I know there are a few dozen lurkers reading this thing. Thanks RedRoom Stats!

I got this whacked idea a couple of days ago.

I'm a young (okay not young more like beginner) writer who can't afford a professional editor.

This site probably has lots of beginner writers who can't afford a professional editor.

I wonder if we could help each other out? The idea is: when a manuscript or book or other work is nearing completion we agree to help each other by reviewing the work and critiquing it. I could be as simple as pointing out grammatical problems (which I'm prone to have) or critique characters, plot holes, or other aspects of the work.

The idea for the reader is to be open minded enough when you read to let the issues float to the top and then summarize them for the author. The idea for the author is to be open minded enough to consider any criticism and learn from it.

Some may consider the issue of plagiarism, but I don't consider that an issue because the book will be so close to publication that it would be foolish to plagiarize.

What do you think?

PS Read what Mark Twain said on plagiarism: http://www.twainquotes.com/Plagiarism.html