I came across this site that Guarantees three reviews. Quite often, you get more than that.
You do have to join with a monthly, yearly, or two-year membership. I think it's worth it.
For one thing, you get to have other people in the industry: writers, poets, etc, read your work, and offer actual advice. And I'm not talking about "that's great' or "your writing is da bomb" Below is an example of an edit I received for one of my postings:
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"...as the trail they had originally been following slowly disappeared until vanishing altogether." -- passive voice. Consider instead, "...as the trail they followed slowly disappeared until it vanished altogether."
"...from the lush" (add comma) "verdant land to the quagmire/bog infested place" -- choose either "quagmire" or "bog." Don't fudge it. Be specific. Then put a hyphen between it and "infested."
"Master Hymal and Charka often conferred as the best way to proceed." -- they conferred "as TO" or "over."
"Which seemed strange to Jaikus..." -- this is a fragment. Use a lower-case "w" in "which," and use a comma, not a period after "route," to connect it with the previous sentence.
"The campsite was atop a knoll of dry ground..." -- consider instead, "They set up camp atop..." We don't know that others have used it as a campsite in the past until later, so as far as we're converned, it's not a campsite until our heroes have made it one.
"Insects buzzed and drove them crazy until wood was collected and a fire built in a ring of stones that had seen use as a fire ring before." -- Overly wordy. Consider simplifying it by saying instead, "Insects drove them crazy until they had a fire going in a ring of stones that had seen many fires before."
"The smoke produced by the less-than-dry fuel kept the insects down to merely an annoyance." -- You've established that they're using "green, or even damp foliage" on the fire, so there's no need to describe it further as "less-than-dry." Consider striking it and saying instead, "The smoke it produced kept the insects to a minimum."
"Then to his friend..." -- this is unnecessary. We understand that he's talking to Jaikus.
"Reclaiming his sword, Jaikus quickly reinserted it back into the scabbard." -- a little wordy. Just say, he "quickly returned it to its scabbard."
"Reneeke was an apt pupil, willing to learn and taking to the tasks set for him well." -- awkwardly phrased. Consider instead, "Reneeke was an apt pupil. He was willing to learn and he took well to the tasks set for him. The same was true of Jaikus, who saw in the instruction the means whereby he could become a better swordsman, and thus, one step closer to becoming the hero he always longed TO BE." --"Longed for" makes it sound like he's longing FOR someone, not longing to BE someone.
"We're on watch" (add comma) "boy" (add comma) "and that means" (remove comma) "we watch."
"After completing his third circuit around the knoll, it gradually began to unnerve him." -- "gradually" sounds too slow. COnsider instead, "It began to unnerve him."
"Perhaps there in the Swamp, such things could happen" (add comma) "too?"
"...a roar SPLIT" (not "splitting") " the silence of the Swam, "forestalling him."
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Now I will admit, all the reviews are not so detailed, but you get a dozen or so, each pointing out something different, and your manuscript improves. Also, when you return the favor for others, your own editing skills improve.
You can post:
Poems
Short stories(If you have a chapter in excess of 1500 words, you might want to break it up into smaller sections. You get more reviews if reviewers don't have to spend a great deal of time on your stuff)
Scripts
--basically anything you can think of and you're guaranteed at least 3 reviews.
I must warn you though, be prepared to have your ego bashed, for some of them don't hold back. If your stuff is less than perfect they will tell you. Some are nicer than others of course.
There are also contests you can enter, or even create if you wish. Winners get prizes and can lay claim that their work won something, somewhere. Even a small-time win, is better than a no-time win. Most contests are poem related.
You might want to check it out, Reading the work posted there is free, but if you want to post, you must be a member.
If you decide this is for you and you become a member, let me know. We can reveiw each other's work.
