Get professional feedback and level up your story

My favourite service! Quick, constructive, no-fluff feedback via video on 250 words of your novel from a professional children’s book editor. Get off-the-cuff gut reactions as I read your work for the first time on camera – for just £20. Skip straight to the cart and buy now.

Wondering how your opening pages really land?

Get immediate and unfiltered (but still kind and thoughtful!) insights with Real-Time Reviews, a unique feedback experience for writers who want to know what’s working (and what’s not) from the very first read.

**A Real-Time Review is for you if any of these sound familiar:**

🐺 You don’t want to splash out on a full edit straight away but need a quick sense-check to make sure you’re going in the right direction with your story

🐺 You don’t have time to wait for weeks or even months to get on an editor’s schedule

🐺 You’re struggling to hook agents and just need an honest, fresh pair of eyes on your opening

🐺 You like the idea of professional feedback but you’re anxious about handing over your entire manuscript to a stranger

This is honestly my favourite service I offer right now!

It’s so fun to dive into a new story for the first time, completely live and unprepared. I never know what I’m going to get, and that means you’ll get my honest response as an editor and reader.

I won’t give you loads of detail or a shopping list of recommendations, but I’ll tell you how your opening is landing and what a reader is likely to feel about those first 250 words.

🌟 Please note I only review middle grade and young adult novels. If you think your book is aimed at children (roughly 7 and up) or teenagers, I’m your gal! Books aimed at much younger children or adults aren’t my bag. 🌟

YOU DO YOUR BIT 👈🏻

– Send me the first 250 words of your novel

– This can be a Word document or pasted directly into the email or form

– You choose to tell me the intended readership and genre or let me guess!

– If you’ve got a specific question for me, like ‘is the pace too slow?’ or ‘do you feel connected to the main character?’ you can ask me that upfront

👉🏻 I DO MY BIT

– I open up your 250 words

– I hit record

– Then I read it for the first time ever on camera

– I’ll give you my real-time thoughts, reactions, and professional feedback as they come to me!

– Videos will last up to 10 minutes

– I’ll aim to send you the recording within 24 hours (Monday to Friday)

What will I talk about?

Obviously everybody’s manuscript is totally different so I won’t say the same things to everyone! But you can expect me to discuss some or all of these topics:

How well the opening’s working for the intended readership
Whether the story’s giving off genre vibes early on
Whether the POV’s working
If I’m invested in the main character
How compelling the opening is on the whole

Who’s offering these Real-Time Reviews, anyway?

Hi! I’m Siobhán O’Brien Holmes and I’m a developmental editor of middle grade and young adult fiction. Although there’s a special place in my heart for stories with a dark or spooky side, I work with all genres, including contemporary, historical, romance, science fiction, horror, fantasy and mystery!

I focus on the big-picture story elements of your manuscript, like character, plot and pacing, and offer manuscript critiques and developmental edits.

I’ve run Writer and the Wolf for nearly ten years and edited literally hundreds of children’s and young adult manuscripts.

Head to the about page to find out more about me!

Thank you so much to these three lovely authors who kindly gave me permission to share their reviews 😍 Don’t worry – these are usually completely private and nobody else will see your review!

Ready to book your Real-Time Review?