Use of Literary Consultants (Especially in the UK)

Gavin23 · Sep 21, 2011

Hi all,

I'm now nearing the end of my first draft, and while I know I'm going to have an awful lot of editing ahead of me, i'm now starting to seriously think of what to do next.

One thing i'm considering is sending my work to a literary consultant. If you don't know what that is, you basically send them your manuscript and they go through it, and give feedback on what you should change, what's good, what's not etc.

For this they charge a fee, usually between £250 - £400.

Some of them, if your work is good enough, will forward it to an agent with a note of recommendation, which they say makes it much more likely an agent will accept. I know this may just be sales - trash to get you to send in, but honestly, I think it's probably true.

Example of LC - http://www.cornerstones.co.uk/#/home/

I'm not sure whether the US do this more, or less than over here, but I haven't seen a single mention of them on these forums, and just wondered whether people had any more information on them?

Thanks in Advance

Just realised Cornerstones have a whole page on the whole forwarding to agents thing, http://www.cornerstones.co.uk/#/agents/

Anne Lyle · Sep 21, 2011

Sorry, no idea - I've never heard of anyone using one. IMHO, your money is probably better spent on a workshop or convention where you can learn these skills for yourself and/or network with agents in person.

300 or so quid will buy you an entire weekend at the Winchester Writers' Conference with up to 3 free professional critiques of a sample of your work plus lots of workshops, or (if you write SFF or similar) a couple of genre conventions - fewer workshops but more networking opportunities.

Give a man an edit, and he's got a good book; teach a man to edit, and he has a career

waylander · Sep 21, 2011

I used one.
But I would counsel you to use up all the free options of beta readers and writing groups before you spend your money.

areteus · Sep 21, 2011

Not heard of them either... I agree with Anne above with the added concern of how do you know they are any good? Just like agents and publishers, I imagine there are a lot of people out there who claim to be able to do it but don't have the actual skills or contacts needed.

Put it this way, I reckon anyone who posts on this forum could set themselves up as a literary consultant and charge for what basically sounds like the job of a beta reader. If it were me offering it I wouldn't pay (industry contacts: zero, editing ability: may get round to bothering to edit something sometime, critical skills: I know what I like and that is not necessarily what the public like

) but if it were someone like Old Hack (with all the experience and contacts behind them) then it may be worthwhile. However, Old Hack is usually not shy of sharing these skills for free on here so why pay?

I think with anything like this you do have to ask the question - do I really have to pay for that or can I get it done for free to the same standard? Or can I get more for my money by going to a conference?

Gavin23 · Sep 21, 2011

Anne Lyle said:
Sorry, no idea - I've never heard of anyone using one. IMHO, your money is probably better spent on a workshop or convention where you can learn these skills for yourself and/or network with agents in person.

300 or so quid will buy you an entire weekend at the Winchester Writers' Conference with up to 3 free professional critiques of a sample of your work plus lots of workshops, or (if you write SFF or similar) a couple of genre conventions - fewer workshops but more networking opportunities.

Give a man an edit, and he's got a good book; teach a man to edit, and he has a career

I hadn't really thought of going to a convention, have to look into that, thanks

BTW - Your book is on my Christmas list

Gavin23 · Sep 21, 2011

waylander said:
I used one.
But I would counsel you to use up all the free options of beta readers and writing groups before you spend your money.

OH really!? Who did you use, and what was it like?

The two most well known i've found are the Literary Consultancy and Cornerstones.

Gavin23 · Sep 21, 2011

areteus said:
Not heard of them either... I agree with Anne above with the added concern of how do you know they are any good? Just like agents and publishers, I imagine there are a lot of people out there who claim to be able to do it but don't have the actual skills or contacts needed.

I thought this also, but on the other hand I have seen cornerstones mentioned a few times in magazines as being good, which is why it was them I provided the link to.

Have to have a good think before I commit to anything though

waylander · Sep 21, 2011

I know some of the sf/f writers who review for Cornerstones and believe them to be reputable

Lady MacBeth · Sep 21, 2011

Anne Lyle said:
Give a man an edit, and he's got a good book; teach a man to edit, and he has a career

I like this.

areteus · Sep 21, 2011

Gavin23 said:
I thought this also, but on the other hand I have seen cornerstones mentioned a few times in magazines as being good, which is why it was them I provided the link to.

Have to have a good think before I commit to anything though

Oh yes. I agree that they may be reputable ones out there. Like anything in writing - research carefully (as you are doing). But as this is a concept I have only just heard of today (and therefore, by the rules of the internet, am an instant expert on

) my suspicious brain is tingling at me

Anne Lyle · Sep 21, 2011

Gavin23 said:
I hadn't really thought of going to a convention, have to look into that, thanks

BTW - Your book is on my Christmas list

Thanks, Gavin!

I would recommend the AltFiction weekend next June (in Derby) - the programme is usually very good for such a small con and it's very much writer-oriented. FantasyCon is getting better - this year they have a series of one-hour masterclasses (for the princely sum of a fiver each) in addition to the usual programme of panels.

The Winchester Writers' Conference has a very strong workshop programme but is not much use for SFF writers as far as networking is concerned - it's more oriented towards more "mainstream" genres like crime and romance (as well as literary fiction).

waylander · Sep 21, 2011

Eastercon has a free 4 hr writing workshop

seun · Oct 19, 2011

I sent a now trunked ms to Cornerstones in early 2002 - over four years before I found AW. For me, their advice was first rate and helped me shape that book into something a bit better than awful.

However, the book was fundamentally flawed and my skills at the time weren't enough to save it. If I'd known about AW back then, I would have saved myself a fair chunk of cash I didn't really have.

I wouldn't advise anyone not to use a company such as Cornerstones, but I would advise them to develop their skills, to not be impatient and to listen to what more experienced writers can tell them.

Siri Kirpal · Oct 19, 2011

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

On this side of the pond (US), they're called independent editors or book doctors. I used one with my second book because I was having the darndest time finding anyone to take it. Turned out I needed a better introduction and was presenting the book all wrong.

Had I found this site and used the options here, it's likely I wouldn't have needed to pay the $ it cost me.

On the other hand, the guy was good.

You can find good editors at www.wordintoprint.org and www.bookdocs.com.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

Use of Literary Consultants (Especially in the UK)

Gavin23

Dum Spiro, Spero.

Anne Lyle

Fantastic historian

waylander

Who's going for a beer?

areteus

Gavin23

Dum Spiro, Spero.

Gavin23

Dum Spiro, Spero.

Gavin23

Dum Spiro, Spero.

waylander

Who's going for a beer?

Lady MacBeth

Out, damn'd spot! out, I say.

areteus

Anne Lyle

Fantastic historian

waylander

Who's going for a beer?

seun

Horror Man

Siri Kirpal

Swan in Process