Wait time for editors who do polishing for self-pubbed books?

I'm almost ready to send my first novel to betas. I'm guessing it'll take a few months to send it through them and revise, depending on the schedules of my betas, and after that it'll be time for my pro editor to take a look.

I'm wondering when I should start looking into locking down that pro editor. In other words, do most editors have a wait time after you take a number, so to speak? I don't want to send my novel through betas and then end up having to wait three or four months for my editor to get to my book if the smart thing to do would've been to book the editor now, a few months in advance. But I also don't want to bug my prospective editors before I'm ready if this isn't a concern!

I have a shortlist of editors, and none of them have wait times listed on their websites -- does this mean they're going to be open to taking on new work fairly immediately, or does it all depend?

Words of advice or experience, O wise people who have been through the process?

thothguard51 said:

Depends on the editor and how busy they are...

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Hmm, yeah, I figured . . .

As to how long it takes, you will need to lock that down with the editor in the editing agreement, as well as to the level of the editing. Such as what the level/depth of editing, how many passes are included, etc. Bare in mind, the deeper and more comprehensive the editing is, the longer it is going to take. For a 90 to 100 thousand word novel, I would expect 2-3 months, or so I have heard. Some are longer, depending on who the editor is what their schedule is...

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Oh, yes, that part I knew. I'm more wondering if I should start booking my prospective editors now or not -- I know once they have it, it'll take X amount of time.

Thank you!!

Thanks, folks! This is exactly what I wanted to know.

Mark G said:

Where are you planning to look for a pro editor?

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I did a bunch of Research (about 90 percent of which is aggregated from discussions on AW . . .) and have a shortlist of freelance editors who look like they're fabulous, fit my genre, as far as I can tell will mesh well with my style, and do editing for self-published books. My first step was going to be to email them all introducing myself and asking for a sample edit (which most/all of them offer) to see who fits with me the best. And then I will hire her. I'm just wondering if I should be sending those emails in advance of when I'm ready or when I'm spit-and-polished and through my betas.

(If you have other pro editor recs, by all means let me know! Not opposed to expanding the shortlist.)