but the published will be the final arbiter of what they decide to sell, how much editing is needed, price, all that stuff. And, for that matter, whether it is finished or not. So any money spent now might be just down the drain.

But to shop it to an agent you don't need the whole thing, just portions, and the idea. Frankly, I don't know that I would give an agent the entire work, because if they don't wind up representing you it would be very disheartening to find it, or a near version, in print by someone else later.

I wouldn't spend the money on the whole thing, but depending on what you have, a few sheets or your best chapter or two might be worth a perusal by someone that can not only spell, but has a bit of a handle on grammar.

Oh, and get ready. Everyone that reads it from now on out will be suggesting edits

Have you worked with other writers. Critique Circle Online is a good group where it is safe to ork with other writers. You can hire a professional editor, but they are pricy. Grammarly.com has a really good product that is much better than word processors http://m.grammarly.com/?q=grammar&gclid=CIOB-uGezLgCFU5xQgodxAcA5Q and it is cheaper than hiring an editor.

If you do hire an editor, look in Writer's digest. The ones that advertise there are good and there are a lot of scam artists out there.

There are exceptions, but why stack the deck against yourself?

My wife's an editor for hire, and I'll toot her horn right here:

http://www.dvorkin.com/ebookpubhelp.html

One would have caught to two errors in your header.

Other than that, it's my impression that agents (don't capitalize because it's not a proper noun) expect your manuscript to be as completely free as possible from spelling, grammar, and usage mistakes as it can be. It's not their job to fix those things. It's yours to know how to spell and so on, or get them taken care of before you submit the manuscript.

I'm going to suggest you attend a writer's conference or two, preferably one that includes some agents and editors, so you can find out what kinds of things they are willing to do for you.

One thing to keep in mind is that the competition for agents and editors is fierce, and you have to have the absolutely best manuscript you possibly can before you can try to submit it.

I want to be a writer some day so live the dream!