Cathy C said:It depends on what you mean by "cleaning up." I'm not a big fan of hiring someone to correct spelling, punctuation and grammar because it's wasted money--a sham that will fib to the publisher about your ability to continue to write for them without further paid services. Let's face facts. If you need an editor now to fix these things, what happens when it's time to rewrite whole sections at the publisher's direction? Will you then have to use your advance money to pay a freelance editor a SECOND time? No, that's not your book editor's job (the one at the publisher.)
For this sort of thing, your money would be far better spent buying books on grammar or taking a class at your local college to improve your skills. That's a "forever" thing that will benefit every single book you write after this one.
However, if you're talking about a "book doctor" that will critique the book for plot, characterization and the like, these can be very useful for a first time writer. This goes beyond basic knowledge that can be gained in a class to the heart of the individual product in your hands and how to make it sell. Expect to spend from $1-4 per PAGE for a critique of this type. Watch the person's qualifications--ask if they don't offer it. Merely a college degree isn't enough (even if it's in literature). You need someone who earned a LIVING working as an editor for a publisher. They know what needs to happen for a book to make it to the shelf.
That might be something we want to look into -- finding some quality editors that we can refer people here to. Hmmm... let me think about that.
Good luck!
Cathy C said:Think of an in-house book editor as a clothing designer. They look at the market (the reading public), look at the cloth available to use (manuscripts) and sketch out their vision to sell the final product. Then they hand the sketch back to the maker of the cloth (the author) and say, "Here, do this and I can sell your cloth to the public." The author makes the changes based on the editor's vision and returns it to be accepted or have alterations made to the sketch.
Now, the copyeditor is sort of like the seamstress. They make sure what the author sends back has tight stitches, and buttons and zippers where needed and the pockets open and the seams lay straight.
Does that make sense?
Unimportant said:Some writers can edit their own writing: I know of one woman who writes and publishes books regularly, and who also works as a top level editor for a publishing house. But, agreed, it's not the norm.
There are few books that don't benefit from being tweaked (or hacked) by a professional editor, but isn't the publishing house supposed to supply that service, just as they provide copyeditors and cover art designers? I wouldn't recommend authors =pay= for an editor out of their own pockets.
Unimportant said:There are few books that don't benefit from being tweaked (or hacked) by a professional editor, but isn't the publishing house supposed to supply that service, just as they provide copyeditors and cover art designers? I wouldn't recommend authors =pay= for an editor out of their own pockets.
bloemmarc said:Does this mean christophr is an editor with The Houghton Mifflin Company, or is it just because of the family's standing in the writing world, and everything?
I know this is kind of an off the wall question.
James D. Macdonald said:Depending on what you're after, check Nancy Hanger, Josepha Sherman, or Laura Anne Gilman.
Anyone you get, check their references.
Mind if I give you my own answer?bloemmarc said:i have rather dumb question. What part of the editing does the in-house editor do?
bloemmarc said:I was reading the Silmarillion by J.R.R Tolkein, and noticed that the book had been edited by his son Christopher Tolkein, as have amny of the others tales of Middle Earth.
Does this mean christophr is an editor with The Houghton Mifflin Company, or is it just because of the family's standing in the writing world, and everything?
I know this is kind of an off the wall question.