Where to find an editor with lots of experience? (nonfiction self-help)

bennylava

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Hi all. I wanted to stop by and ask how I can find the editor I'm looking for. I know I can find a developmental editor for the self help genre, but I'm looking for the right one for me. I am looking for someone who has a ton of experience editing self help books. I'm imagining this person to be in their mid 40's, and american. Since that's the culture I'm from and I believe that person will best understand me.

So where do all the editors hang out? Where do I go asking around for the editor that meets my criteria? I'm not really looking for a newbie fresh out of college, or even someone who's been at it for a few years but who has only edited the amount of books that will fit into that timespan. I'm looking for someone who has loads of experience. I need this thing to be a home run.

Thanks!
 

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If you are planning to trade publish, do not hire an editor unless you are not a native speaker/writer of English, or have some other special circumstances.

Your publisher will provide an editor at no charge to you, and you might actually create problems by using an editor.

If you are going to self-publish, you might look at this FAQ about publishing services.
 

hades T

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Nobody can find the right editor for you. Only you can do that. And the only way of finding the right editor is either by word-of-mouth and trying for yourself; or by googling and trying for yourself. The editor that works for one person might not work for another, that kind of thing.
I just did a quick search and found this link: https://www.book-editing.com/self-help-how-to/
It might be very expensive, but editing is expensive.
When trying to assess if the editor is a good fit, you first need to be clear of what it is that you're after. You need to be specific. Don't say I'm after a developmental editor. No, you need to be more specific than that.
Write a list of the things that you want to be helped with.
You also need to watch out for the personality thing. I mean the editor might be really good at editing , but they might not be very professional. For instance, they might not deliver on time; or they might be very critical and rude. Of course, some people might overlook those things, some others not so much--I wouldn't.
Good luck.
 

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Nobody can find the right editor for you. Only you can do that. And the only way of finding the right editor is either by word-of-mouth and trying for yourself; or by googling and trying for yourself. The editor that works for one person might not work for another, that kind of thing.
I just did a quick search and found this link: https://www.book-editing.com/self-help-how-to/
It might be very expensive, but editing is expensive.
When trying to assess if the editor is a good fit, you first need to be clear of what it is that you're after. You need to be specific. Don't say I'm after a developmental editor. No, you need to be more specific than that.
Write a list of the things that you want to be helped with.
You also need to watch out for the personality thing. I mean the editor might be really good at editing , but they might not be very professional. For instance, they might not deliver on time; or they might be very critical and rude. Of course, some people might overlook those things, some others not so much--I wouldn't.
Good luck.
Just flagging that this question was from a year ago so the OP has probably resolved or moved on.
 
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