Crime novels tend to vary. Not every other book is the same. Even if the story has some uncanny similarities to another book, the feel of it as a whole would be quite different. Every author has their own signature, of course, and they stamp down their own unique style on every piece of work they pen down. Even if we try to prevent it, a little bit of ourselves still bleed into our work. This makes any given author distinguishable from the next one.

However, crime novels vary…

King of Sorrow, my next novel, is nearing completion. Now I'm battling with two very serious dilemmas. 

As always I call on the advice of other, more experienced authors than myself, those autors who have walked the line, who have lived to tell the tale. Here are the two obstacles:

1) Should I have the first 3/4 chapters polished by an editor before submitting sample chapters to publishers for consideration? I've heard this is a good idea, but it costs a…