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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/29570
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/29570
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

There is an obvious moral hazard in the literary consultancy business, but it is hardly alone in that. There is a moral hazard in the financial planning business, for instance (advisors profit from the trades you make through them, and may be incented to sell certain products).

But that does not mean that all people in these fields give in to the moral hazard, or that you can't exercise due diligence to validate their reputation and the advice they are giving you. In any field where a moral hazard exists, there will always be charlatans operating, but that does not mean the entire industry is corrupt.

From what I have read, it seems like literary consultancies are becoming part of the filtration system for publishers in the UK, where a good report from a consultancy will help you to get an agent of editor to pay attention. In some ways that should make the consultancies more reliable, since if they give out false reports, they will lose their leverage with agents and editors and thus their appeal to authors. At the same time it would be pretty sad if there were no path to publication that did not involve paying people for advice.

What is invaluable in these matters is either a writer friend who loves you well enough to tell you the truth, or a writer acquaintance who is distant enough from you to not mind giving offence. Neither may be able to tell you how to fix your manuscript (though they might) but at least they will let you know whether the person who calls it "brilliant" is blowing smoke or not.

Original score: 1