Thanks for the input everyone. I have been toying with the idea of joining a writer's group and wondering which one would be best (if at all). It seems that writer's groups, from reading the posts here, are really only useful for emotional support and possibly confidence building. I can imagine that if I join my local group (full of professional writers) I would get ripped to shreds just for the audacity of attending and yet if I a group of inexperienced writers, the advice and feedback may not be of any use, given that it may well be incorrect or poorly given.
Not sure how you could have gotten that from anything I said. There are all kinds of groups, from the ones that only puff up each other's egos to the ones that rip each other to shreds.
But when I attended the meeting where the members went at the work tooth and claw, it was the same with everybody's writing, professional and non-professional alike. So no one was being punished for their audacity in attending.
And in the group I stayed with, there were few already published writers over the years, but most of the members that had not been published
had been writing for a long time, and were intent on learning their craft. I learned a lot from them. They did offer support where it was needed (but sometimes "support" means supporting your goals by offering constructive criticism so you will improve). Occasionally, writers who were complete novices would join, and it was frustrating critiquing their work if they were very bad and they kept making the same mistakes over and over and over, but I don't believe that ever came through in the critiques. Reviews had to be constructive, and no one was impolite or unkind. With such people, I believe we all tried not to give them more advice than they could absorb or make use of at one time.
I guess it depends on what you mean by shredding your work. If it means being thorough and pointing out all the flaws, yes, that might happen in any good group. It wouldn't be any sort of punishment for audacity (although perhaps you didn't mean that the way it sounded), it would be because members of the group thought that was the best way for you to learn. Personally, I think that critiques that are too scathing are counter-productive, which is why I never went back to the group that specialized in that kind of review. A critique can be thorough without being mean.
But no one needs to join a writers group in order to learn how to write. As I said, I sold my first book before I joined one, and I think only let three people ever have a look at the book while it was in progress (and they were readers, not writers). I knew I wasn't ready to handle criticism, so I didn't seek it out. When I was confident enough to face it and was also longing for the fellowship of other writers the right group came along at just the right time.
But there was no internet in those days. The choices were few. Had I friends who were also writers but who lived a great distance away, I might have done the Victorian thing and exchanged long letters. But I didn't, so it was either join a group or go it alone. Now it is possible to get the support and to learn from other writers in forums like this one, without ever showing them your work. Although you will learn more if you eventually do get some critiques.
I do strongly recommend that those seeking advice look first for a good writers group before they make the decision to pay for a professional editor. Which may seem strange, since I am, myself, a freelance developmental editor these days. But if you can find a good one , I think a writers group should be the first step (and maybe all you will need). If you can't find or start one in your area, or would prefer something one-on-one, or feel that your group has taken you as far as they can with a specific manuscript, then you might want to look for a professional editor if you can afford one.
There are just so many ways now to learn, get encouragement and support, make friends with other writers, that you can choose what seems best for you ... and when that no longer seems the best way, you can do something else.
