How do I find a reputable, and affordable editor?

Expect a "you should learn to edit your own work if you want to be a professional writer" discussion (which, as a freelance editor myself, I really believe in--there's plenty of work for me from people who don't want to be professional writers {chefs writing cookbooks, doctors who need help writing for a lay audience, etc.}) here.

Okay, so let's take that discussion as having happened, and you've heard people's perspectives and decided that what you want is a professional edit from a freelance editor.

The thing is that this is somewhere where, pretty much, you get what you pay for. If price is your main selection criterion, and you are thinking of $1.50 a page as an appropriate price, you are unlikely to get someone with skill and experience to work for that.

Perhaps there are services you could barter with someone?

I work for that price range; I have no credentials besides a B.A. in English and a lot of experience editing people's stuff in crit groups. I'm better at substantive editing because that's what I love doing, but I can do line editing adequately. But yes, like IceCreamEmpress says it's common for people to barter editing services. The only case in which it makes a lot of sense to hire an editor is if you have money and lack time.

Christyp, I agree with all that ICE wrote. A good editor is expensive, and a bad one isn't worth bothering with.

Have you put your work up in SYW, and given lots of crits there too? Criticising other people's work is the best way I know of learning how to edit your own. If you've not done this already you might find that it helps you get to a point where you don't need to hire an editor at all.

IceCreamEmpress said:

Expect a "you should learn to edit your own work if you want to be a professional writer" discussion (which, as a freelance editor myself, I really believe in--there's plenty of work for me from people who don't want to be professional writers {chefs writing cookbooks, doctors who need help writing for a lay audience, etc.}) here.

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I'm not trying to call you out or anything, but I think this is being a little unfair. There are some cases where someone who has the potential to be a good/professional writer needs a professional editor. For instance, my teenage brother (who aspires to be an author one day) is an amazing storyteller with new original ideas. He could dictate a very well thought out, original book, but he's dyslexic. So actually writing it would be a different story. In a situation like this, hiring an editor isn't a sign that a writer isn't dedicated to his craft, but rather that he wants to ensure he has the most professional, solid MS possible. I think the attitude of "you're not professional if you don't do it yourself" isn't exactly fair.

FabricatedParadise said:

I'm not trying to call you out or anything, but I think this is being a little unfair. There are some cases where someone who has the potential to be a good/professional writer needs a professional editor. For instance, my teenage brother (who aspires to be an author one day) is an amazing storyteller with new original ideas. He could dictate a very well thought out, original book, but he's dyslexic. So actually writing it would be a different story. In a situation like this, hiring an editor isn't a sign that a writer isn't dedicated to his craft, but rather that he wants to ensure he has the most professional, solid MS possible. I think the attitude of "you're not professional if you don't do it yourself" isn't exactly fair.

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No offense, FP, but one of my good friends has severe dyslexia and is a multi-published, Campbell Award winning author who does the vast majority of the work herself. She did this because she discovered that her dyslexia is so bad that no one--including herself--can read what she wrote to do a line edit on it. It took her many years of work, but she's now on a level that it's at least readable. Without that, no line editor could help her.

Now, adding to your point, because she's still "below standard", she does hire a copy editor to make sure it's as good as it can be because she knows she still has blind spots where line editing is concerned.

Depending on how bad his dyslexia is, he'll have to do some work to get it to a level where a copy editor can help. It's always better for a writer to do it themselves because they're the only ones who truly knows what that sentence is supposed to say. That said, working with a copy line editor can show people who "don't get grammar" where they often mess up so they know what to learn.

It's like anything else in writing--there's not one right way to write a novel and get it ready for publication. Gotta find what works for you and keep trying things until you find what does work.

I've never used this chap, but quite a few writing friends have and they all sing his praises.

http://www.johnhudspith.co.uk/1.html

FabricatedParadise said:

my teenage brother (who aspires to be an author one day) is an amazing storyteller with new original ideas. He could dictate a very well thought out, original book, but he's dyslexic. So actually writing it would be a different story. In a situation like this, hiring an editor isn't a sign that a writer isn't dedicated to his craft, but rather that he wants to ensure he has the most professional, solid MS possible.

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You're confusing "editing" with "copy editing". The two are completely different things.

I am a writer with strong dyslexic tendencies, the mother of a very dyslexic, yet gifted, child, and the wife of a very successful, yet dyslexic, businessman. So yes, I do know what dyslexia entails. And I worked as an editor for some years and know what editing entails, too.

I think the attitude of "you're not professional if you don't do it yourself" isn't exactly fair.

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You might not think it's fair but it's true, and increasing in importance. Writers whose work needs a lot of editing are far less desirable to publishers and agents than writers who produce books which are almost ready to go.

Have you tried beta readers already and had no luck? There are a lot of free options out there. I'd be wary of going straight to expensive professional editors.

Just remember you get what you pay for.

You're focusing a lot of attention on trying to fix your mistake, when there really isn't much you can do to fix it. Yet you're spending a lot of time trying to rewrite the book, and are now contemplating spending money it doesn't sound like you have to waste.

So you won't like this advice, but I think you should take the self-published book down and put it in the digital drawer. Accept that it was a mistake and move on. Don't let it continue to be a mistake, by letting it take up resources you could use on other projects.

I would email some of the bigger epublishers (Samhain, Carina, Loose iD, Lyrical, Entangled, Liquid Silver) and ask if any of their editors work freelance. They usually do. You can then request quotes.

Polenth said:

So you won't like this advice, but I think you should take the self-published book down and put it in the digital drawer. Accept that it was a mistake and move on. Don't let it continue to be a mistake, by letting it take up resources you could use on other projects.

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I agree.

Work on new stuff. If the story continues to itch at you a year later, take it out of the e-drawer and see if you still want to rework it. You'll have better skills, and just as important, more distance.

Who knows? Either you will see better how to make it publishable, or you will discover you've moved on.

FabricatedParadise said:

I think the attitude of "you're not professional if you don't do it yourself" isn't exactly fair.

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It's not a question of a novelist being unprofessional if they don't edit their own work--it's more that it would be really hard to stand the expense of hiring a freelance editor for each manuscript if that's what you wanted to do as a career.

The average fiction advance from a Big Six company is, what, $10,000? So best case scenario would be that the novelist who couldn't self-edit would be spending half or more of each advance for each manuscript accepted. It doesn't make financial sense.

Like Old Hack and DeleyanLee, I know people who have serious dyslexia who manage careers as writers without investing half of every advance into freelance editing. I would suggest that your brother's money would be better spent in the long run in getting self-editing coaching from someone who is experienced in working with writers who have dyslexia.

Back to Christyp's original post: See if you can find someone who will take on the project for a nominal fee because they want to add to their editing portfolio. Post the project here and be clear about what you can afford to pay. Maybe you'll be lucky and your need for a low-priced edit will coincide with someone else's need for a finished project in their portfolio.

I can only edit my own work so much. I suffer from being too close to a piece at times.

I barter with another writer. We do a solid line-run through the other's manuscript. I trust her work. She trusts mine.

I do catch a LOT, but when I submit manuscripts I want them as shiny, clean & polished as I can make them.

If I had to pay more than a few hundred dollars, I would try to buck up and see myself through. But, that's me.

If you know you are better writer than editor, it might be something to look into. I wouldn't go with the "you get what you pay for" mentality, though. I know a few awesome folks who edit freelance for a low price (straight out of MFA or MA programs = starving students!) and they do nice, clean work.

You should always be able to ask for them to edit sample pages before you hire. Or, find someone you really trust and see if you can do a tradeoff of some kind. But, expect slower response in that case.