I've been asked a number of times whether I'm in any writing workshops with other (aspiring) writers, and usually also "why not?" when I say no. Partly it's because I'm lazy and selfish and have no interest in critiquing someone else's manuscript, but partly it's because I'm not convinced it's necessarily useful. Having written a manuscript of some sort doesn't necessarily mean you're a good writer, and being a good writer doesn't necessarily mean that you're a good editor, or good at giving constructive criticism.
Because I also have the luxury of a well-paying day(/night) job, I paid a professional editor to give "developmental feedback" on a novel manuscript. It was fantastic, and worth every penny. She pointed out a bunch of major weaknesses, explained tactfully but clearly why they were weaknesses, and gave specific suggestions for how to fix them (and her suggestions were great--some of them so obviously improved the manuscript that I wondered how I had failed to think of them myself over the course of five full-manuscript revisions, but hey, I hope I'm learning). As a bonus she also pointed out the things that were good about the manuscript, which is nice not only because I desperately need reassurance but also because it's helpful to know what I already do well (but mostly because I desperately need reassurance, who am I kidding).
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Date: 2019-02-04 10:49 pm (UTC)Because I also have the luxury of a well-paying day(/night) job, I paid a professional editor to give "developmental feedback" on a novel manuscript. It was fantastic, and worth every penny. She pointed out a bunch of major weaknesses, explained tactfully but clearly why they were weaknesses, and gave specific suggestions for how to fix them (and her suggestions were great--some of them so obviously improved the manuscript that I wondered how I had failed to think of them myself over the course of five full-manuscript revisions, but hey, I hope I'm learning). As a bonus she also pointed out the things that were good about the manuscript, which is nice not only because I desperately need reassurance but also because it's helpful to know what I already do well (but mostly because I desperately need reassurance, who am I kidding).