Manuscript, Social Media, and Portfolio Consultations ($125)

A manuscript, social media, or portfolio consultation is a one-on-one, twenty-minute meeting with a publishing professional to receive feedback on your art, writing, or social media presence. Consultations are available to Premium Members only for an additional fee of $125. All manuscript and portfolio consultations take place on FRIDAY, JANUARY 16th from 9am to 4pm. Make sure you arrive the night before if you are traveling from out of town. You will select your reviewer when you register. SCBWI will notify you of your time slot ahead of the conference. Before you register, read the faculty bios listed below and select a reviewer who is a good match for your work. The spots will fill up quickly. Choose carefully.

Once you make a selection, you CANNOT change it. No refunds will be given. The deadline to submit a manuscript for a manuscript consult is November 14th at 11:59pm PACIFIC time. Refunds will NOT be given to those who miss the deadline.

Consultation Guidelines 

Please read the following guidelines carefully before registering and submitting your material. If you are unsure about anything, please email Sarah Diamond.  

1.) After registering, you must email your manuscript to [email protected] on or before  Friday, November 14, 2025 at 11:59pm PST. Manuscripts received after the deadline will not be accepted. 

2.) For picture books and poetry: submit up to ten pages of poems or ONE picture book manuscript regardless of the page count. No synopsis is needed. Please do not submit a dummy book, photos, or illustrations; however, feel free to bring them to the consultation. Submit your pages as a WORD DOC and make sure your name is on the first page.

3.) For middle grade, young adult, nonfiction, and chapter books: submit only the first ten pages of your manuscript plus a single-spaced one-page synopsis. Submit your pages as a WORD DOC and make sure your name is on the first page.

4.) Format ALL manuscripts in a 12-point Times New Roman or Arial font, double-spaced. More formatting questions? Read From Keyboard to Printed Page in the Essential Guide to Publishing for Children (Available for free to premium members under My Resources in your Member Home).

5.) ALL submissions must include a title page with your contact information and the type of manuscript (YA, MG, picture book, chapter book, or nonfiction) in the upper left-hand corner. If you are represented by an agent, please note that on the title page as well. The title page does NOT count as one of your ten pages. 

6.) The name on your manuscript MUST match the name you registered under for the conference, even if you write under a pseudonym. 

7). No material needs to be submitted in advance for Portfolio or Social Media Consultations. For portfolio consults, please bring your art with you to the meeting.

A schedule with the time of all consultations will be posted to the Member Resource page of everyone who has registered for a manuscript or portfolio consult by January 5, 2026

Waitlist

There is no waitlist for consultations. Once they are full, they are full. If you are interested in securing a spot once all spaces are booked, please check the registration page of the conference website periodically to see if spots have opened due to cancellations. These spots will be filled first come, first served.