As I just finished a major historical fiction novel and, after a year of readers critiques and editing I've just turned it over to a professional editor for the final run-through before submitting.  (The novel is titled 'SHADOW OF THE LION', set in Babylon, Asia Minor and Greece after Alexander the Great's death in 323 BC).  The novel itself was a long, long journey. And now the editing/publishing part is the last long haul. 

Thing is, it costs to have a professional editor…