Writing can be a very lonely business and one of the hardest aspects of it, apart from having to sweat blood while you cover page after labouring page with words, is judging the worth of what you've produced.

It's perfectly normal, in the first flush of post-writing-session enthusiasm, to seek an opinion from a reader. And who are you most likely to turn to? A loved one or a friend, that's who. Is this a good idea? Quite often, it's not. I can't be the only writer who's eagerly shown my latest effort to somebody whose approval I seek, often before said work has been properly revised, in that urgent 'Look at what I did! Please tell me it's brilliant!' frame of mind.

What are we seeking when we do this? We're seeking a nod of the head; a gasp, even, of admiration. We're seeking praise. We're seeking validation. We imagine we'll be told 'It's perfect as it is, love. Don't you change a word.'

And is this the reaction we get?

Well, no. All too often, it's the blank stare, the 'I don't get it' look. Or it's the nit-picking criticism of minor aspects. Or, sadly, it's open hostility. Even more sadly, it could be a subtle undermining of your faith in yourself. Possibly saddest of all, is blind gushy flattery.

Friends and family may struggle to help you evaluate your work with any kind of honesty, partly because they love you and usually don't actually want to hurt your feelings, partly because although they have an instinctive reaction to the work they may fail to express precisely what is right and wrong with it - and if they do focus on a particular weakness, they can't give you practical advice on how to improve that aspect.

This is where a literary consultant steps in. Editing, critiquing, appraisal - these are all ways of taking a detached yet concerned view of a story or novel. It's about having a sharp eye, a fair mind, a kind and constructive attitude.

The fictionfire approach:

I've been teaching creative writing for a decade now and part of my job has always been to assess course submissions and entries to story competitions. I am a published novelist myself, so I offer professional and personal experience of editing and appraising stories.

What I offer is an all-round edit. By this I mean that I will give you a close 'red pen' commentary, picking up on errors of spelling, grammar, punctuation and presentation, along with checking for factual errors and inconsistencies within the text. I will also take a step back for an overview of how the narrative is working: I will be looking at pace, plot-construction, characterisation, dialogue, use of location, creation of atmosphere. I will comment on aspects of your writing style: are your images telling, your vocabulary effective? Are there certain words and phrases you over-use? Are your sentences well-constructed? Do you balance narrative, description and dialogue in the right proportions?

I will closely annotate your script and I will write a detailed report which summarises specific comments on the aspects mentioned above and offers advice on how to make improvements. (A recent report on a client's novel, which was 680 pages long, ran to 16,000 words).

In my experience the weaker aspects of a writer's technique are usually visible right from the start. Also, if you are aiming for publication, it is crucial that the initial section of your novel is as compelling and effective as possible. For these reasons, I recommend that you send the opening section of your novel to me for assessment before you make the decision to submit the work in its entirety.

Bear in mind that should you send your work to an agent or editor they will be making a judgement based on a maximum of three chapters or sometimes as little as five pages: so it's imperative to ensure those pages or chapters are dazzling.

My ethos will always be this: I will not massage your ego with empty flattery, nor will I be harsh. I will treat you with kindness and encouragement, but I will never blind you to the realities of trying to attain publication in these difficult times.

I will give you advice and suggestions but I will always bear in mind that this is your book. By the way, please do not worry about copyright issues: the story you have written is yours and the copyright in it is yours as soon as you put pen to paper. I will treat your work at all times in the strictest confidence.

I hope, if you choose an edit/critique package (see How to Submit and Fees pages), that together we can maximise your chances of publication, raise your awareness and competence with various writing skills and improve your ability to self-edit effectively in the future.

Finally, remember this: writing can indeed be a lonely business and success as a writer may come hard - but you are not alone!