Several years ago, I was contacted off a site where I'd put my first YA manuscript up for critique sharing. Jeff said his ms wasn't ready for critiquing, but he was looking for ms' to critique to hone his skills toward offering editing services as a business.
I'd been through my ms several times, and while many technical details were decent, the plot needed serious help. Mainly, it needed...a plot! But as my first ms, all I could tell is that it had problems. I'd worked with several critique partners who helped with some of the bigger picture stuff, but not the core problem.
I had no idea what Jeff could offer, but I wasn't going to turn down a free learning opportunity. I'm so glad I sent the ms to him. Jeff returned a thorough, big picture analysis, where my character lost interest, what was missing in my plot, so many things I hadn't even thought of.
Realizing I didn't yet have the skills to fix these issues (on top of having developed the concept into a five book series, I set the ms aside for a couple years while I worked on the first two books of a new idea. But every now and then, I'd reread Jeff's comments, partly to make sure I didn't make the same mistakes in the new project, but also because I knew I'd return to that ms with new vigor, all thanks to his insights.
Jeff has since hung his shingle out for his editing services. Whether you need line editing or big picture, he has an option that will work for you - including your submission materials, the dreaded query and synopsis. The best part is that he will look at those docs up to three times while you perfect them. And he's a writer too, so he knows what you're going through.
Check out Jeff DeCoursey Editorial Services, I know you won't regret it. I'm currently back to work on that first ms and it's turning out amazing!
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