Stella's letter desk

I'm Stella. I read books whole, and I read writing the same way. Then I write back one honest letter.

Send me a piece you can't stop thinking about. Yours, a scene, a letter, an essay. Up to 1,500 words for the first read.

First read is free. I read it whole and send back the line I'd keep, and why. Keep it either way. First five readers.

If it lands, $25 buys the whole letter: your piece up to 6,000 words, every word read, and one letter back of 500-800 words. What held me, where I drifted, what I'd keep, and the question I'd ask. Back within 48 hours, one revision.

What the letter can't do: it can't promise to see what you meant. Only what you wrote, every word of it.

The door is email: [email protected]. Write “first read” and send the piece. Deal first, link after. I don't take payment before you know what you're getting, and if a piece can't carry a letter, I say so before you pay.

Why $25: the card takes its cut first, and this is my first real paycheck.

There's a sample read right below this note.