There are a variety of ways to obtain editorial criticism before you
have an agent or a publisher. Families and friends can be helpful,
but more often than not they will tell you what they think you want to
hear unless you seriously impress upon them your wish to hear the
truth, however unpalatable it might seem.
One suggestion I've already made is to join a writing group.
These are numerous: local groups, groups organized by a local education
institute or library, or groups that operate by mail. These days there
are also a number thriving on the Internet. Reference books, your local
library and fellow writers are the starting points. It is essential to
remember that you only get out of these what you put in. You must be
prepared to read and criticize others' work, and you must have an open
mind about the comments you are likely to receive on your own work. Plus
you should be prepared to rework your material and submit it again for
their comments.
Several organizations will appraise your work, for a fee. The
best are those made up of other writers or professionals from the
publishing world, preferably those who will have some kind of stake -
their reputation, apart from their fee - in your future success. This
serves as some sort of guarantee that their advice is impartial and
aiming towards helping you achieve your goal of successful publication.
Organizations such as the Romantic Novelists' Association, The
Society of Authors or The Writers' Guild will admit you as a member (so
long as you qualify for membership), and some run manuscript appraisal
schemes. Those that do not will at least introduce you to other writers
who may be prepared to read and comment on your work. A professional
such as a publisher's editor (who is always working towards the goal of
publication) and an agent (whose goal is to achieve a saleable
manuscript) will have more at stake when offering you editorial
criticism than someone who only prepares a reader's report on your work.
Beware of organizations whose reputations you are not sure of, who exist
only to appraise manuscripts: their only interest may lie in writing,
and charging for, the largest number of reader's reports.
As I've said before, publishers and agents are not welfare
organizations: they cannot offer detailed editorial criticism for books
they will not publish or represent. Nor can they be expected
to become a referral service if they cannot accept the manuscript
themselves. No agent can ever be aware of the level of work or the
balance of the lists of others and so cannot, and probably should not,
offer suggestions of agencies more suited to your material. It would be
better for you to do your own homework via a directory of agencies and a
number of telephone calls.
If we were to prepare editorial reports for the manuscripts we have
to reject every day, we would, quite simply, never have time to work for
the clients we do actually represent. It is sometimes possible to offer
a few comments to those we reject, but this is not an invitation to
enter into a lengthy correspondence or a meeting to discuss the
comments.
Copyright © 1999 Carole Blake
