What Kind of Help Does My Novel or Short Story Need?
You’ve written a novel or short story . . . or part of one . . . or maybe it’s more of a concept. Wherever you are in the process, you’ve decided you need help. But what kind?
“Free” sounds great because it fits every budget, but it can come with serious drawbacks. The friend or family member who agrees to read your draft says it’s “nice,” or they “loved it,” or they grab a red pen and mark a bunch of comma errors that you’re pretty sure weren’t actually errors. The writing group you joined online consists of two people who are always arguing, three who mostly talk about everything BUT writing, one person who wants you to completely rewrite everything in THEIR preferred style, and two whose drafts you’ve commented on faithfully, but they’ve only given you vague praise in return.
Trouble is, just because someone offers a paid service that sounds like what you need doesn’t necessarily mean you’ll be happy with the outcome. Perhaps their feedback turns out to be so vague that none of it feels actionable. Perhaps you and the beta reader or editor or writing coach weren’t on the same page from the outset, and you were expecting a much different kind of feedback than what they provided. Perhaps you even jumped the gun and paid for a final polish of your manuscript, only to find out later that you need to substantially rewrite the darned thing—which makes those previous edits practically worthless.
The realm of writing, editing, and publishing is not much different in this respect than other professions. You can get a good or bad haircut from a budget salon or a high-priced one; likewise, you can get an awesome fade or a horrible chili bowl cut from your auntie.
My point is, the more you educate yourself about the types of help that exist, both free and paid, and the more you understand about what each one entails, the better equipped you are to find the right helper.
Click to jump ahead to the section you want:
I’m Not Sure Which Help I Need
Sometimes the Best Things in Life Are Free
- A trusted friend or family member: Best for a general reader reaction, especially if they read the genre and will be candid with you. Less reliable for technical or craft advice unless they have relevant experience.
- A critique partner: Another writer who exchanges work with you and provides more craft-oriented feedback. Particularly useful during drafting and revision. This relationship can become more valuable over time as each writer learns the other’s goals and style.
- A writing or critique group: Provides multiple perspectives and can help with brainstorming, motivation, accountability, and feedback on works in progress. Quality and group culture vary widely.
- Beta readers: Readers who approach a more or less complete manuscript primarily as readers rather than editors. Useful for identifying where they became confused, bored, surprised, emotionally invested, suspicious of a plot turn, attached to a character, etc.
- A feedback swap with another writer: Similar to critique partnering but potentially a one-time exchange—“I’ll read yours if you’ll read mine.” Especially useful when you need fresh eyes but don’t necessarily want an ongoing critique relationship.
- A mentor or experienced writer in your network: Someone farther along in the writing/publishing process may be willing to answer questions, brainstorm a problem, explain an unfamiliar part of publishing, or point you toward resources.
- Free online writing groups, forums, and communities: Potentially useful for brainstorming, craft questions, accountability, troubleshooting specific problems, and learning from other writers’ experiences. As with in-person groups, expertise and advice quality vary dramatically.
- Libraries, writing organizations, and community programs: Libraries and some writing orgs offer free workshops, critique events, author talks, writing groups, reference materials, databases, and occasionally access to tools or classes that would otherwise cost money.
- Reputable free craft and reference resources: Articles, podcasts, videos, newsletters, style/usage resources, author interviews, and educational materials can help a writer solve a problem independently once they know what problem they’re trying to solve.
Keep in mind that for some of these options, “free” may not mean “costless”—just that it doesn’t cost money. Swapping manuscripts with another writer may not require your credit card, but you’re paying with your own time and thoughtful feedback. That’s not a bad thing: you may learn a lot through this process. But do count the cost.
And Sometimes You Get What You Pay For
If you’ve exhausted the free resources and still need help, or if you want to go straight to an expert, then there are all sorts of paid services to choose from. Be aware that terminology and service boundaries aren’t completely standardized across the writing/editing/publishing world. It’s vital that you understand exactly what kind of help and feedback you’re looking for, then talk to the person you want to hire to confirm that their service actually provides what you want.
Writing/coaching help
- Writing or book coaching: Ongoing one-on-one guidance tailored to the writer and project. A coach may help with brainstorming, goal-setting, accountability, organization, craft problems, revision planning, or working through specific obstacles. The emphasis is usually on helping the writer make decisions and move the project forward rather than directly editing the manuscript.
- Classes or workshops: Structured instruction on writing craft, revision, publishing, or other specific topics, usually taught to a group. These can be useful when the writer needs to build skills or learn a process rather than receive extensive individualized feedback on an entire manuscript.
- Paid critique / beta reading: A professional reader evaluates the manuscript and provides feedback without necessarily editing the text itself. Depending on the service, the focus may range from general reader reactions—where the story dragged, confused, surprised, or engaged them—to more detailed critique of plot, character, pacing, or other craft issues.
Editing help
- Editorial assessment / manuscript evaluation: A high-level professional diagnosis of the manuscript rather than an edit of the text itself. Usually delivered as an editorial letter discussing strengths, weaknesses, major revision priorities, and recommended next steps. May address plot, character, pacing, structure, worldbuilding, point of view, etc., but generally doesn’t involve extensive comments throughout the manuscript.
- Developmental editing: Big-picture work on the story itself: plot, character arcs, structure, pacing, stakes, conflict, theme, POV strategy, worldbuilding, chronology, scene effectiveness, and similar issues. The editor identifies why something at the story level (not the sentence level) isn’t working and helps the writer figure out how to revise it. Sometimes referred to as substantive, structural, or content editing (with variations in scope).
- Line editing: Sentence- and paragraph-level editing aimed primarily at the effectiveness of the prose rather than mechanical correctness. Rhythm, clarity, flow, word choice, imagery, repetition, awkwardness, dialogue, transitions, tone, voice, sentence variety, emphasis, and paragraph construction all live here. A line editor might recast a sentence because it works poorly, even if it is grammatically correct. Sometimes referred to as stylistic editing, particularly outside the US.
- Copyediting: Correctness, consistency, and clarity at the sentence level. Grammar, punctuation, spelling, syntax, usage, capitalization, hyphenation, numbers, abbreviations, internal consistency, basic continuity, and adherence to a style guide such as the Chicago Manual of Style. Copyeditors may flag unclear or factually questionable material, but their primary job isn’t redesigning the story or extensively rewriting the prose. Sometimes called mechanical editing, often with a narrower scope.
- Proofreading: The final quality-control pass, ideally performed after editing and layout/typesetting. Looks for residual typos, punctuation errors, formatting problems, missing words, incorrect headers/page numbers, bad line or page breaks, inconsistencies introduced during production, etc. Proofreading is not supposed to be the stage where major prose or story problems are fixed.
Specialized help
- Continuity editing: Checks whether details remain internally consistent: ages, dates, timelines, physical descriptions, geography, injuries, objects, relationships, rules of the fictional world, and so on. In fiction this is often folded into developmental or copyediting rather than purchased separately.
- Fact-checking / factual editing: Verifies factual claims, historical details, terminology, quotations, dates, scientific information, real-world geography, and similar material. The depth of fact-checking included in ordinary editing varies enormously, so it is worth treating this as its own possible need.
- Publishing or intellectual-property attorney: A lawyer with relevant publishing or copyright experience can advise on legal questions involving fair use, permissions, copyright infringement, contracts, defamation, trademarks, and similar risks. Editors may flag potential concerns, but legal questions that require an authoritative determination should be handled by a qualified attorney.
- Authenticity/sensitivity reading: A reader with relevant lived experience or subject knowledge reviews material involving a particular culture, identity, community, disability, religion, or other lived experience. The goal is to identify inaccuracies, stereotypes, unintended implications, or details that may not ring true and to help the writer portray the subject with greater accuracy and authenticity.
Publishing/submission help
- Query package critique/consulting: Professional feedback on the materials used to approach literary agents or publishers, such as a query letter, synopsis, pitch, and sample pages. The consultant may assess clarity, positioning, presentation, and whether the materials effectively represent the manuscript and follow common submission expectations.
- Book/ebook formatting: Preparing the finalized manuscript for publication in print and/or digital formats. This may include page layout, chapter openings, headers and footers, page numbers, front and back matter, paragraph styles, ebook navigation, and creation of publication-ready files.
- Submission/publishing consultation: Guidance on what to do once the manuscript is ready to send out or publish. Depending on the writer’s goals, this may include researching agents, publishers, magazines, journals, anthologies, or contests; developing a submission strategy; understanding guidelines and tracking submissions; or discussing traditional versus self-publishing paths.
I’m Still Not Sure Which Help I Need
Did the previous section make your eyes cross? It’s a LOT of info. Check here to see if you recognize the problem you’re having.
I don’t have a finished draft.
I need specialized help with something in my manuscript.
My draft is polished and ready for the next step.
I don’t have a finished draft.
- “I want to write, but I don’t really know what to write about. I’ve tried writing prompts I’ve found online, but I think what I really need is someone to talk to me and help me figure out what I should write—maybe write some prompts tailored to what I’m interested in.”
- Free: Writing group, mentor
- Paid: Writing coach, writing class
- “I’m struggling with motivation/discipline to get words on the page consistently.”
- Free: Writing group, mentor
- Paid: Writing coach, writing class
- “I’m stuck on some element of my story and can’t move forward without solving it.”
- Free: Writing group, mentor, reputable free resources
- Paid: Writing coach
- “I think I need more help with writing craft in order to improve the quality of my writing.”
- “I’m feeling discouraged about the quality of my writing and am tempted to give up.”
- Free: Writing group/community, mentor
- Paid: Writing coach
- “I have a ton of material and am having trouble organizing it all in a way that makes sense.”
- “I have so many conflicting ideas that I’m not sure which ones are best.”
- Free: Writing group, critique partner
- Paid: Writing coach
I do have a finished draft.
- “I have a draft, but I don’t know how well the story works yet. I suspect I might need to work on plot, character development, and/or some other big-picture issue that will require some rewriting. I need someone to read it with fresh eyes and let me know what is and isn’t working.”
- “I just need a list of things to work on; I can take it from there.”
- “I need a list of things to work on, but I have taken it as far as I can without help. I could really use detailed analysis to show me exactly where things are and aren’t working, as well as specific examples/recommendations for revision.”
- Free: Writing group, critique partner, feedback swap
- Paid: Writing coach, developmental editor
- “I know what’s wrong, but I can’t figure out how to fix it.”
- Free: Writing group, critique partner, feedback swap, mentor
- Paid: Writing coach, developmental editor
- “I’m revising, but every change seems to create three new problems.”
- Free: Writing group, critique partner, feedback swap, mentor
- Paid: Writing coach, developmental editor
- “I have a draft and think the story is solid, but I’m too close to it. I need fresh eyes to read it and give me their honest, thoughtful response as a reader regarding what works and what doesn’t.”
- “I’ve gotten feedback from beta readers, critique partners, or an editor, but I’m overwhelmed by it and don’t know what to act on first—or what to ignore.”
- Free: Mentor, critique partner
- Paid: Writing coach
- “I’ve revised thoroughly, and the story is solid. The sentences could use some help, though. Perhaps they feel clunky and I’m not sure how to fix that, or I have a lot of unnecessary repetition, or I just want it to read better overall. I need someone to help smooth the flow without changing my voice.”
- Free: Critique partner, feedback swap, writing group
- Paid: Line editor
- “I’ve revised thoroughly, and the story and prose are both solid. I need someone to check for grammar, punctuation, correct usage, and style (Chicago Manual of Style).”
- “It’s totally revised, edited, and formatted for publication. I just need a last set of eyes on it to catch small errors that may have occurred during formatting.”
- Free: Trusted friend/family member, critique partner
- Paid: Proofreader
I need specialized help with something in my manuscript.
- “I’m writing a series and need help keeping continuity, timelines, character details, worldbuilding, etc. consistent.”
- Free: Critique partner, beta reader, feedback swap, or trusted friend/family member who knows the series well
- Paid: Continuity editor, developmental editor, copyeditor (depending on the stage of the manuscript)
- “I want to make sure all my facts are correct. I did some research, but I’m not confident I got everything right.”
- “I want to make sure that I’ve written about a particular ethnicity or religion or other group with respect, accuracy, and authenticity. I’d like someone who belongs to that group to read it and let me know where I might have gone astray.”
- “I’ve used some copyrighted material in a way that I believe falls under fair use, but I want to be sure I don’t get into legal trouble.”
My draft is polished and ready for the next step.
- “I’ve got a totally solid manuscript and feel ready to start shopping for a literary agent or publisher. I need help preparing for that process.”
- “I’m planning to go the self-publishing route and need someone to help me prepare the manuscript for book/ebook formatting.”
- “I want to submit my story to magazines, journals, anthologies, or contests. I need help figuring out what comes next.”
Now Take a Deep Breath
Again, this is a lot of info. Here are the most important things to remember:
Whatever writing problem you’re having, there are often both free and paid options out there to help you tackle it. Be sure to identify the problem you’re having as clearly as you can (sometimes it’s basically just a call for help, and that’s okay too). Then, before you pay anyone, make sure their definition of the service matches what you’re expecting.
Leave a comment below with your questions, experiences, and advice. Happy writing!
