Poetry: Manuscript Consultation
As an Irish poet who lived and studied in New York City for 10 years, I have intimate knowledge of the US and Irish poetry worlds. I have worked with both experimental and traditional poets from Europe and the USA, and have over 10 years of experience editing book-length manuscripts and pamphlets (chapbooks). Previous clients includes a National Poetry Series winner and writers who have gone on to publish their first and second books, as well as poets who have been accepted into prestigious MFA Programmes in the USA.
I understand the craft of both themed books, or “projects”, and collections. I excel at shaping the arc of manuscripts in terms of how the poems relate to each other and where they should be placed in the collection. I offer directions for the next round of edits, identify underlying themes and gaps, and directions for writing new poems to fill those gaps. I look for the objective correlative (images in the “outer” world that reflect inner experiences), how to balance thought and emotion, how to write original work that avoids sentimentality without sacrificing feeling and how to successfully end a poem via resonant poetic closure.
Options
Manuscript Consultation: Whether you are preparing to submit a pamphlet or book-length manuscript to a publisher or competition, I’d be delighted to work with you. I provide both line edits and developmental advice related to shaping the collection. (Full manuscript of 60 pages or less: €700 / pamphlet of 30 pages or less: €350.)
Individual Poems for Editing and Discussion: If you have not yet written a manuscript, feel free to submit three to six poems. Poems will be returned fully edited, with thorough suggestions as to next steps for future drafts, and can be combined with a mentoring session. (€30-€60.)
Poetry Mentoring: This involves an hour-long video call that is 100% client-led and focused. The session is both craft-focused as well as designed to provide pathways around psychological and creative blockages. Calls are recorded and I take copious notes to give you practical takeaways and actionable items for future work and growth. Fully personalised mentorship programme is available. (€70 per hour.)
Editorial Assistance on your MFA / MA in Creative Writing Application Portfolio: I also advise prospective graduate students on their writing portfolio by offering line editing and developmental advice. (Submission package of up to 20 poems: €250. I can also advise on your statement of purpose.)
Contact me via the Contact form for further information or if you have any questions.
Testimonials
“I first shared new work with David over a decade ago, and in all the time since he has never let me down as a reader and advisor. He has a keen sense of what individual works need to take them further, and also how to put works together in a collection–culling what doesn’t belong, and arranging what does so the remaining writing is in lively conversation.” —Benjamin Cartwright, poet and winner of the Powder Horn Prize for After Our Departure.
“For my second M.F.A. application cycle, I knew I needed a trusted and experienced reader to help me improve my work, and I found that reader in David. Through his suggestions and careful edits, he helped me refine my poems and arrange them into an effective portfolio that obtained multiple fully-funded offers and waitlists. I was then accepted to the M.F.A. Program at the University of Oregon where my writing has improved even further. His revisions—both gentle and direct—enhanced the themes and craft present in my poetry, which in turn gave me confidencein drafting new poems. David is a catalyst for your best work.” —Joey Wańczyk, poet, musician, and author of Catching Brief and Disfigured (Ghost City Press 2024 Summer Series).
“David's love of this craft comes through not only in how he writes, a marvel in itself, but in how he lifts up other writers at every stage of their journey (with a single written piece, or in the course of their writing life). He reads work sensitively and attentively, reflects on it keenly and expertly, and responds to its author inquisitively and compassionately. To have David as an editor is to give your writing a steadfast friend.”
—Arden Levine, poet, editor, and reviews writer, author of Ladies’ Abecedary (Harbor Editions, 2021).
“David McLoghlin is a fabulous poet. I was part of an online poetry group with him last year and I know my poems improved 100% because of his feedback.”
“I've worked with David across a wide spectrum of settings, and the eternal throughline has been his dedicated, generous, always-illuminating sensitivity. Here is a man with the broad capacities of the Early Moderns, the sharp scrutiny of the Modernists, and the presence of mind of all of us hypermoderns. In other words, a person of register; a listener. In correspondence, that means a warm approachability married to the will to probe. In analysis and critique, that means thoroughgoing notes with special attention paid to the surprise, the turn. In person, he's a pleasure to speak with, never relinquishing the thread of accessibility, but also never obtruding when the occasion calls for singular strangeness. He asks questions like the best journalists, knowing the risks that entails, and he drives towards the story when lesser writers/readers settle for gimmickry. And, crucially, he understands that while lived experience breathes life into a piece, it's the otherworldly that stays with us and transforms our own lives. When you turn your work over to David, it's in the best hands: spry, welcoming, practiced, winking, but never tame. Do yourself this favor.”
—Peter Longofono, poet and musician, author of Chords.