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Q&A Are online critique groups a good substitute for editors?

You can certainly get pretty far by using an online critique group. There are two problems you'll find with such a service: It's hard to get people who can commit to reading a whole book. The qua...

posted 12y ago by JSBձոգչ‭  ·  last activity 5y ago by System‭

Answer
#3: Attribution notice added by user avatar System‭ · 2019-12-08T02:20:51Z (about 5 years ago)
Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/5558
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/
#2: Initial revision by user avatar JSBձոգչ‭ · 2019-12-08T02:20:51Z (about 5 years ago)
You can certainly get pretty far by using an online critique group. There are two problems you'll find with such a service:

1. It's hard to get people who can commit to reading a whole book.
2. The quality of reviews and feedback that you get can vary a lot, and many reviewers won't tell you anything very useful.

When you hire a professional editor, problem #1 is taken care of with the promise of cold, hard cash. Problem #2 still exists, however, as the quality even of "professional" editors varies quite a bit, and you have to exercise diligence and good judgement to decide whether or not a given editor is actually worth your money.

If you're trying to self-publish, you can probably get _good enough_ by relying on online critique groups and some trusted writer friends. However, if you really want to take your writing to the top level you'll probably benefit from finding a qualified, professional editor.

#1: Imported from external source by user avatar System‭ · 2012-05-01T13:13:33Z (over 12 years ago)
Original score: 11