Over the course of 12+ years of publishing, our team at Narratively has read over 50,000 pitches, edited and published more than 2,000 longform stories, and… we can’t even calculate how many drafts, rewrites and rounds of feedback went into all those stories! Point is, our team — equipped with additional experience at top outlets like The New York Times, The Washington Post, the BBC and many other publications — are experts at closely reading written work, breaking it down and making it sing.
Critiques and Manuscript Reviews
Our editorial team is now offering professional critiques of written work. Whether you’d like feedback on your short essay, a robust 5,000-word reported story, or your entire book, we have you covered. We’ll read your work closely and deliver feedback in a 4-part process:
A memo outlining our overall feedback, thoughts and suggested changes.
In-line comments on the story about aspects that can be improved.
A one-on-one phone consultation with you to talk through a plan for next steps.
A review of your edited draft, after you incorporate our feedback.
This service is intended for writers who have completed a draft of their work and are eager for tough, honest, in-depth and actionable feedback about how it can be improved. (That doesn’t mean your work has to be finished; we’re happy to review works-in-progress and/or partial works, such as the first few chapters of your book.)
We’ll address big-picture issues like story structure, clarity, narrative arc and pacing, as well as many smaller opportunities for improvement throughout, and speak directly with you about how to rewrite and get your work publication-ready.
Rates
Paid subscribers to Narratively Academy get 20% off all classes and critiques. Click here to become a paid subscriber today. If you already are a paid subscriber, email academy@narratively.com for the paid subscriber promo code.
Stories of up to 2,500 words: $350 $280
Stories of up to 5,000 words: $495 $396
Stories of up to 10,000 words: $675 $540
Stories and manuscripts over 10,000 words: $50 $40 per 1,000 words
(Email academy@narratively.com to book)
When booking a critique, let us know if there’s a specific editor on our team (see below) you’d like to work with. Once you book. we’ll email you ASAP to set things up.
Questions? Email academy@narratively.com.
Writing Coaching
Narratively Academy’s Writing Coaching offers flexible, high-level editorial support tailored to where you are in your process—whether you’re looking for a single monthly session to brainstorm ideas, get unstuck, and sense-check your direction, or more ongoing, hands-on guidance to develop and refine a full piece or book-length project. Work one-on-one with experienced editors to sharpen your voice, strengthen structure, and move your writing forward with clear, actionable feedback. From early-stage concepting to late-stage polish, our coaching meets you where you are and helps you produce your strongest work.
Rates: $150/hour
Reach out to us for more info and to book: academy@narratively.com
"I've worked on this piece for years and I'm so proud to say it's now the best thing I've ever written. Your feedback was so insightful, with clear, concise edits and suggestions. My story is now being published and I know 100% that I would not have this amazing opportunity if it wasn’t for your help. I am forever grateful."
—Cathy Alter (“Fashion Was in My DNA, Wasn't It?”)
“I've literally carried that story around for decades and your help made it possible to finally get it done—and published! Many, many thanks for your editorial guidance and insight!”
—Ellen Cliggott (“The Excalibur”)
“Narratively’s story critique service surpassed my expectations in a number of ways. I found the feedback on structure, character development, and other facets of the story extremely useful—it was obvious that the editor had really climbed into the story and thought about it a great deal before our session. I couldn’t recommend the service more.”
—Evan Lubofsky, magazine features writer for WIRED, Smithsonian and The Verge
Our Team
Brendan Spiegel, Narratively’s co-founder and longtime editorial director, has personally assigned and edited thousands of stories, working closely with everyone from first-time writers to Pulitzer Prize-winning reporters. Brendan takes a hands-on, immersive approach to editing — he’s especially proud that one writer recently dubbed him “the kindest and toughest editor I’ve ever worked with.” The stories he’s edited have won awards from the American Society of Journalists and Authors, The Association of LGBTQ+ Journalists, the New York Press Club, The Best American Sports Writing and many more, while leading Narratively to be cited as a Webby Awards Honoree for Best Writing. More than 50 of the longform stories Brendan has edited have been optioned for TV and film development. Brendan’s own reported stories have appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, Wired, New York magazine, Travel and Leisure and many other publications.
Narratively executive editor Jesse Sposato is a longtime journalist, essayist and editor living in the Catskills. Her writing has appeared on Vanity Fair, InStyle, Shondaland, HuffPost, Gloria, Memoir Land and many other publications. At Narratively, she spearheaded our recent four-series collaboration with Creative Nonfiction, and edits many of the stories appearing in our Memoir, Deep Dives and Secret Lives sections. Prior to joining Narratively, Jesse was a regular contributor to Refinery29 and wrote Urban Campers, a series about people living in RVs in NYC, for New York Magazine’s Bedford + Bowery for over two years. She also co-founded Sadie Magazine, an online counterculture publication, which she edited for six years. Jesse received an MFA in creative nonfiction from Columbia University, and has been awarded residencies at the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts and Vermont Studio Center. She particularly likes to write and edit stories about social issues, feminism, health and wellness, culture, and friendship, and is working on a collection of essays about coming of age in the suburbs and being boy crazy.
Kern Carter is a prolific writer, educator and mentor based in Toronto, Canada. With a passion for storytelling, Kern has authored five books that have received critical acclaim and garnered a dedicated following. Kern’s memoir piece, “Diary of a Bachelor Who Suddenly Became a Solo Dad to a Teenage Girl,” was chosen by Narratively’s editors as one of the best stories published in 2021. In addition to his impressive body of work, Kern is committed to supporting emerging writers and helping them find their voices. He has created several online platforms that provide a safe and welcoming space for new writers to share their stories and connect with others in the community. Kern’s writing workshops are known for their engaging and interactive approach, and he prides himself on keeping his workshops accessible so writers can consume and apply as much information as possible. More of his work and writing advice can be found at his site, Writers Are Superstars.
Audrey Clare Farley is a writer, editor and scholar of 20th-century American culture. She earned a Ph.D. in English literature at University of Maryland, College Park, and now teaches U.S. history at Mount St. Mary’s University. Her first book, The Unfit Heiress: The Tragic Life and Scandalous Sterilization of Ann Cooper Hewitt, tells the story of a 1930s millionairess whose mother secretly sterilized her to deprive her of the family fortune, sparking a sensational case and forcing a debate of eugenics. Audrey’s book, which grew out of a viral Hidden History story she authored for Narratively, is currently in development as a scripted TV series with a major actress and producer attached. Her second book, Girls and Their Monsters: The Genain Quadruplets and the Making of Madness in America, explores the lives of the four women behind a famous case study of schizophrenia. It was named a New York Times Editors’ Pick. Audrey’s stories have appeared in The Atlantic, The New Republic, The New York Times, The Washington Post and many other outlets. She lives in Hanover, Pennsylvania.
Claire Rudy Foster’s debut short story collection, Shine of the Ever, was named as one of the best LGBTQ+ books of the year by O, The Oprah Magazine and was a finalist for the Foreword Indie Awards. The book was selected for the ALA 2021 Over the Rainbow Fiction and Poetry Longlist. Foster’s essays, articles and fiction have appeared in many places, including The New York Times, Black Static, LitHub, Narratively, Mic and Catapult. Their writing has been recognized with four Pushcart Prize nominations. Foster is the co-writer of the bestselling nonfiction book Unsettled: How the Purdue Pharma Bankruptcy Failed the Victims of the American Overdose Crisis, which was named the “best bankruptcy book in the world,” and one of Ralph Nader’s top picks of the year.
Shawna Kenney was raised in the Washington, D.C., area, where she began her writing career by publishing fanzines. She is the author of the award-winning memoir I Was a Teenage Dominatrix (Punk Hostage Press), co-author of the oral history Live at the Safari Club: A History of harDCore Punk in the Nation’s Capital 1988–1998 (Rare Bird Books), editor of the anthology Book Lovers (Seal Press) and co-author of Imposters (Mark Batty Publisher). Shawna is a contributing editor at Narratively and her nonfiction work has appeared in The New York Times, Playboy, Ms., Brevity, Vice, The Rumpus and many other outlets. She is a creative writing instructor with the UCLA Extension Writers’ Program and leads an international writing retreat in Denmark every August.
Kerra Bolton is an acclaimed writer and filmmaker. Her work has been featured in Memoir Land, CNN.com, CNN Español, Hearst Magazines, The Times of Israel, New Worlder, Ebony and Panorama: The Journal of Intelligent Travel. She is currently working on her memoir, Water in My Bones, and her documentary film directorial debut, Return of the Black Madonna. Both projects trace her epic quest to learn to swim, dive and map sunken slave ships with Black marine archeologists. Bolton produced and starred in Detroit Rising: How the Motor City Becomes a Restorative City, released in 2020. The five-part docuseries followed Bolton as she witnessed restorative justice transform nearly every city sector during a time of racial reckoning. The series was an official selection of the San Francisco Independent Short Film Festival, called “illuminating” by The Mercury News and won “Best Web Series” (2020) at the Cyrus International Film Festival. Bolton is also the CEO and founder of Woodbine Ventures, a transitional career coaching company.
Don’t see who you want to work with? If there’s a Narratively Academy instructor or editor you would love to work with, just send us a note (academy@narratively.com) and we’ll see if we can make it happen.
Questions? Email academy@narratively.com with anything you’d like to know, or to get started.