The Writers' Circle

I am new to the world of writing and had a story that needed to be told (as they say). Unfortunately, as I am sure everyone who starts writing finds out fast enough, having a good story and writing the story in a way that people will read it are two different things.  But here I am, with a finished novel and the burden of further making it reading ready.  I enjoy this web site in that it makes a writer feel so not alone. It makes him/her face the realities of their mistakes and helps them learn from them.  For if we cannot even pass the critiquing of this site, how are we to handle the honest critiquing of the rest of the public eye?