I finished writing a novel recently (My first, which I'm quite proud of!) I had hoped to get an outside perspective on my writing before I do a final edit and try to shop it around to publishers. I asked a couple of friends if they'd be interested in reading it and offering me feedback. But, well . . . it's a novel. They were excited and well-intentioned, but busy. They haven't been able to make time for it, and I don't blame them, but I'm kind of stuck waiting. Friends, even ones who can be fairly objective and critical, probably aren't the best to go to for feedback anyway, perhaps.

I'm curious what others do. Do you have a particular person or people whose opinion or recommendations you rely on? Do you just post your writing on a forum or subreddit like this one and let dispassionate strangers have at it? To be clear, it's not really proofreading that I'm after. I know there are professional services available for that sort of thing. I'm more interested in critique of the style and tone, and how certain elements might be interpreted by the reader. If I didn't adequately express some of my ideas, I might want to alter the way they're presented, if you can but dig it.

Maybe I should just trust my instinct, but I have a hard time reviewing it from a reader's perspective when I already know all the secrets. Is it time to just take a leap, or what direction should I go for critique?