Fiction Reader at West Trade Review.
It is a great aspiration of mine to one day work in the book publishing industry. This is the career path I have chosen after working in different parts of marketing, teaching, and being a student of literature and creative writing.
To steer into this career direction, I have become a volunteer for West Trade Review, located in Charlotte, NC. My job is to help read short-fiction and creative non-fiction submissions, provide a detailed analysis for feedback, and vote if the piece should move forward in the submission process.
My hope at WTR is to learn how to provide useful feedback for, and to shift into reading longer manuscripts. I find joy in annotating all forms of literature. Help me make this passion into a future career!
Below are samples of my feedback given to writers.
Sample 1
“The author did well drawing the reader in. As the reader, I wanted to know more. As good of a foundation there is, there are many unanswered questions that arise. What kind of lights affect him? Why did his father sell him for 2k? Does his father know about his brother’s behavior? Does the moon also hurt? The author may suggest expanding more on the background of Jamie’s life with his father after his mother passed. “...his father’s late-night entries into their apartment.” Does this tie into why he sold Jamie?
What I really wanted more of was in the exchange between Jamie and his uncle in lines 34-44 (“How long am I going to live with you”- “You’re my favorite nephew. All’s well.”). The author may suggest adding more tension to this scene, and really strive to make it uncomfortable to demonstrate Jamie’s ill feelings towards his uncle.
The constant mention of magic is intriguing. Perhaps it suggests the unknown or the idea of hope. The author may give more about the uncle’s career (?) as a magician, or if he gets his money through gambling. Knowing more about how the uncle makes his money may clear some of the gaps.
There’s a solid foundation to this story. As a reader, I would love to see this expanded on.”
- Nora Chaik, 2024
Sample 3
“This piece shows great characterization and visualization through the scenes and dialogue. The reader gets to know Joe’s ambitions and his need for human contact, despite feeling like he’s perfectly fine without it. The language and style of dialogue works well for the characters of the story. Joe and Gail are honest and direct which is reflected well in the dialogue.
The piece does well to discuss the abstraction of human behavior and makes subtle remarks on society. In particular, I like the line, “I can go to Greenland to watch the glaciers collapse…” It’s a quick and quiet line, but still thought-provoking for the reader.
The piece could probably be condensed a bit. It feels to drag towards the end. It feels like it took a while for them to realize they’re related, and thus, should not pursue anything romantic. However, this makes me confused about the earlier mention of their mothers sharing the same maiden name. This means Gail knew for a while before the kitchen scene. Why didn’t she mention it to him knowing he most likely has feelings for her? The author may suggest adding clarity to some scenes.
This piece shows a creative exploration of human behavior and has exceptional characterization. Will be upvoting.”
- Nora Chaik, 2024
Sample 2
“The author achieved capturing that one hazy, loving memory that a lot of us humans have. However, given this is a novel excerpt, it’s not quite clear what the conflict is. From this snippet, the conflict did not seem strong enough, and not very enticing. The author may suggest writing stronger characters. Currently they feel distant; the shadow of a character. Why should the reader care whether or not these two get together? What’s on the line for them? As it is, this take on the trope “right person, wrong time,” feels read/seen before and could benefit from a fresh approach. This is affected too by the dialogue. It felt a bit cliche at times, “Do you believe in destiny?”
On page 2, there’s a scene of girls arguing, and when asked, one of them replies, “Just girl stuff.” I actually wanted to hear more about this. Is there anything more to that scene? Or does it tie in later into the novel? I wish there were more for me to figure out given this excerpt. Overall, the author did well creating the foundation for an interesting novel that can resonate with many readers, but could create stronger characterization and a clear conflict.”
- Nora Chaik, 2024
Sample 4
“I enjoyed reading this piece. However, I was more interested in the history of her heritage than the many pages of her learning Japanese. Additionally, exploring those familial roots would have a stronger impact with the reader when talking about her Japanese proficiency.”
- Nora Chaik, 2024
