Several questions here. Who are professional readers? Where do you find them? What is there function, do they give advice on your M.S.? And do they charge for their services?
Several questions here. Who are professional readers? Where do you find them? What is there function, do they give advice on your M.S.? And do they charge for their services?
One thing I forgot to mention, make sure the reader you get is aware of what your book is about.
I asked The Literary Consultancy to match me with a reader who would respect the particular experiences which have shaped my book, namely an understanding of psychology, gay oppression, child abuse and depression.
Thank you Lorraine, Jeremy and Miriam. I appreciate your information and input. It does seem professional reading is an essential part of getting it right. Friends and relatives are too careful not to upset you with a honest opinion, so there becomes no point in asking them. I would love to hear more about your book Miriam and look forward to hearing from you.
It's that essential thing, an impartial eye, that will take your work and dissect it with no thought for your sensibilities! A professional overview of your work, while it may be brutal to a novice writer (or any other), will shake out all the wrinkles and unnecessary fluff, and show you how to bring it up to its best form.
Everyone is blind to their own work, no matter how many books they write. What you put on paper is part of yourself, and it is almost impossible to be detached about it. What you are asking for, though, is a professional's time and effort - and it takes a lot of both to go through someone's work with a critical eye. That's why it costs what seems like a lot of money. If you take their advice - or if you can give a very good reason why you shouldn't - you will end up with a far better product.
Never forget that you want to sell this book to the public, and if you expect them to shell out their hard-earned cash for it, you should make sure it's the best it can be. If you haven't the confidence or the knowledge to do that yourself, it will pay to call in the experts. After all, what you learn from one now will stand you in good stead for anything else you may write after this.
Lorraine