Read On It is a peer first-chapter fiction review and feedback service from Proxima Emporium LLC. A participating author reads your opening chapter and completes a standardized report based on their experience as a reader.

The report focuses on areas such as the opening hook, storytelling, pacing, character introduction, reader engagement, audience fit, and whether the reviewer would continue reading.

No. Read On It provides peer reader-response feedback. It is not proofreading, copyediting, developmental editing, literary-agent evaluation, or professional publishing consulting.

The goal is to help you understand how your opening chapter lands with another writer and reader before you decide what to do next.

Read On It reviewers are writers and authors recruited into the program by Proxima Emporium. Applicants provide information about their writing background, publishing experience, review experience, genres, and reading preferences before being accepted into the reviewer pool.

All reviewers use the same Read On It report structure so writers receive consistent categories of feedback.

Read On It currently accepts the opening chapter of a fiction manuscript.

The service is designed for novels, novellas, and other chapter-based fiction. Other formats may not be accepted unless specifically noted by Read On It.

Your submitted opening material may be up to 5,000 words.

Most submissions are expected to fall in the 3,000–4,000 word range. The goal is to allow reviewers to evaluate a complete opening chapter whenever possible.

Yes. If your manuscript genuinely begins with a prologue, you may include the prologue and Chapter One together as long as the total submission remains within the 5,000-word maximum.

Read On It accepts:

• Microsoft Word DOCX files
• PDF files

Shared cloud-document links and proprietary writing-program files should not be submitted unless specifically requested.

Please use a clean, readable manuscript format:

• 12-point readable font
• Double-spaced text
• One-inch margins
• Page numbers
• A title page

Your title page should include the manuscript title, author name, genre, and approximate total manuscript word count.

Yes. The submission form asks for a short synopsis of approximately 150–300 words.

The synopsis should be entered in the submission form rather than placed before the chapter itself. This allows the reviewer to experience the opening chapter primarily as a reader would.

Yes. Your full manuscript does not need to be complete. Read On It is specifically designed to evaluate the opening chapter, so writers may use the service while a manuscript is still being developed.

Yes, provided you own or control the rights necessary to submit the material for review.

Writers may find the service useful when evaluating a new edition, considering revisions, or simply seeking structured reader feedback on an existing opening.

Anna, the Read On It program coordinator, manages reviewer assignments. Whenever possible, assignments consider genre familiarity, reviewer availability, age category, content preferences, and other relevant matching information.

Read On It reviewer levels reflect experience completing reviews within the Read On It service.

All accepted reviewers begin at the Beginner level and advance as they successfully complete Read On It assignments.

These levels do not represent professional licenses, academic credentials, editorial certifications, or guarantees of literary expertise.

Where available, writers may be offered the option to pay an additional fee to guarantee assignment to an Intermediate or Expert Read On It reviewer.

Any upgrade premium associated with reviewer level is intended to compensate the reviewer for their additional experience within the Read On It program.

No. Reviewer levels reflect completed Read On It experience, not the likelihood of receiving positive feedback.

Reviewers are compensated for completing an honest, constructive report—not for providing a particular opinion or recommendation.

Read On It does not normally guarantee assignment to a specific individual reviewer. Anna manages assignments based on availability and fit.

You will receive a structured Read On It first-chapter report completed by your assigned reviewer and delivered through the program coordinator.

The report may address:

• Positive aspects of the opening
• Areas that may require attention
• The opening line and hook
• Storytelling quality
• Exposition and show versus tell
• Pacing and reader engagement
• Character introduction
• Audience and reader fit
• The reviewer’s “Read On It?” response
• Advice Forward

Near the end of the report, the reviewer answers the central question behind the service:

Based on this opening chapter, would I continue reading?

The reviewer explains the reasoning behind that response so you can better understand what created—or limited—the desire to read on.

Advice Forward is the portion of the report that identifies practical next steps the writer may wish to consider.

It may identify strengths worth preserving, areas that deserve priority during revision, and what the reviewer believes would most strengthen the opening from a reader's perspective.

Reader response is inherently subjective. You are not expected to agree with every comment or recommendation in your report.

The purpose is to provide one structured reader experience that you can consider alongside your own goals and other feedback you may receive.

A Hook & Hold Chapter is an opening chapter recognized by Read On It for demonstrating an especially strong ability to capture and sustain reader interest.

The designation recognizes the effectiveness of the submitted opening chapter. It is not an evaluation of the complete manuscript or a guarantee of publication or commercial success.

A reviewer may nominate an especially strong opening chapter based on the Read On It report and their reader experience.

Nominations are reviewed by Read On It before the designation is confirmed. Reviewers nominate chapters; they do not independently award the recognition.

Not without your permission.

Read On It recognizes that many submissions may be unpublished or works in progress. Manuscript titles, author information, excerpts, synopses, or other identifying details should not be publicly displayed as part of Hook & Hold recognition unless the writer expressly agrees.

Read On It may offer Hook & Hold recipients additional recognition or benefits through the Proxima Emporium family of author services.

Specific benefits may change over time and will be explained when a Hook & Hold designation is confirmed.

Yes. Submitting a chapter to Read On It does not transfer ownership, copyright, or publication rights in your manuscript to Proxima Emporium or to the reviewer.

Writers grant only the limited permissions necessary for Read On It to process, store, transmit, and review the submitted material in order to provide the service.

Submitted manuscripts are provided only to people reasonably necessary to administer and complete the Read On It service, including the assigned reviewer.

Participating reviewers are expected to treat assigned manuscripts as confidential and may not share, publish, distribute, or use submitted material outside the assigned review.

Read On It reviewers are not permitted to upload or disclose submitted manuscript material to generative AI services or other unauthorized third-party systems as part of completing a review.

The standard Read On It first-chapter review is $59.

Optional reviewer-level upgrades may be available for writers who want to guarantee assignment to a reviewer with additional Read On It experience.

Turnaround begins after your submission has been reviewed for compliance and successfully assigned to a reviewer.

The current expected turnaround period will be displayed on the submission page or communicated by Read On It when your submission is processed.

Reader feedback is subjective, so disagreement with a reviewer's opinions does not by itself mean the service was not provided.

Refunds, cancellations, failed assignments, and other service issues are governed by the Read On It Refund & Cancellation Policy.