Last week's hot topic was moderated by MBToolBox's very own columnist Tom Shess. Tom is a budding novelist who is chronicling on Toolbox the ups and downs of searching for a publisher and/or literary agent for his first novel.

Tom says he's heard from many novice novelists who have shown interest in finding a book doctor. By 'book doctor,' we mean a professional editor who works with a novelist on concepting the novel; hammering out plot; and improving characterizations. A book doctor is different from a copy editor, who primarily focuses on grammar and spelling.

Tom opened up with asking, "I've kept food on the table writing or editing for magazines all my career but as a novelist I'm pretty green. Everything is new. Every dilemma begins with what do I do now? And, modesty aside, I put myself in a category of a good beginner. I know how to put a story together but what I really crave right now with a completed mss. in hand is for an professional book editor to go under the hood and help me tune it or give it a complete overhaul. Corny as the cliche is I gotta be able to see the trees in the forest. For example, no matter how many times I reread the ending of my novel I found the other day that I had one minor character in two places at once. But I never have gone through the process of hiring a book editor. Do you have any experiences to share with the board about this delicate process?

Let's open it up for discussion. What should any new novelist expect when hiring a novel editor? What's a fair price? How long should it take?"

Read the input he received here.