Tired of all the form rejection notices from literary agents and publishers who rarely provide constructive criticism? Do you genuinely want to improve your fiction writing skills and receive honest feedback from someone who has worked for publishers and also written six books? FictionMD is here to help.
FictionMD is a service for writers of fiction who want to receive an in-depth critique of their works in process, as well as line editing, before submitting to agents or publishers.
Through the Publerati submissions process, we see the need for writers to receive practical information involving common developmental concerns, such as what's missing, what should be removed, and the larger "book doctor" problems that prevent writers from being considered by agents and publishers.
This service is provided by Caleb Mason, who is the publisher of Publerati. His passion is analyzing and understanding how novels work, and after four decades as a publisher, writer, and editor, he would like to offer what he has learned to others in the spirit of kaizen, or continuous improvement.
"I had a great experience working with Mr. Mason. He provided a very detailed review of my manuscript and helped me make it "pitch-ready." As a writer, it is almost impossible to critique one's own work with such detail, particularly when it comes to sentence construction and superfluous statements, and especially when the work has tens of thousands of words. I am glad I got help from Mr. Mason and highly recommend his services." -- Amit Verma, his novel successfully sold.
What You Get and What it Costs
This program is selective, which means before your work will be accepted for the critique by Caleb Mason, you need to submit the first fifty pages of your work as a Microsoft Word attachment.
If accepted, the typical process and costs are as follows:
- For $500, Caleb will read your opening fifty pages and provide a general reader's overview document of any concerns he encounters. This tends to be a combination of structural comments and writing quality. He will then line edit your manuscript providing tracked changes and comments, a combination of developmental concerns and actual line editing to set consistent style and proofreading. Caleb also asks you to work on your one-sentence pitch, assisting you with that difficult task. He likes this work to be done in conjunction with the writing, as he has found in his own novels, and working with others, that the one-sentence pitch can shape the novel's eventual development. This process takes two weeks on average.
2) Should you want to continue on for the full manuscript, ranging from 65,000 words to 90,000 words, Caleb charges an additional $2,500 for the same work as done in Section One above. In addition, he helps you develop your agent querying pitch, which is your essential marketing handle needed for reaching out to agents as well as when self-publishing. Caleb is knowledgeable about the pros and cons of each route, having worked in traditional publishing and in self-publishing.
Lastly, Caleb has connections within the freelance book marketing community and is happy to refer you.
About Your Editor
Caleb Mason began his publishing career at Little, Brown and Company working in the adult trade division. He moved on to help launch Salem House Publishers, which was eventually acquired by News Corp and folded into HarperCollins. He is the author of the Normal Family Trilogy under the pen name Don Trowden, as well as the non-fiction book The Isles of Shoals Remembered. His novel Thickafog (March 2025) received a starred Publishers Weekly review, PW calling it a "stunning literary mystery." Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist Jane Smiley called it "insightful and beautifully written."
Caleb is an avid reader of fiction and has studied the art form for more than forty years.
You can read some author testimonials here.
Submit for Consideration
To have your work considered for the FictionMD program, please email the first fifty pages of your manuscript as a Word attachment to Caleb Mason at info@publerati.com. Please mark the subject line with "FictionMD Submission." If accepted, you will hear via return email within two weeks of your email. Thanks and good luck.
