So, It took a while, longer than I would have liked, but I did get feedback on the 'first chapter' of my book. 3,000 words. And I cannot emphasize enough, that it takes time to get feedback from an editor worth their salt. It wasn't that they were inconsiderate or unrealistic, it was that there is so much demand for good editing services and when you find a good one it takes a beat for them to get to your work. Rather than select and interview and well select a editor to work with, I decided to go with the easy button approach and used the Autocrit first chapter review service. This version was part of a special promotion they had offering first chapter review providing a couple page assessment of writing/story telling, an inline edit and a bonus of a one on one coaching session. While they were very positive about my work, they gave me concrete thoughts that I needed to move the project forward. So mostly the comments and conversation were about larger questions like exploring the genre of my weird little project and in the coaching session, getting comfort around the length and query process and so on. (We didn't have a lot of content to discuss, they were super bullish, but I felt comfortable in their hands and think that even if the feedback was extensive, I would have felt sincerely helped and mentored along.) Key question, was it worth it. Yes. and No. So Yes the feedback was phenomenal and the team was supportive, but no, because now I have this feedback but I don't have an ongoing relationship and I think that's what I really want in the end.

I think we've all heard about the criticality of the first chapter. You need to introduce the right characters, hook the reader, display your writing skills and more. At the end of summer I will be ready to have the first chapter of my first book go through an edit probably a first chapter edit but maybe a developmental edit. So I've been doing some research on the groups and individuals that do this sort of editing and I've found that there are a few different kinds of editors. 1) small publishing houses offering the service. I suspect this is a way of getting authors to pay for prospecting and occasionally you might get lucky here. 2) Writing advisory groups that represent them selves or others. This would be something like Reedsy or Gotham Writers Workshop. In these cases you will be able to select or get matched with an experienced writer and/or editor. What I like is that some will also offer bios so again, you can select someone that's got industry connections that might be helpful. 3) Authors that are just making a living and have their own website / side hustle in this area. The advantage here is that they are working authors that have their own formula for how to make a good book in a given genre(s) But I worry that the down side is that it's their way of getting it done and you may find that there is bias in their feedback that you don't understand if you haven't read their work. The plan is that I will look and get suggestions from members over the next few months and then I will try a few services and let you know the pros and cons of each. More to come.