How to ask for an honest response when all you receive are opinions?

Recently we (Jen doing most of the legwork) began researching editors for both a re-edit of Tales 1 and someone to help as Tales 2 gets further along. We put the request up for bid on a editorial site and started getting bids.

What we asked for was a sample edit to gauge the work that the editor would deliver. And to see if there was a consistent finding on the errors that I have been told the first book contains.

We received several replies, all very helpful, some more than others and with varying levels of professionalism and skill. It was very hard to gauge who was wanting the work and yet honest enough to tell the truth where the writing needed work. Some just claimed it was a great story and only had small amounts of errors, others were very detail oriented and stuck to the details… and then there was one… a hyper critical review that went above and beyond what was asked.

Suffice it to say that it was a beating to my pride, and a complete teardown of my entire first chapter. I tried to rise above it, to take the criticism and learn from it… but some of what she said seemed to be the opposite of every other editor I have worked with… And against the opinions of other writers/editors/readers had said about my writing.

I don’t claim to be the finest writer that has ever lived, but I do know how to weave a yarn, tell a tale, craft a story… I’ve critiqued, been criticized, sat in countless writer’s circles and have yet to hear the particular opinions expressed by this editor.

Now part of me thinks that maybe she is the only honest opinion I have received. That maybe the story is completely flawed, needs to be torn down, pulled offline and rewritten.

But part of me wonders if this is just an opinion. And that even though some of the tips may be good, it may also be more attributed to taste and style. A difference in what one likes, isn’t a reason to rewrite years worth of work…

But I do want my book to rise above where it currently stands. I want it to be as flawless and perfect as it can be… to be sure in my heart that any criticism is just a difference in taste, and not an obvious typo, misplaced comma, or confusing sentence structure.

So… I really would love any and all honest feedback. Give it to me straight. Tell me what I need to hear so I can make it better.

C