I am currently penniless (not a little poor but really poor) my novel has come back from the agent and a publisher, both of whom confused me more than anything. Therefore I thought I should get another opinion, being currently poor seems to exclude me from this. What to other penniless authors do? Thanks Justin
Have you got a friend who could read your novel and give you feedback? Somebody who is a reader themselves, and who would be honest with you?
Do you have time to join a writer's workshop that meets weekly where members read and critique? If so, search "Meetup" for your locale.
Well, the cheapest critique is to show your story to a friend. Of course, a friend is likely to say nice, or at least neutral, things about your writing, or may not be sufficiently knowledgeable for the feedback to be useful. Absolutely the best critique is self-critique, but that only works after you have put a good amount of work into learning the art of critique, by doing it. When you have polished the story to the best of your ability, you could always submit it. If accepted, your publisher will certainly have some changes in mind. Or you might get a rejection letter that points out some shortcomings. In either of those cases, rejoice! If you get a form rejection, it could mean your story is poorly enough written that there;s little point in taking time to give citique, or it may simple mean the publisher has plenty of great writing an isn't looking seriously at untried writers. Keep working on your manuscript, and keep submitting.
what do you mean by 'come back from the agent and a publisher'?... do you have an agent?... did your agent send your ms to a publisher who returned it to the agent?... or what? can't advise you without more info... if you want a professional opinion on the quality of the writing, you can send me the first chapter and a brief summary of the plot and i'll be glad to give you detailed feedback on what's wrong with it, if anything... for free... love and hugs, maia maia3maia@hotmail.com
I'll give you my opinion if you want. I'm not super educated in Creative Writing, but I know a good book when i read it!
