The first write-up of my complete story is finished. 259 single-spaced letter-sized pages. Now with faint heart I forward it to some people for review, before choosing the best editor (accidentally here at AW) to do a thorough editing. And then the hunt for a publisher starts. What I hear from different sides is not very encouraging.

"The best advice to anyone wishing to write a novel is ‘don’t do it’. The second best is ‘send it to The Literary Consultancy’." - Auberon Waugh, author and Editor of The Literary Review

(There is one consolation to this. Guess who put this quote on their website? - A company by the name of "The Literary Consultancy"! All petty self-interest.). There is also a website by the name "Preditors and editors". What kind of world am I about to step into?

But I'll keep you posted.