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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/47887
License name: CC BY-SA 4.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/47887
License name: CC BY-SA 4.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

The ideal recourse, at this phase, is **finding some good beta-readers.**

Beta-readers are fantastic because they give you a sense of how your novel is working; what's good and what isn't. Beta-readers don't need to be pros, but they _do_ need to be (A) observant and (B) honest. That isn't necessarily easy to find! But, it's way better to get some _non-professional_ feedback _first_, and improve based on that -- just because non-pro feedback is easier, more accessible, free, and **you can reasonably get several of them.**

(Getting several points of view is important -- because until you do, it's really hard to tell the difference between a reader/editor who individually doesn't click with this particular book, vs. one who has substantive and constructive feedback.)

You can look for beta-readers on online workshops, on beta-reader or critique-partner swaps, and a bunch of other places online. A local writer's group might work for you even better. The primary criteria, though, is that you need to find people who's opinion you'll respect (I love my mom, but that doesn't mean her opinion on my new secondary-world steampunk adventure is particularly well-considered), even if you won't necessarily agree with it.

* * *

Your other option is, as you suggest, hiring an editor. Specifically, you'll be looking for a freelancer who does developmental editing.

**Developmental editing can be really fantastic, _but_, it has several serious problems.**

One is, you need to find a _good_ editor -- and it's really hard to tell, at this stage, what editors are good for you personally and for your particular work. Writing is so individual, and so are editing styles -- and, telling for yourself which out of hundreds of freelancers will work out well is _really_ hard. Look for substantial recommendations before even considering this.

Second, there is a certain bar below which _good_ editorial advice will be "I'm sorry, but I would reject this out of hand, this is nowhere approaching publishable." They can tell you _why_, but in that situation, the most _constructive_ advice they can offer will be along the lines of: "Perhaps you could rewrite this entirely, here are some pointers for how it could be better."

This might, in fact, be extraordinarily helpful to you. And you might choose to rewrite, or you might stow the draft away in your trunk, and go work on something else.

Just understand that you very might well be paying, not for "Here's how to fix your book," but rather "Go work on something else." That's way better than spending years polishing something fundamentally flawed -- but you really need to go in knowing that's an option.

(This, actually, is another reason that beta-readers are so valuable -- you'll have a _much_ better idea of where your current draft is at, whether it's at "needs fixing" or "needs a complete overhaul." And then you're much better poised to make the decision on paying an editor.)

* * *

**Generally speaking,** unless you are self publishing, the assumption is that you _don't_ pay for editing. You want to reach a point where you can spot issues and fix problems by yourself. _Not_ to perfection -- but _yes_ to the point where somebody will be willing to buy your MS, and edit it themselves.

If you're _so_ uncertain about this manuscript, that _might_ be your own insecurity (totally normal! Writers are an anxious lot!). Or it might be that you yourself _do_ need to level up your craft and your editing skills. The problem with hiring a freelance editor is that you'll be spending a _lot_, for... only a modicum of actually improving your own skills and abilities. Only _one_ person's opinion -- and not even a person who particularly clicked with your story to begin with, or necessarily thinks it has potential.

Beta-readers (if you can find them!) give you a much better general sense of where you stand. And, generally, getting into a group where other people are beta-reading your work, and you're beta-reading theirs, is a _fantastic_ way to improve your writing in every way.

Original score: 6