I can thoroughly recommend The Literary Consultancy, if you're thinking of going down that route - they're not cheap but they're b****y good. I always use them now. Other people on site also recommend Cornerstones, if you're wanting a choice.

And nothing wrong with self-publishing! All my books so far have been self-published. The mainstream publishing world doesn't have all the answers, thank the Lord!

)

A
xxx

I know people who speak well of Hilary Johnson, though she has a very commercial focus, which may not suit, by the sound of your reasons for writing.

This is self-advertising, so feel free to ignore it, but I do assessments for the Writers' Workshop, and I'm impressed by their attitude and how they go about things. (I wouldn't have joined them otherwise).

Tony, another option - more expensive but more wide-ranging - could be to do a masters. There's at least one which would take you and your project on as a whole, rather than insisting you do their exercises. I won't witter on here, but do WW Mail me if you want to chew on that idea further.

Emma

Thanks, Anne and Emma.

Emma, I've sent you a WWMail.
Tony

Tony

Great story about the hang-gliding. There's got to be further mileage in that one. Good luck.

Jim

Tony, only just caught up with this. Sorry to hear how it worked out this time.

They are bastards though, to request the full, then act like they hadn't. I mean, what was that all about?

I wish you luck with whatever you decide to do next with it.

Roger.

Jim and Roger,
Thanks for the support. I was pissed off, for sure, but now it's turning into a kind of grim defiance. Sod 'em!
Tony

Hi Tony,

Sorry to hear about that; it's not pleasant.

Using an editing service was very useful for me, but it is expensive and not for everyone. I found Conerstones to be very good. They ask that you ring first for a chat to see if they're the right people for you.

Best of luck, whatever you decide to do.

Harry

to request the full, then act like they hadn't. I mean, what was that all about?

I think that's about the agent who requested it, but who has decided it's not for her/him after all, handing it to an assistant to deal with. The assistant doesn't know the history, and just does the standard process.

But yes, it's thoughtless to the point of unkindness to have a system that can let such things happen. There are good reasons why they don't write individual letters, but it wouldn't hurt them to have three standard letters for the three standard situations, not one.

Emma