This is a question I wish I'd had the chance to ask before I got one done. Don't get me wrong, the critique I got was honest and fair and full of useful points. From a drafing point of view I am very happy I did it as it focussed my revisions to the weak spots in my novel.

However, the critique also had very nice things to say about my novel and I thought I'd send the critique off to agents with my submission. At first I sent agents the whole critique, but then thought that that just gives them more to read. SO then I just took some of the nice comments from it and got rid of the drafting points they made.

SO my question, and in a way it is to the experts and those that have used services like this before, are they useful tools to send to agents? Would you say that an agent wants to hear an independent view of your work along with your submission, or do you think it gives them more the read and therefore is not worthwhile?

A word to the wise though: they are expensive to get.

I can't say it gets my attention anymore than a regular submission. People send in all sorts of reviews or recommendations from tutors, peers, reading services and so on.

It can be useful for me to see another opinion on the piece, and I suppose it shows that you're open to constructive criticism.

I'd say there's no harm in including some comments from a review, (although the whole thing may be a bit much), but it's not essential to raise my interest.
But as ever, that's just how I work - I can't vouch for other agents' practices.

I believe I got my agent because the critique I had done identified several flaws in my style which, once highlighted, were glaringly amateurish.

Yes, it was expensive but the lessons I learned from it can be applied to my writing as a whole, not simply the one novel I had critiqued.

So I think it was well worth the expense. Having said that, it wouldn’t have occurred to me to send out the critique to agents.
You could tell them you’ve had a critique done – that would be an indication of your determination to succeed but I wouldn’t have thought they’d be interested in seeing it.

Dee.

Hi Dee,

Did you revise your novel the best you could then send it for a critique?

I'm revising my first novel now, so very I'm interested.
Dawn,

Oh yes, Dawn. I thought it was as good as it could get. I’d punted it round a few friends as well as my long-suffering partner and they all said it was wonderful. Actually LSP gave me lots of criticism which I dealt with in a mature way - as you do – got drunk, sulked, that sort of thing.

Of course, none of them are professional writers. They want to be nice to me, usually. They said it was great. So I thought I had polished the ms until it shone and started sending it out to agents. Of course they all rejected it.

There was a time, I’m told, when publishers had editors who would rub all the bumps out of a new author’s work but they don’t exist now. So you have to do it yourself and do all you can to present your ms in a professional way.

I have repeated this tip two or three times recently (so sorry to anyone yawning over it for the umpteenth time) but I can’t overemphasise how useful it is.
Print out your ms and edit it on paper
It makes an enormous difference to the way you see your own work.

I can also recommend ‘Self-Editing For Fiction Writers’ by Renni Browne and Dave King which I reviewed in the Book section a while ago.

Hope this helps and welcome to WW.

Dee.

Dee, thanks for your advice, this helps a lot.

I have printed off the ms,….it’s very daunting; luckily for me I like revising (or so I keep telling myself).

I do feel getting a critique is the only way to go these days, so much competition, it’s worth the expense.

Thanks again, good to be here.

Dawn,