That time I wasted $40 on a premium feedback service

I paid $40 for this online writing critique service that promised detailed notes on my short story. Got back three sentences that said "good start" and a suggestion to use more metaphors. Could have just asked my buddy Steve for free and gotten a better read. Has anyone else had luck with cheap alternatives or are we all just guessing?

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caseyrivera5mo ago

Three sentences for forty bucks? That's wild... I'd be pretty ticked off too. Used one of those services once and got a whole paragraph about how my dialogue was "serviceable" which was basically just a fancy way of saying it was okay. My buddy Mike read the same story and pointed out three plot holes in like ten minutes over a beer.

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christopher4935mo ago

Man that sucks. Yeah you gotta vet these editors hard before you pay them. Ask for samples of their actual notes first, not just a list of books they worked on. A good editor will give you like a full page of feedback minimum for that price. Also check if they specialize in your genre cause a romance editor won't do much for a sci-fi story.

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