How To Take Advice Without Taking It

In last week’s comments, Niki (nct2) asked about some feedback she got from an editorial service. I’m going to summarize a bit and then respond, because I had kind of a lot to say; if you want a more complete picture, check the comments on the previous post.

First, editorial services. They CAN be a good idea in some circumstances – for instance, when the writer has serious, specific problems with writing basics – but if you just want  how-to-make-this-sell advice, they’re less helpful. I say thi...