2027 Agent / Editor Manuscript Critiques
“Having an opportunity to get feedback from someone who knows the industry is just amazing.”
Professional Insight. Individual Attention. A Clearer Path Forward.
Sometimes, the most valuable step in improving your manuscript is seeing your work through someone else's eyes. Whether you're refining your opening pages, strengthening your storytelling, or preparing to pursue publication, professional feedback can help you recognize your manuscript's strengths, identify opportunities for improvement, and determine where to focus your next revision.
Killer Nashville's Agent and Editor Manuscript Critiques give you the opportunity to have your writing reviewed by an experienced publishing professional and discuss your work directly with them. Through individualized feedback tailored to your submitted pages, you'll gain valuable insight into how your manuscript is working and what steps you can take to move it forward.
Choose the perspective that best fits your goals, whether you're looking to understand how an agent might respond to your writing or seeking an editor's guidance on strengthening your manuscript.
Agent Manuscript Critiques
See Your Manuscript Through an Agent's Eyes
What captures a literary agent's attention? What makes an opening compelling, and what might cause a reader to stop turning pages?
Agent Manuscript Critiques provide an opportunity to have your submitted pages reviewed by a participating literary agent and discuss your work one-on-one. Gain insight into how a professional agent experiences your writing, what is working, and where your manuscript may benefit from further development.
An agent critique can help you:
Understand an agent's perspective: Discover how a literary agent responds to your actual writing and what may influence their interest.
Evaluate your opening: Explore whether your pages establish an engaging voice, compelling premise, and reason to keep reading.
Identify opportunities for improvement: Recognize areas where your manuscript may benefit from stronger pacing, characterization, clarity, or storytelling.
Ask questions about the publishing process: Gain insight into the agent's professional experience, interests, and perspective on your work.
Determine your next steps: Leave with a better understanding of your manuscript's strengths and areas to address as you continue revising.
Choose the Right Agent for Your Work
Participating agents bring different professional backgrounds, genre interests, and areas of expertise. Review each agent's profile to find someone whose interests align with your manuscript and whose perspective may be particularly valuable to your work.
A critique provides an opportunity for professional feedback and discussion. If an agent believes your manuscript may be a fit for their interests, they may request additional pages. However, a manuscript request, representation, or publication is never guaranteed.
Have an agent read your pages and discover what might make your manuscript stand out.
Editor Manuscript Critiques
Strengthen Your Writing With Professional Editorial Insight
Every manuscript has the potential to grow, but recognizing what needs attention isn't always easy when you're immersed in your own work. An editor's perspective can help you see your writing more clearly, understand where improvements can be made, and approach your next revision with greater confidence.
Editor Manuscript Critiques give you the opportunity to have your submitted pages reviewed by a participating editor and discuss your work directly with them. Receive thoughtful, constructive feedback on your manuscript and gain a clearer understanding of how to strengthen your writing.
An editor critique can help you:
Recognize your strengths: Identify the elements of your writing that are already effective and understand what deserves to be preserved.
Identify areas for improvement: Explore opportunities to strengthen character development, pacing, structure, tone, clarity, and narrative execution, depending on the editor's expertise.
Understand the reader's experience: Discover how your pages communicate your intended story, where readers may become confused, and where the writing could be more engaging.
Prioritize your revisions: Determine which concerns are most important to address and develop a more focused approach to improving your manuscript.
Develop your editorial judgment: Understand the reasoning behind professional feedback so you can make more informed decisions about your writing.
Find an Editor Who Understands Your Work
Participating editors bring a range of professional experience and editorial expertise. Whether their background is in acquiring, developmental, or another area of editing, each offers a distinct perspective on writing and the publishing process.
Review each editor's profile to identify their areas of expertise, relevant genres, and the type of feedback they can provide. Choosing an editor whose experience aligns with your manuscript can help ensure that your critique is relevant to your writing goals.
Gain a fresh perspective on your manuscript and leave with a clearer direction for revision.
Which Critique Is Right for You?
Both Agent and Editor Manuscript Critiques offer individualized professional feedback, but each provides a different perspective.
Agent Manuscript Critiques are ideal for writers who want to understand how a literary agent responds to their pages, evaluate their manuscript's potential appeal, and gain insight into the professional representation process.
Editor Manuscript Critiques are ideal for writers who want to strengthen their writing, identify areas for improvement, and receive editorial guidance to inform their next revision.
Depending on your goals, you may benefit from one perspective or both. Writers considering both should look for agents and editors whose expertise complements their individual needs.
An Opportunity to Learn and Grow
You don't have to have a perfect manuscript or be ready to pursue publication to benefit from a professional critique. Whether you're working through revisions, preparing to submit your work, or looking for a fresh perspective on a challenging section, a thoughtful conversation with an experienced publishing professional can help you see your writing in a new way.
The value of a critique extends beyond any single observation. Understanding why something works, where it could be stronger, and how a professional reader approaches your pages can help you make more confident decisions about your manuscript moving forward.
Manuscript critiques are intended to provide constructive feedback and professional insight. They do not guarantee representation, publication, or additional editorial services.
Manuscript Critique Details
Eligibility: Paid Four-Day Killer Nashville registrants
Format: Individual critique with a participating agent or editor
Agent Critique Cost: $125
Editor Critique Cost: $100
Manuscript submission: First ten pages of manuscript emailed to contact@killernashville.com upon purchase confirmation. All manuscripts should be double-spaced, 12-point Times New Roman or other “reasonable” font.
Meeting length: Twenty minutes
Written feedback: Agents and editors will make written comments on your manuscript ahead of your meeting time. You will leave the meeting with these written notes.
Submission deadline: August 5, 2027
Availability: Limited appointments with participating professionals
Please review the participating agents' and editors' profiles and submission requirements before purchasing. Manuscripts must be submitted by the designated deadline to allow adequate time for review.
Give Your Manuscript a Fresh Perspective
Your writing deserves thoughtful consideration, and the right professional feedback can help you recognize its potential and understand how to make it stronger.
Whether you choose an agent's perspective, an editor's expertise, or both, a Killer Nashville Manuscript Critique is an opportunity to ask questions, gain valuable insight, and take the next step in your writing journey.
2027 attending agents and editors announcement coming soon.
“Thank you so much for the helpful feedback on my work in progress. I appreciate the review, as well as the source recommendations.”
Dawn Barclay / Editor
Dawn M. Barclay is an award-winning author and Derringer-nominated editor who writes psychological/domestic/romantic suspense as D.M. Barr and nonfiction under her own name. The owner of Suggested Development Editing/Book Coaching (https://suggesteddevelopment.com), she’s a former acquisition editor for Champagne Book Group and book/anthology editor for Down & Out Books. She currently edits for individual authors and Hold Fast Publishing, and will have five anthologies published by White City Press starting in 2026. Dawn has won several awards including a 2026 Agatha Award, a 2026 Chanticleer I&I Award. She is also a finalist for a 2026 Macavity Award and a 2026 Silver Falchion Award, as well as currently being a nominee for a 2026 Anthony Award.
Miranda Darrow / Editor
Miranda Darrow is a freelance fiction editor and #RevPit online revision contest board member and contributing editor. She's a frequent presenter at writing groups, conferences, and online writing events. Miranda’s Concise Fiction Academy series of writing craft books and courses combines her experience as a freelance editor and a corporate attorney into an executive summary of complex writing topics with an overview, key recommendations, and sources for more information, all with a dash of humor. Miranda is doing a slow tour of the upper Midwest: she grew up in Wisconsin in a county with six times as many cows as people, attended college in Iowa surrounded by tall corn, and now lives in the great north woods of Minnesota with her husband, teen sons, and a bossy little dog.
John DeDakis / Editor
Award-winning novelist John DeDakis is a former editor on CNN's "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer." DeDakis is the author of six traditionally published mystery-suspense thriller novels. He is a podcaster, one-on-one writing coach, manuscript editor, and regularly teaches novel writing at literary centers and writers’ conferences nationwide.
Website: www.johndedakis.com
Ronald Gerber / Agent
Ronald Gerber is President at Lowenstein Associates, where he has been a literary agent since 2019. His clients include: Daniel Kenitz, whose debut thriller THE PERFECT HOME was published by Scribner in 2025; Sonja Thomas, author of the acclaimed children’s books SIR FIG NEWTON & THE SCIENCE OF PERSISTENCE and OLIVE BLACKWOOD TAKES ACTION! with Aladdin/Simon & Schuster; and Lorissa Rinehart, author of feminist biographies FIRST TO THE FRONT and WINNING THE EARTHQUAKE with St. Martin’s Press. Ronald is focused on cinematic stories with strong hooks and relatable characters, and is always looking for projects from queer, BIPOC, and other underrepresented authors. He is a proud graduate of Bard College at Simon’s Rock and Clark University. He resides in Queens, New York with his wife and too many books to count.
Dean Krystek / Agent
Dean is holds a BA in English from the University of South Carolina. A Pittsburgh native, he retired from the US Army as a Sergeant Major after a long career that began in the sizzling heat of Vietnam and ended inside the cool interior of Cheyenne Mountain in Colorado. After stepping away from the military, Dean held numerous positions in state government and the private sector, including for a number of years as a DoD contracted trainer in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. When he finally turned his attention from wars to words, he brought WordLink, an agency that had begun in New Zealand by a college friend, to Pennsylvania. WordLink is a small town agency with worldwide reach. Its agents reside in Colorado, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and New York. Visit the www.wordlink.us for the agency’s wish list and current client list.
Dean is looking for authors with distinctive voices whose narratives invoke a strong sense of time and place and whose stories create a memorable reading experience. He’d like to see mysteries (whodunit, cozy); psychological suspense; thrillers (looking for small town America setting vs international in scale); military fiction (character-driven pieces). In YA he would like to see mysteries, paranormal, sci-fi, coming of age, and suspense with writing that stirs the imagination and caters to the young reader’s sense of wonder and adventure.
Amber Meyer / Editor
Amber Meyer is a Story Grid Certified Editor with a passion for murder mysteries. If you long to commit fictional murder, then Amber may be your ideal partner in crime. Amber currently lives in the Midwest with her husband, three crazy kids and four fur-babies. She dreams of living on a beach In Hawaii and becoming the next Agatha Christie.
Nicola Pittam / Agent
Nicola Pittam is a British journalist, award winning author and screenwriter. She has published 4 best selling books and her scripts have placed in such contests as the Bitch List, The Grey List’s Top 40 Writers Over 40 in Hollywood in 2023 and 2025, Shore Scripts, Atlanta Film Festival, LA International Screenplay Awards, Table Read My Screenplay & Austin Film Festival. She is also the COO and Acquisition Agent for Dark Anthem Press. Nicola is a member of The Author’s Guild, Women In Film, The IWC (Independent Writers’ Caucus) and The International Press Association.
Dark Anthem is currently looking for genre fiction – horror, sci-fi, fantasy, dystopian YA, dark gothic and thrillers.
Website: https://darkanthempress.com/
Jaden (Beth) Terrell / Editor
Jaden (Beth) Terrell is a Shamus Award finalist and the internationally published author of the Nashville-based Jared McKean private detective series. Terrell’s short stories, which range from cozy to noir, have appeared in several anthologies, and she’s a contributor to ITW’s The Big Thrill online magazine and Now Write! Mysteries, a collection of how-to essays for writers of crime fiction. Terrell is the recipient of the Killer Nashville Builder Award and two awards for service to the Southeast Mystery Writers of America. She offers workshops, coaching, and courses for writers.
Website: https://www.jadenterrell.com
Kristen Terrette / Agent
Kristen is honored to be a literary manager with Martin Literary and Media Management. She’s excited to continue building her list featuring titles in young adult, new adult, fantasy, thrillers/mysteries/suspense, romance, women’s fiction, horror, literary fiction, historical fiction, contemporary, non-fiction, all faith-based books.
She has a BA in Early Childhood Education and MA in Theology and Religious Studies which led her into children’s ministry for many years. Eventually, her lifelong love of books and authors drew her back to her original dream of entering the publishing world. Kristen is a multi-published, award-winning author and freelance writer. She’s held such positions as the Blog Manager for a national women’s ministry and the Social Media Manager for a publishing house. All these components landed her a spot in the coveted Writers House Intern Program. There, she received valuable hands-on agenting and publishing experience which she brought into her position, and now learns every day beside her amazing MLM colleagues. She was also named an ECPA Emerging Leader in 2023 and went through a precious mentorship during 2024 to further her understanding of the Christian Publishing landscape.
Kristen has long been a voice for diversity. She’s written extensively on topics of racial reconciliation and unity and has been a facilitator of groups around these topics in her church. In all her focused genres, she welcomes books with BIPOC or disabled main characters and diverse friendships. She believes books change people in all the best ways and that every child should see themselves in the pages.
Helen Thornton-Gussy / Editor
Helen Thornton-Gussy has been the editor and owner of Edit Co. since 2017, offering developmental (structural) editing, line editing, copy editing, proofreading, and formatting. She works in both US and UK English and loves a good Oxford comma. Even though Helen is based in New Zealand, she works predominantly with US authors.
Helen specializes in adult commercial fiction, particularly crime, thriller, mystery, epic fantasy/fantasy, and women’s fiction. She has a soft spot for thrillers and epic fantasy and considers herself fortunate to have worked with Grim Oak Press (Washington State), who produce limited-edition books for fantasy authors such as Robin Hobb, Terry Brooks, Raymond E. Feist, and others.
Learn more about Helen, and the services she offers here (https://www.editco.nz/) or on Instagram
@edit_co._ or Threads https://www.threads.net/@edit_co._/
“I have always received the most insightful critiques through Killer Nashville! They are a huge help in revising my works-in-progress.”
