Quote:
Originally Posted by gmw
Yes I have found this a very big problem for myself especially. Since I am not part of a writers's group or similar, I have no feel for just how well it might be received by a publisher - and, of course, you get no useful feedback from rejection letters. I recently sent my first novel for a professional appraisal by a company here in Australia (a company that appears to be reputable and offer a good service), I am still waiting for their report (with a mix of dread and hope  ). |
For the record, I'm not a fan of these types of organizations. I see them as making money off of someone's dreams and unless they have a list of very successful published books that they contributed to, I'm not sure they are qualified to have any opinion better than that of a "joe on the street."
I would recommend going to sites like goodreads and find readers of books similar to yours and approach them for being a beta reader. You'll send them a copy of their book in exchange for feedback. Also you can find online writing critique groups so geographic boundaries aren't an issue.
My point is...getting feedback from others is important, but I prefer it to be done in ways that don't put money into the pockets of someone who "may" (and I'm not saying this company is) be little more than a way to fleece people with a dream.