One possibility that might be available for some is to take a “Creative Writing” class at their local community college. This will at least enhance your core writing skills as well as potentially give you a “pool” of “peer-reviewers.” If the Professor is a good one, and likes your work, you may also find at least some editing help, provided the Professor believes his time is not being wasted.
Desiderius Price, with all the pure muck, trash, and hell that comes “over the transom” at any good literary agency or publishing house, an author needs whatever advantage they are able to find to “make the cut” to their editors. While actually hiring and paying an editor would be a substantial if not extreme commitment to the quality of your work, finding fellow writers who are willing to invest the time into YOUR work, and whose work is at least as good as if not better than yours can also get the quality up high enough. Of course, your work may not be “accessible” enough for commercial publishing, but that is a separate issue.
BronxWench, You have made it. You have been published on the merit of your writing alone, without having to pay MONEY on top of the work of writing itself. As an author, you spend as much time promoting your work as you do creating and editing it. The biggest difference between a “vanity” publisher and a “conventional” one is who owns the three cases of books in the back of your car as you go from bookstore to swap-meet to convention trying to get people to buy your book. The publisher always pays themselves first.
Since I don’t have a “signature file” handy, I guess I’ll put something amusing below manually.
“Tito’s Vodka—because everyone knows you drink vodka for the flavor.”