In December, agent Irene Goodman will auction off 25 critiques for partial manuscripts–a chance for fledgling writers to donate to a worthy cause and polish their work for the agent search.
The auction will run from Dec. 1, 2009 and ends Dec. 15, raising money for the Foundation Fighting Blindness and the Deafness Research Foundation. Her 22-year-old son (pictured, with Goodman) suffers from Usher Syndrome, a genetic disease that causes progressive loss of hearing and sight. She explained: “when you are 22 and you are losing your sight and your hearing, you want the cure to happen NOW. All this costs a lot of money, and that’s where your dollars will be spent.”
Here’s more about the quality of Goodman’s advice: “I believe that nicey-nice doesn’t really help you. Honesty does. If you can accept well-meant feedback from someone who has built a lot of best-selling careers, then this is for you. My track record in this regard astonishes me when I look at it. There are dozens of books that sold for sizable advances as a direct result of my feedback to the authors. When you are hungry for information that will really make a difference, not waste your time, and respect your goals, you need a real industry professional who has walked the walk.”