Writer’s Studio

Writing Consultation Service

Manuscript Consultation

For writers of fiction, nonfiction, screenplays, and poetry, The Writer’s Studio program at the Graham School offers a manuscript consultation service for students who would like individualized comments on their book-length work. If you have work which is approaching publishable form, you can receive the one-on-one guidance you need for final revision and polishing from one of our instructors.

How Does Manuscript Consultation Work?

You will submit your complete manuscript to the Writer’s Studio as a Word document (.docx), where our staff will find an instructor who will be an appropriate match for you. Once we have a match, we will send you a registration link for the course so that you can register and pay. After payment is received and after reading your manuscript, the instructor will contact you to set up a meeting (either via Zoom or on the phone). At the meeting, which usually lasts about an hour, the instructor will give you written notes on your manuscript, and will discuss those notes with you and answer any further questions or concerns about the manuscript you might have.

Please note that manuscript consultation is designed to provide students with one-time, detailed comments on the strengths and weaknesses of your manuscript, and suggestions about how your work might be improved. It is not a copyediting or book doctoring service. If you would like more sustained instruction, we recommend that you explore our course offerings.

Send your manuscript and cover letter via email to GrahamSchool@uchicago.edu with the subject line Writer’s Studio Manuscript Consultation Application. Once we have received your submission, we will arrange for you to pay for the course through our registration portal. Full payment of the consultation fee is required before the consultation begins. See the section “Fee structure) for minimum page requirements and fees per genre. All manuscripts must be:

  • In a Microsoft Word (.docx) document
  • Page numbered
  • Typed in 12-point, Times New Roman font, with one-inch margins all around
  • Double-spaced, if prose

Your cover letter should describe any specific concerns that you have about the manuscript and any information about the project which you think would be useful to the instructor who will act as your consultant. If you would like to request a specific Writer’s Studio instructor, please let us know in your cover letter, although we cannot guarantee that the instructor you request will be available to work with you. Please include your complete contact information (email address, mailing address, daytime and evening phone numbers). Once you have registered and paid for the consultation, the instructor will contact you to arrange the review time and schedule the meeting.

Fees are charged on a per-page basis. Please follow the page formatting guidelines above for your manuscript. We will use this pagination to calculate your payment. The total fee amount will appear in the course registration information page.

Genre

Minimum Length

Fee

Prose (fiction, nonfiction)

150 pages

$800 for the first 150 pages; $4.00 for each additional page

Poetry

40 pages

$800 for the first 40 pages; $4.00 for each additional page

Screenplays, plays

60 pages for a one-hour drama; 120 pages for a feature film

$800 for a one-hour drama; $950 for a feature film; $5.50 for each additional page

 

Questions?

If you have further questions about the manuscript consultation service, please email us at GrahamSchool@uchicago.edu

Effective Writing for Business and the Professions: 1 on 1 Consultation

For students wanting to learn the skills necessary to enhance the clarity and effectiveness of your business and professional writing, we offer Effective Writing for Business and the Professions: 1 on 1 Consultation

Improve your business or professional writing for greater clarity, organization, and persuasiveness. Over eight weeks, you will receive written feedback on two five-page writing samples and revisions, and take part in four forty-five-minute, student-directed online consultation sessions. As University of Chicago Writing Program instructors, consultants will work with writers to help them align their goals as writers in the professional world with the needs of their readers. Consultants will help writers understand what rhetorical choices they have, and they will give writers analytical tools to take beyond the individual sessions. Tuition for the consultation is $450.

Questions?

If you have further questions about the Effective Writing for Business and the Professions: 1 on 1 consultation service, please email us at GrahamSchool@uchicago.edu