◆ Authenticity Reading ◆
Write Addiction Right.
Most fiction gets addiction wrong in one of two directions: the cautionary cartoon,
or the character flaw the hero out-wills in a single scene. Readers who have lived it
can tell. I'm Nico Tuzzolo, a Behavioral Health Technician in recovery,
author of the Crown of Gods series and Writing Mental Health in Fantasy: Addiction.
I read manuscripts for one thing: whether the addiction and recovery on your pages
ring true, and how to fix them where they don't.
"Tuzzolo does an excellent job portraying addiction and the accompanying mental health
challenges with authenticity and nuance. It's clear there is a genuine understanding
of these experiences."
— John Campbell, LCSW, LCDC, CSAT, on The King of Woe
What You Get
- A full read of your manuscript with margin notes on every addiction, withdrawal, craving, treatment, and recovery beat.
- A written report: what rings true, what breaks, and specific fixes grounded in both frontline behavioral-health experience and lived recovery.
- A cliché audit: the tropes that make readers in recovery put a book down, flagged before reviewers find them.
- An optional 30-minute follow-up call to talk through the notes.
Pricing
Short fiction & novellas (to 40k words)$100
Novels (to 100k words)$200
Epics (100k+ words)$300
Selected scenes / partial manuscriptask
Introductory rates. Typical turnaround is two to three weeks depending on length.
Email Me About Your Manuscript
Tell me the genre, word count, and what worries you about your portrayal.
I am a Behavioral Health Technician with frontline treatment experience and lived recovery,
and a published author on this craft. I am a craft consultant for fiction. This service is
manuscript consultation; it is never medical, clinical, or treatment advice.