1st Timer Needs HELP!

[The Judge]

Unfortunately, it isn't "the masses" who are gate-keeping the road to publishing, it's agents and editors. Unless you can write to a standard to satisfy them, your work is extremely unlikely to get published professionally. I have no idea of the standard of critiques on Critters or other fora, but listening only -- or mainly -- to people who have no idea of what makes a good sentence, let alone a good story, won't help anyone progress.

 

[Anne Lyle]

I would say that novices can be good "beta readers", i.e. they can give you a readers' eye view of your work, whether the story interests or bores them, etc - but when it comes to craft, they may not have anything useful to say and may even be positively misleading. E.g. trotting out the few "rules" they have learnt from a book, without having any idea how to apply them. You'd be surprised (or possibly not!) how few people know what "show not tell" actually means in practice

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

... trotting out the few "rules" they have learnt from a book, without having any idea how to apply them. You'd be surprised (or possibly not!) how few people know what "show not tell" actually means in practice

But it's a useful skill to acquire, filtering out all of the misconceived advice when new critiquers misidentify both the problem and the solution, while nevertheless paying attention to what it is that they, as readers, may have noticed that really does need fixing, even if they are hung up on some rule they don't understand.

A good critique group -- whether it's an online community or the kind that meets in person -- can include writers at all levels of experience, and each has something to offer. Until you learn how to read critiques as well as give them, you can certainly absorb a lot of misleading advice, but I believe that anyone who is truly serious about their writing will stick with it long enough to learn how to decipher what others are telling them.

 

[Anne Lyle]

Very true.

Like the new avatar, btw!

 

[Phase 5 Publishing]

My hat is off to you, sir, for being ready to take on such an adventure after your second heart surgery! My mate (a gifted and compelled writer) had his first a few years ago - a quintuple bypass is not what you expect at age 39. So I understand your impatience with the process.
Don't let the daunting wait times stop you from trying. I would suggest starting with the smaller companies (which usually have a shorter response time) and work your way up. Check out the publishers' FAQs on their websites and see how long their response time is (if they are accepting submissions at all). If you feel you must prioritize, start with the ones with the shortest wait times. Be aware, however, that smaller companies publish fewer novels per year.
Also consider alternatives, such as electronic publishing. If you choose self-publishing, pay a good editor to polish your work and advise you of any weak areas so you can fix them before you to to press, regardless of the means you choose. You may even want to get the manuscript edited before you solicit it - less work for them, a more polished submission - but be prepared to finesse it again after it is accepted. More work, yes, but it sounds like you are trying to fast-track the project.
If you really want to go off-script, so to speak, you might consider alternative means of submitting your work. I have heard of authors hiring theater students to essentially produce an audio version of a manuscript and submitting that instead - the theory being that this format will allow the agent/publishing intake editor to review the work during what would normally be considered downtime. I do not know what success such efforts have had, but it certainly sounds creative.
Finally, consider querying magazines (online and in print) about the possibility of serializing your novel. I do not have any numbers on how many genre publications still do this, but again, it sounds like you are looking for alternatives to a six-month to six-year wait.