New editor here!

Welcome, editor lady! An editor's opinion is a valuable thing, and your input in the forum would be awesome!

I took a look at your website, and it's a good looking site. What I couldn't find were any degrees or qualifications for being an editor. Do you have any, or are you more of an avid reader turned editor?

Yes, I also didn't see any qualifications.

Your website directly says in your "about me" section:

Well, What can I say! I'm Just a girl who is passionate about books and only books.

I like perfection, I like to help and I have an eye for mistakes.

So I decided to make a career out of it.

And here I'm, your future editor.

I'm professional, I'm sharp and I don't like messing around.

I do my job and I do it well.

And I'm proud of that.

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Have you worked as an editor somewhere? Under whom? For how long? Any degrees?
I ask this mostly because readers-who-notice-problems-turned-editors are a dime a dozen right now. Honestly, any native English speaker will notice problems in writing (or conflicts in the grey areas), but it doesn't qualify them to edit someone's work.

I can't help but to notice the many mistakes and errors throughout your post and your website. Like, why do you start every sentence as a new paragraph, and why do almost half your sentences start with a conjunction?

EDIT: Guess I posted a bit too late. Yeah, I've done thousands of critiques and while others have suggest I should write a book on writing, or offer my services for payment, or become an editor. I will not because I do not have the knowledge or qualifications required to edit someone else's work or give general advice confidently enough.

Noran Nasr said:

Hi,

Thank you so much, that was really helpful, and I'm still working on it. I'm passionate about what I do, so I don't mind learning, I'm working on myself and my skills. That's something, right?

When somebody starts writing a book, they don't just become bestsellers. They work on themselves and that's what I'm doing right now!

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You're asking people to pay you their hard-earned money, is what you're doing right now.

I've been critiquing others' work for over 3 decades. I've been a senior-level technical writer, including technical editing, for almost 3 decades. I've been an avid reader for nearly 5 decades. I've done line editing for volunteer projects. I've edited newsletters. I've had 5 novels commercially published, and I'm the co-ghostwriter of a very successful memoir.

I don't offer editing services because I know I'm not qualified to take other people's money.

So other than 'working on yourself', what are your qualifications?

Noran Nasr said:

Thank you so much, that was really helpful, and I'm still working on it. I'm passionate about what I do, so I don't mind learning, I'm working on myself and my skills. That's something, right?

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No, it's not. You're entering a professional field where people pay good money for good work. You should learn how to edit in college and under the wing of a very experience editor. You shouldn't learn on the job; learning how to edit while editing is both a waste of your time, the writer's time and the writer's money.

When somebody starts writing a book, they don't just become bestsellers. They work on themselves and that's what I'm doing right now!

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There's a complete difference between writers who are honing their craft (which, 100% are still and had been) and being the final word before releasing a product into the market. You're offering "finalization" services to writers. You can't build your skills up by putting out half-assed work. Why? Because then that half-assed work is the author's half-assed work. The quality of writing is key to a book's success, and the editor is the person who ensures that quality. Most authors who seek freelance editorial services are looking to self-publish, and one of the biggest problems and complaints of self-publishing is the lack of editing. As far as I can see, you'll just be digging that hole deeper for an author.


By what I've seen here and on your website, you have no qualifications and show no skill in editing your own writing; if you can't edit your own writing, what chance is there for you to edit someone else's?


Passion is great to have--when you have the skills and experience to back it up.

Noran Nasr said:

Hi,

Thank you for checking it!

And I started by reading anything I could find and anywhere I was.

Then I've done beta reading and the reviews were, "Hey, If you are that good, why don't you get paid for it?!"

So I started studying for it on my own and now I have jobs!

And I always offer editing the first chapter for free as a sample for my work, you know, Just to put the author's mind at ease!

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I don't want my work edited by someone who thinks that interrobangs, smileys and multiple exclamation marks are appropriate.

Sorry.

Noran Nasr said:

I'm a freelance editor, or at least, trying to be! And I'm looking for SUPPORST and suggestions!

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Just curious - do you see anything wrong in the sentences I've quoted?

My suggestion to you is, please don't edit anyone until you've gained a lot more experience. It wouldn't be fair to the writers.

My opinion, you need a lot more training.

Noran Nasr said:

Okay, Here's the edited post!

Hey Guys,

I'm a freelance editor, or at least, trying to be! And I'm looking for SUPPORST and suggestions!

Thanks in advance

Noran.

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Oh, good grief.

Noran: here are my suggestions.

1) Don't delete your posts: it never looks good.

2) Check what you've written before you post it.

3) Don't underestimate your audience, as I think you did when you first posted here.


I'll lock this thread now, before it turns into any more of a trainwreck.