association) debut dagger panel and has been an active member of the RNA (Romantic Novelist’s Association) for many years. 

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GILLIAN STERN - LITERARY EDITOR FOR CURTIS BROWN

Gillian Stern works as a Literary Editor, following many years as a Commissioning Editor. She works with all the Literary Agents at leading literary agency Curtis Brown, whose bestselling authors include Margaret Atwood, Ed McBain, David Lodge and Sue Townsend. Gillian reads novels across the genres. She reads novels that the agents have signed or are thinking of signing (Curtis Brown director Jonny Geller, for example, is well known for work with new authors) and provides constructive edits, and her opinion on how a novel works/does not work and how it could move forward. She works on novels that are definitely going to be published, and which may also be the author's second or third novel. Gillian provides detailed opinions, and is well known for her constructive approach, and ability to help authors move forward with their work. She has worked on many well-known and very successful contemporary novels. 

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GAIL PATEN - EDITOR ORION

Gail Paten is an Editor in the Paperbacks Department at Orion Books, one of the UK’s major publishers. Orion publish many high-profile authors such as Maeve Binchy, Harlan Coben and Ian Rankin. Gail started her career as a deputy manager with Blackwells, followed by a role at Reader’s Digest, on their Condensed Books series, which honed her eye for commercial fiction. Gail works on literary fiction and non-fiction as well as more mass-market titles such as sagas and crime. She is highly involved in the commissioning process and works with a wide variety of best-selling authors, including Paul Torday, Tami Hoag, Jeff Lindsay, June Hampson and Antonia Fraser.

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CLAIRE SHANAHAN - SENIOR EDITOR FOR HACHETTE CHILDREN'S BOOKS 

Claire Shanahan is a Senior Editor for Hachette Children's Books (formerly part of Hodder), commissioning for a wide variety of non-fiction subjects from ages 5-16. Claire previously worked for Pearson Education on both fiction and non-fiction for children, on both printed and digital material for children and teachers. During her MA in Publishing, Claire also worked on trade fiction titles.

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MELISSA WEATHERILL - INDEPENDENT EDITOR, INCLUDING FOR PUBLISHERS SUCH AS ORION, MACMILLIAN, HODDER AND GROVE ATLANTIC

     Melissa Weatherill worked for literary superagent Ed Victor before becoming an editor at Simon & Schuster where she worked for five years on women's fiction, literary fiction, crime and thriller. She commissioned, edited and published authors such as Jules Hardy, Annabel Dilke and Kate O'Riordan, and worked closely with many others including Adriana Trigiani, Will Rhode, Victoria Glendinning, Jennifer Weiner and Kathy Lette. She is now an independent editor and reviewer for books and film, freelance editing fiction and non-fiction for publishing houses including Macmillan, Orion, Hodder and Grove Atlantic. Melissa also assesses books and screenplays for film companies such as BBC films. 

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ANNA HERVE -  FREELANCE EDITOR FOR PUBLISHERS SUCH AS ORION AND RANDOM HOUSE

Anna Hervé is a highly experienced editor who has worked for several leading publishing houses, such as Little, Brown, Orion and Random House, and with a wide variety of authors, including Michael Palin, A.N. Wilson, Edna O’Brien, Julian Fellowes, Simon Sebag Montefiore and Katie Price, to name but a few.  Having worked both in-house and/or in a freelance capacity for virtually every major London-based publisher and several magazines, her knowledge of and contacts within the industry are extensive and she can offer all levels of editorial service, whether it’s an in-depth structural edit, a general critique or advice on positioning within the market.

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KELLY FALCONER

Kelly Falconer is a freelance editor, formerly full-time with Weidenfeld & Nicolson, the literary imprint of The Orion Publishing Group.  

W&N publishes award-winning and bestselling authors such as Alan Furst, Belle de Jour, Katharine McMahon, Boris Akunin, Paul Torday and Michel Houllebecq.  Kelly works on literary and mass-market fiction and non-fiction titles and published W&N's first graphic novel, SHOOTING WAR. 

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MARTYN BEDFORD - PROFESSIONAL AWARD WINNING AUTHOR

Martyn Bedford has published five novels: the critically acclaimed Acts of Revision, which won the Yorkshire Post Best First Work Award; Exit, Orange and Red; The Houdini Girl, which is currently being developed for film; and Black Cat. Martyn is a former lecturer in creative writing at Manchester University and an occasional tutor in novel writing for the Arvon Foundation. Martyn has been a judge for the Betty Trask Awards, and is co-founder of the manuscript appraisal service Literary Intelligence. His fifth novel, The Island of Lost Souls, was published in paperback by Bloomsbury last year. 

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SARAH JENNINGS - INDEPENDENT LITERARY AGENT 

Sarah Jennings is an independent literary agent. Her background prior to becoming an agent was in publishing at Random House, Macmillan and Transworld. Both in publishing houses and as an agent she has worked with a diverse range of authors, including Dan Brown, John Banville, Bonnie Greer, David Baldacci, Peter Ackroyd and Danielle Steel.

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