Money flows to the writer.  Not from the writer.

That’s the rule.  Remember it.  Tattoo it on the back of your eyelids.  Nothing makes me angrier then when I hear about an aspiring writer who had paid someone a lot of money to read their manuscript and comment.  These so called “writing coaches” are preying on the hopes and dreams of people who want to write and it’s disgusting.  They have no power to put your manuscript in front of an agent or an editor.  They can’t do anything to further your career.  They’re just taking your money.

Join a good writers group and you can get the same thing for free.  The only cost to you is that you have to play fair, read other people’s submissions and comment.  There are on-line critique groups like the OWW.  They do charge a membership fee of $49.00 for a year, but that’s a much better price then paying a single individual five hundred, or a thousand or more to get that one person’s opinion.  There are writing organizations in most cities where you can connect with other writers and aspiring writers.  There are proven courses like Clarion West, or Odyssey or Taos Toolbox which are taught by actual writers and editors.

Are there exceptions to this rule?  Yes.  If a person is determined to go the self published route then it behooves them to hire an actual copyeditor to check for typos, correct commas, etc.  A copyeditor deserves and should be paid.  You’ll probably have to pay for cover art for your self-published novel.  All of which are reasons I don’t recommend going the self pub route.

Publishers have editors who can help you improve your book and you don’t have to pay them.  They have art directors who specialize in putting evocative covers on books that you don’t have to pay for.  They have sales forces that market your book so you don’t have to spend all your time doing self-promotion instead of doing what you should be doing which is writing.  They have the means to set up autograph sessions and a distribution network to get your book into bookstores so you’re not driving around in a van filled with copies of your book that you paid to have printed.  You’re not sitting behind a table in a dealers room at a convention trying to hand sell your novel instead of mingling and networking, meeting editors and colleagues, being inspired.

Money flows to the writer.  Not from the writer.