Editorial Services

Editorial Services are currently on hiatus. All orders placed before September 18, 2023 (including rush orders) will not be entered into the queue until September 25, 2023.

Whether you’re looking to begin querying agents . . .
Need assistance polishing additional materials requested or cracking an r&r . . .
Are receiving rejection after rejection and feel stuck and frustrated . . .
Can’t find the perfect comp titles . . .
Desire more direction and clarity within your creative career . . .

Justin can help you!

SOME OF JUSTIN'S QUALIFICATIONS:

Justin is represented by the Andrea Brown Literary Agency. His first two picture books sold in consecutive two-book deals, for a total of four books: The Quacken (Simon & Schuster, 2024), Impossible Possums (Disney-Hyperion, 2024), Impossible Possum for Mayor (Disney-Hyperion, 2025), and an unannounced companion book to The Quacken (Simon & Schuster, 2025).

For four years, he ran PBChat, a free picture book community and mentorship program where he hosted weekly chats on craft and publishing-related topics (often with special industry guests), reviewed hundreds of manuscripts, and worked with 50 different mentors and over 100+ mentees—several dozen of whom went on to secure representation and book deals. In addition to working consistently with industry insiders to offer timely webinars and classes via The Kidlit Hive, he remains up on the market via Publishers Weekly and Publishers Marketplace.

As a professional, formally-trained actor for stage, screen and voiceover, Justin is well-versed in storytelling. When he critiques your work, he’s bringing to it many years of training that includes the Meisner method, voice and speech, Shakespeare, script analysis, and more. Justin holds a B.A. in History from Fordham, University.

HIS CRITIQUE STYLE:

Justin’s feedback is honest and straightforward, but never harsh or brutal. He aims to honor your vision while posing ideas, thoughts, and suggestions via respectful questions and comments. His critiques provide you with a thorough analysis of your work and overall story, as well as specific, actionable feedback to take it to the next level. It’s his intention to leave you with a sense of greater clarity and direction while sending you off feeling encouraged, inspired, motivated, and equipped to tackle whatever steps you take next.

HOW HE WORKS:

Justin will leave big-picture and/or line-level comments in the margins of your document, as well as occasional track changes, if necessary. An editorial letter will accompany all manuscript critiques.

HOW TO SUBMIT:

Upon purchasing your oder, I will email you with a form to fulfill all purchased services.

FORMATTING: Manuscripts should be: Word documents, double-spaced, 12-point Arial or Times New Roman font, and have one-inch margins on all sides.

WORD COUNT: The maximum word count for a manuscript is 800 words for fiction and 1000 words for nonfiction (excluding back matter). *Art notes do not count toward total word count.

OPTIONAL: In your form, please note any specific areas of concern you would like Justin to focus on.

*Critiques and other services are non-refundable but are transferrable.

TURNAROUND TIME:

With the exception of Zoom/Phone Chats, Justin will fulfill all purchased editorial services, within fourteen days from the date he receives your materials. For an additional fee of $25, Justin will critique and return your manuscript within 72 business hours of receiving it. Please note, the ‘Rush Fee’ can be applied to all services except the following: ’30-Minute Zoom/Phone Chat, and ’60-Minute Zoom/Phone Chat’.

Please consider perusing free resources (such as critique groups) before seeking paid services. Paid critiques and consultations are not necessary to break into nor succeed in publishing. Though I bring experience and skill to my critiques, feedback is subjective and publishing titles and accomplishments don’t necessarily reduce the subjectivity of that feedback.

*Please note, using my services is not a guarantee that your work work will result in an offer of representation and/or publication, nor does it mean that my name can be used as a referral in query letters. Thank you.

Testimonials

Sylvie Frank, Executive Editor, Disney-Hyperion

"Justin is endlessly creative, collaborative, and upbeat. I am constantly impressed by his skill at finding the heart of a story and telling it with the most succinct and energetic language. He is a storyteller who excels at imagining the visual narrative and supporting it with the just the right words. Justin is well attuned to his inner child, enabling him to tell stories that kids will be eager to read again and again. At every turn, Justin seeks to make his books the best they can be, trusting the illustrator to build off of his vision to create a real masterpiece. He is thoughtful, clever, and kind—a dream!"

Nadine Presley, Author of The City of Jasmine (HarperCollins, 2024)

Justin is just the person you need on your writing journey. His feedback and advice about absolutely everything publishing-related is invaluable. He’s one of those people who gives genuine advice and roots for you every step of the way. PBChat was the first step in my journey—Justin went above and beyond through his informative webinars with industry professionals and mentee showcase."

Jenn Harney, Author-illustrator

"Justin writes like a writer but thinks like an illustrator. He sees the visual, he feels the sight gag, he generously leaves space for the illustrator to add to the story rather than having to spell everything out. He gets the rhythm of the story, the pacing of the page turns. In short, he writes stories that illustrators want to work on. As an illustrator, you want to know the character when you read a story the first time, not be told who they are. Justin does that."

Jennifer Cowan

"I can't thank you enough for the time, attention and wisdom you gave to my query and manuscript. Wow...! I've never had such great feedback. You're clearly very gifted! I can't wait to dig in and implement of your suggestions. I actually really love revising (is that weird?) so this will be a great challenge!"

Vicki Johnson, Author of Molly's Tuxedo

"Justin is a fount of creative energy and industry knowledge. His enthusiasm is a gift he gladly shares with other writers. I was so happy to get feedback from him on my picture book pitch for the editorial showcase that resulted in my getting an agent and a debut book deal. Highly recommended!"

Brittany Pomales

"Justin is a pitch writing wizard! His creativity brought my pitch to a whole new level. He made me want to read my own book.

Justin wrote the pitch for what is now my unannounced debut. That pitch received both agent and editor requests during the #Pbchat showcase and ultimately helped secure me my agent (through cold querying) and a book deal. I highly recommend Justin's services."

Seth Taylor

"Justin has been an absolutely essential part of several projects. Not only does he have a keen eye for good storytelling, but he is a master of the technical details that earn a manuscript a fair viewing by industry professionals.

Justin is a fantastic listener. He takes time to understand each story before offering specific, actionable advice tailored to your project. He is constitutionally incapable of offering the kind of ‘cookie-cutter’ aphorisms so often pass for advice in critique groups and seminars.

Justin’s love of craft is positively contagious. I can think of nobody better to work with to take a project over the finish line."

MANUSCRIPT CRITIQUES:

While Justin appreciates stories written in rhyme, he will not critique them as he does not yet have the skill set to do so.
He’s otherwise open to all genres within the picture book format and is especially adept with humor, darker and spookier tales, and nonfiction biographies.

What this critique focuses on:

Concept & Premise
Plot
Pacing
Character development
Tension & Stakes
Voice
Language
Structure
Humor & Heart (where applicable)
Theme and Takeaway
Creative suggestions
Strengths and suggested areas to work on
Feedback on art notes & how to improve story's visual potential (if applicable)
Identifying your story's hook
Page turns and pagination suggestions
Formatting
Possible Line edit suggestions (which may or may not address spelling, grammar, punctuation, alternate phrasing and structure).
Broadcast-quality audio recording of your manuscript (for your private use only)

*This service is available only to those who’ve previously purchased a manuscript critique through this page. Manuscript must be submitted within three months of initial critique.

*I will provide a critique of your manuscript within 48 hours of receiving the manuscript. This may not be be applied to ‘Submission Package’ or Zoom/phone chats.

*one fee per entire order.

What this critique focuses on:

Concept & Premise
Plot
Pacing
Character development
Tension & Stakes
Voice
Language
Structure
Humor & Heart (where applicable)
Theme and Takeaway
Creative suggestions
Strengths and suggested areas to work on
Feedback on art notes & how to improve story's visual potential (if applicable)
Identifying your story's hook
Page turns and pagination suggestions
Formatting
Possible Line edit suggestions (which may or may not address spelling, grammar, punctuation, alternate phrasing and structure).
Broadcast-quality audio recording of your manuscript (for your private use only)

What this package offers:

*This service is available only to those who’ve previously purchased a manuscript critique through this page. Manuscript must be submitted within three months of initial critique.

*I will provide a critique of your manuscript within 48 hours of receiving the manuscript. This may not be be applied to ‘Submission Package’ or Zoom/phone chats.

*one fee per entire order.

À LA CARTE

The following services may be added to a critique package and/or purchased on their own (unless otherwise noted).

Through comments and track changes, I will polish your query letter, focusing on:

*This service is for picture book creators only. I will read your manuscript, conduct research, and provide you with a list of 5+ comp titles and/or mentor texts with specific reasons for why I’ve selected each. Potential titles might come from:

Through Twitter contests, my pitches have received requests from 20 different agents and editors and been used for both my deal announcements via Publishers Weekly and Publishers Marketplace. I’ve also helped dozens of writers and illustrators secure industry requests using pitches I critiqued and crafted for them. I’d love to do the same for you!

*Zoom or Phone—your choice! Not to be recorded.

A specific manuscript of yours
Brainstorming ideas & solutions
Ranking your strongest ideas
Researching & vetting agents
Querying
"The Call"
Author-Agent relationship
Going on submission
Writing craft & process
How to craft compelling pitches
[Traditional] publishing business & market
Navigating social media
Building a career as an author
Assembling a list of potential agents for you to query
Next steps & setting SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time-bound) goals

*Zoom or Phone—your choice! Not to be recorded.

A specific manuscript of yours
Brainstorming ideas & solutions
Ranking your strongest ideas
Researching & vetting agents
Querying
"The Call"
Author-Agent relationship
Going on submission
Writing craft & process
How to craft compelling pitches
[Traditional] publishing business & market
Navigating social media
Building a career as an author
Assembling a list of potential agents for you to query
Next steps & setting SMART (specific, measurable, attainable, relevant, time-bound) goals