Treading in unknown waters! Please Help

She's a very good editor. Just make sure you know what you're getting from her, as I believe she offers several different levels of editing, and this might well be the cause of the lower price you've received.

Editors generally won't quote you different prices based on the quality of your manuscript, and I'd be wary of any one that does.

I'm looking at her website, and her "levels" of editing seem pretty unconventional -- usually when editors say "Developmental" they are referring to big-picture edits, and edits involve things like: reorganizing plot points; cutting/adding/combining characters, chapters, sections; adjusting tense and perspective; things like that. It definitely doesn't include copyediting, which I'm guessing is what she means by "polish[ing] language," for one very important reason: When you heavily copyedit, say, a chapter, it makes it very difficult to cut that, since you've already invested a lot of time and possibly money into it. Here's a good article, and a quote from it:

Developmental editing might include a variety of tasks, such as research, rewriting, and line editing, but it does not include the final copyediting. You will certainly need a basic understanding of grammar, spelling, and English usage. But line-by-line copyediting is best done by a different person. Once you have worked intensely and intimately with a manuscript, copyediting it is very difficult.

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If you go with her service, I'd make sure to be very, very specific about what you're getting. As in, take the edits she made on your 500 words and ask "Is this the level of editing I should expect throughout the entire manuscript at this price?" If she says yes, and doesn't deliver, then you might have some recourse if you ultimately need to dispute.

And, of course, what everyone says is true: You get what you pay for.

Cheers!

teardownthismall said:

Editors generally won't quote you different prices based on the quality of your manuscript, and I'd be wary of any one that does.

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The editor mentioned by the OP is a very well-regarded editor with a huge amount of experience and ability. She's very good.

She doesn't offer different prices based on the quality of the ms before her: she offers different levels of editing, just as you do at Daedalus.

I'm looking at her website, and her "levels" of editing seem pretty unconventional -- usually when editors say "Developmental" they are referring to big-picture edits, and edits involve things like: reorganizing plot points; cutting/adding/combining characters, chapters, sections; adjusting tense and perspective; things like that. It definitely doesn't include copyediting, which I'm guessing is what she means by "polish[ing] language," for one very important reason: When you heavily copyedit, say, a chapter, it makes it very difficult to cut that, since you've already invested a lot of time and possibly money into it. Here's a good article, and a quote from it:

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I'm looking at her website and it looks fine to me. She offers a developmental edit, or a less in-depth polish. She doesn't mention copy editing. Where's the problem?

If you go with her service, I'd make sure to be very, very specific about what you're getting. As in, take the edits she made on your 500 words and ask "Is this the level of editing I should expect throughout the entire manuscript at this price?" If she says yes, and doesn't deliver, then you might have some recourse if you ultimately need to dispute.

And, of course, what everyone says is true: You get what you pay for.

Cheers!

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I disagree that one always gets what one pays for because often, there's not much difference in prices charged by experienced, well-trained, skilled editors and those charged by writers who don't have that same training or experience. For example, if you work with Ms Genoese you'll get an editor who has all this experience:

I have been a publishing professional for more than a dozen years. I spent many of those years as an acquiring editor for Tor/Forge; while there, I developed and ran Tor's paranormal romance imprint. I've edited fiction in all genres, as well as mainstream and literary novels. One of the things I love about being an independent editor is that I get to work with all types of people on all sorts of books, from hard science fiction to sweet romance to hardcore erotica to literary YA.

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However, if hires Daedalus Editing, who you link to in your signature, this is who you'll get working on your text:

[FONT=&quot]David Sorensen lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, where he works as a writer and freelance editor. His stories have appeared in Bastion Science Fiction and The Squawk Back, and his plays have been featured in ARTS New Works Festival 2016 and Live Arts’ NWOF 2017. David enjoys frisbee, mango smoothies, and sticking it to the man.[/FONT]

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Being a writer (and a relatively unsuccessful one, too--Amazon returns just one result for Mr Sorensen, which is a single story in Bastion magazine) does not qualify one to edit other writers' works. However, working as an editor at major trade publishing imprints for over a decade does.

You might like to remove your email address from your signature, by the way, as it's going to get harvested by spambots.

Hi KittenEV. Did you end up working with Anna? I myself am looking for an editor and would like to know if you would recommend her.