spacer to show bg image

Client Feedback

We thought it might be helpful for potential users of our service to read what previous clients have felt about the way their work has been handled by the Consultancy. We hope the comments are reflective of our main aim – that writers receive honest and useful feedback to help them think realistically about their work.

“Once again I would like to express my appreciation for the positive words I have had from TLC. The feedback is helping me enormously in my current project.”

Chris Barnard

“My work has now been accepted for publication – I feel the guidance from TLC stood me in good stead in making my work publishable and I am most grateful.”

A Marianski

“Your pointers concerning the book’s strengths were very encouraging ... I will keep your observations in mind as I complete the remainder of the manuscript.”

Brighid Rose

“It is gratifyingly obvious you took considerable time and trouble to read my work closely – you have provided me with a large number of valuable suggestions which I shall follow closely.”

Keith Turner

“It must be every writer’s ambition to hear a stranger’s view on their work, a view bound to be more meaningful than that of a friend.”

Jonny Griffith

“Like most authors who turn to TLC, I wish I had done so years ago. Your feedback was like a warm bath in comparison to the cold bucket of water of a rejection.”

Margaret Gullan Whur

“I appreciated your reader’s constructive and detailed comments. This is the first professional assessment I’ve had of my writing and it is greatly valued.”

Paul Watkins

“Thank you for your intelligent, thorough and helpful reading of my latest draft.. I found this greatly encouraging and will be applying myself…”

Andrew Budden

“Thanks for your invaluable advice – your service is worth the money as standard rejection slips give you no idea why a submission has been turned down.”

Kevin Odgen

“You gave me great encouragement – I felt you instincitively understood what I am attempting to do.”

Philip J Evans

“Your help in identifying what I should concentrate on in revising my work is invaluable.”

TJ Sullivan

“I am sure I can put your suggestions into practice and produce something that will eventually get picked up.”

Julie Irwin

“I believe the service you provide is excellent for aspiring authors such as myself.”

Paul Knight

“With your reader’s report by my side, I shall be writing as if there were no tomorrow!”

Mary Butterworth

“The report is brilliantly written, absolutely spot on in all of its major criticisms.”

John Downham

“I felt I must thank you for your critique on Stepp into my Lyff. It was by turns generous and brutally frank. Dead right. You have obviously read the piece very closely, and this has made your observations very appropriate and useful. Thanks again.”

Martin Smith

“It was such an incisive critique. I don’t think I can express how much it has changed my attitude to writing without sounding over-dramatic. Thank you for giving me the push I needed to improve, and stop messing about.”

Catherine Jones

“The MS and assessment was delivered at 7.30 am. I sat down to read. By 7.35 am I was seething with anger. A cup of coffee and a second read through an hour later and I began to calm down. By mid-day I was agreeing with my wife that it was nearly £600 well spent. Now Gar (my traveling companion) is reading the notes and enthusiastically declaring it is a fantastic review with clear advice. It’s now 5. pm and I’m compelled to write to you and thank you and the reader so very much. I know what I’ll be doing for the next few weeks.”

Bill Lumley

“What a marvellous assessment! And its value to me will increase with every project. Your comments on technique are more concise and clearly expressed than any textbook I’ve ever encountered…my heartfelt thanks for the time and effort you put into reading my manuscript and reporting with such candour. I owe you a huge debt.”

Susan Poole

“Bad writing is rather like bad breath – your friends won’t tell you. So I thank you for some very constructive criticism.”

Simon Hornby

“On the floor Jim was trying to get his entire body inside a bag of pork scratchings. I can’t seem to get anywhere with this damn book, I said to Monica. I can turn a sentence or a sequence, but I can’t see the big picture and I can’t plot. Jim looked up – Send it to the Literary Consultancy, he said. My God, Monica, I said, I didn’t know whippets could talk. Of course they can, said Monica, but they won’t. If you send it to that nice Rebecca, Jim continued, and do what they say to your MS, within weeks you will have a publishing offer from the States and a British agent very interested in your book. It must be important, said Monica, he has not said a word for months. On the floor Jim licked out the last salty crumb, grinned, stretched, and farted.”

Terry Darlington, author of Narrow Dog to Carcassonne, Transworld, 2005

“When I first read your report of my piece I wanted to marry you on the spot.”

Carol Topolski

“The report is crisply professional and penetrating. I am aware that it has been working on me at a deep level.”

Andrew Keanie

“I received your report back yesterday and just wanted to send you a quick message of thanks. It is everything I could have hoped for and more and all of the advice and constructive criticism you’ve imparted has given me much food for thought.”

Jim Ford

“The detail you put into the critique impressed me and I really enjoyed reading your suggestions. As a relatively young writer, this sort of advice is invaluable. The good news is that Extinct has been accepted for publication in an anthology of short stories entitled Birmingham Nouveau, to be published by Tindal Street Press. Of the three I sent you, this is the story you liked best, thus proving that your assessments were on target. Once again, thanks for all your efforts.”

Rachel Taylor

“As you may recall, your consultancy assessed my novel at the beginning of this year. I feel that the advice that was given was instrumental in getting my book published. (Your reader) put her finger on the crux of the problem I was having with the plotting in the novel and gave me the focus to revise and improve it. The Last Girl will be published by Sceptre in the UK and Commonwealth in 2003. It has also been bought by St Martin’s Press in the USA and Rivages in France. Many thanks for your help.”

Stephan Collishaw

“I just wanted to drop you a line to say how grateful I am for your recent report on the excerpt from my novel. I truly value your help. I was completely unaware, for example, that I had drifted out of the main character’s viewpoint until you pointed this out . . . Your comments were encouraging and constructive and I consider the TLC fee well spent. You have given me the inspiration to continue with the project. Thank you very much.”

Bob Davies

“A month ago Maia said they wanted to publish my novel, The Thousand-Petalled Daisy which you saw at the end of last year. I don’t know how to go about this: to thank you for your kindness and encouragement, and for choosing such a perfect reader. I don’t know how she did it, but she taught me a lot. She really was a wonder.”

Norman Thomas

“I found the points made in your critique valid, illuminating and extremely helpful. A thoroughly professional job.”

James Watson

“As a professional non-fiction writer and editor I struggled for years to make the transition to creative writing. Now TLC has enabled me to take a methodical approach, by providing unbiased, substantive feedback at a reasonable price. I still don’t feel ready to approach an agent or publisher, but for the first time I understand precisely what I must do to get my fiction into print.”

Paul Tyrrell

“I wanted to write and thank you for giving such a thorough and well thought out criticism of my poetry. I think I particularly want to say that I had not expected such a detailed and carefully constructed criticism, and I thank you for your time.”

Wendy French

“You may remember that I enclosed Oblivion, the first draft of my fantasy/thriller about the tango. I rang telling you I was one of the runners-up for the 2001-2002 round of Writers’ Bursaries from ACE, and that I wished to re-submit it this year.

“You sent my draft to your reader . . . I have to say I am enormously impressed. His report to me was encouraging, immensely well thought through, and genuinely useful. I will certainly act on several of his suggestions. And in preparing an extract of this draft for re-submission to ACE for the work in progress bursaries, I will cite his report.

“It is so unusual, these days, to feel pleased about a service. I mean, most services one gets are just appaling, faignant, frustrating, depressing . . . I am very pleased indeed that I sent my draft ms to the consultancy and shall certainly do so again.

“Please convey my gratitude to your reader.”

Anthony Howell

Top top arrow


TLC’s innovative mentoring
scheme Chapter and Verse
has places available.
Click here for more information


Narrow Dog to Carcassonne

Narrow Dog to Carcassonne, with which TLC gave me excellent editorial help, sold 30,000 copies to the consumer in hardback. Your fine and necessary service made it possible for me as a novice to write a bestseller.”

Terry Darlington, Narrow Dog to Carcassonne, Transworld

Love and Mayhem

Editorial acumen and wisdom is difficult to find, and TLC possesses both. My first novel has found its way onto Waterstone’s Summer Reads list and it would have not got there without TLC.”

Nick Taussig, Love and Mayhem, Revolver Books

Hitman

Thanks to TLC I got an agent and secured a deal with Hodder Headline. The help you provided was invaluable.”

Max Kinnings, Hitman and The Fixer, Hodder

The Dangerous Sports Euthanasia 
        Society

I found it invaluable to receive a thoughtful and perceptive report on the strengths and weaknesses of my novel from a professional whose opinions I could trust.”

Christine Coleman, The Dangerous Sports Euthanasia Society, Transita

Zade

If it wasn’t for TLC, my novel just wouldn’t have made it. ”

Heather Reyes, Zade, Saqi

Jammy Dodgers

Macmillan have commissioned my fourth children’s book in the Jammy Dodgers series. Without the Literary Consultancy’s help with the first book I would never have got this far.”

Brenda Sivers Bowering, Jammy Dodgers series, Macmillan

Who's Afraid of The Teddy Bear's 
        Picnic

I would like to thank TLC for making my book publishable. ”

Pam Smart, Who’s Afraid of The Teddy Bear’s Picnic, Chipmunk Publishing

Pale as the Dead

It is no exaggeration to say that The Literary Consultancy’s advice and encouragement was invaluable to me when I was writing my first novel, Isabella.”

Fiona Mountain, Pale as the Dead and Isabella, Orion

Habitus

I think it’s fair to say that I owe my career to TLC, editorially and financially. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend their services to anyone.”

James Flint, Habitus and 52 Ways to Magic America, Fourth Estate

Erskine's Box

TLC’s report and recommendation enabled me to secure an excellent agent and a superb two book deal.”

Kim Lloyd, Erskine’s Box, Sceptre

Does Snogging Count as Exercise?

TLC’s feedback motivated me to keep going with my first novel,
which is now on the bookshop shelves!”

Helen Salter, Does Snogging Count as Exercise?, Piccadilly Press

Something in the Sea

I am awed by your reader’s philosophical, novelistic and teaching skills. I can’t thank her enough.”

Y. J.M Bonavero, Something in the Sea, Bloomsbury

The Thousand Petalled Daisy

Thank you for your kindness and encouragement and for choosing such a perfect reader.”

Norman Thomas, The Thousand Petalled Daisy, Maia Press

Leaving Patrick

TLC was invaluable to me for my novel. I wouldn’t dream of sending a completed novel to my publisher without having TLC look at it first.”

Prue Leith, Leaving Patrick, Sisters and A Lovesome Thing, Penguin Books

Cox's Navy

I am convinced my book’s success is due to the down to earth, practical advice The Literary Consultancy gave me.”

Tony Booth, Cox’s Navy, Pen and Sword

The Pig Bin

Many thanks to your excellent consultancy for its invaluable contribution to making this possible.”

Michael Richardson, The Pig Bin, Tindall Street Press

Before I Die

TLC introduced my work to agents and publishers on my behalf. I suspect no-one would have looked at it otherwise.”

Jenny Downham, Before I Die, David Fickling Books, Random House

The Pools

The advice I received from Anna was detailed, forthright yet encouraging, and pretty spot on. When my agent sent the book off again, we secured a deal with Serpent’s Tail. ”

Bethan Roberts, The Pools, Serpent’s Tail

spacer to show bg image
© The Literary Consultancy 2006spacer to show bg imagewww.pynto.com
spacer to show bg imageValid XHTML 1.0 Transitional Valid CSS!