One of the biggest questions I get about the craft is about editing. I have spent anywhere from $70 - $1400 on a manuscript to be edited and I know others have spent much more. There is no way your manuscript should see any reader's/agent's/editor's hand with out being fully edited by a professional. By professional, I do not mean your critique partner, critique group, beta reader, or your MOTHER!
I found out the hard way about editing and editing services. Here are some tips to help find the right editors.
1) KNOW YOUR GENRE! and know the genre of the editor. I had an editor that was a man. . .don't roll your eyes! I really liked him! BUT he didn't read chick-lit...(do I hear laughter from all the men out there?) Right!?!
He would email me asking me about the women in the book and "do they really think this way?" NOT what I was looking for in my editor. He did a great job, but the process took much longer because I felt like I was Dr. Laura helping with his love life.
2) KNOW YOUR TIME FRAME. When you email editors, you have to have your time frame in mind. When do you want your book in the hands of the reader/agent/editor? If the editor is booking six months out, and you want the book in two months, this editor is not for you.
3) KNOW WHAT SERVICES YOU NEED. Editors offer so many different services from line edits, copy edits, plot holes. . . .Me~always have my entire manuscript edited on all levels. It's the most expensive, but I want my books to be the best it can be when I send it to my readers and to my agent. Yes~I do have my manuscripts professionally edited before my agent sees it.
4) KNOW YOUR MANUSCRIPT IS IN GOOD HANDS. The editor should want to see at least three chapters of your manuscript before you sign with them and EDIT it. You need to see how they edit and they need to see how you write.
Just like the blog I posted this week THICK SKIN WITH EVERY WORD where I discussed how writing is subjective, well. . .not every editor is going to like your work and not every relationship is going to gel.
The media bistro has a wonderful article about the indie author and editors.
Here is a list of BEST EDITORS on Twitter.
If you are seeking traditional publishing, the Review, Review has a great article on editors.
Great tips! I am printing this out and keeping a copy on hand!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Abigail! I definitely learned the hard way, but these are what did help!
DeleteHelpful tips. The problem lies in finding the best editor.
ReplyDeleteAnd doing your homework is what is going to get you that great editor that will champion your words and make your story stronger and keep your voice.
DeleteI substituted for the editor at the local paper once. I had to write some of the articles and edit them myself. No one between my writing and the reader but me. It was scary. Editing is so very important!
ReplyDeleteOh! That would be so scary for me....eck! Editing is the most aspect of a GREAT finished novel.
DeleteWonderful advice! Editing is so important for self published authors. I saw a thread on Amazon the other day where readers were discussing editing mistakes of self pubbed books. However, some traditionally published books were pointed out as well!
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, that is the biggest down fall of the self published book. I am in the processing of redoing a book because the editor wasn't what I thought she was going to be....hence the blog today. Editing is the one thing that traditionally publishing can give. That is one reason why traditionally published books take so long to hit the shelf. The editing process is very longggg. On occasion I do find a mistake in traditional books and I do smile.
DeleteI've had SO many problems with this issue - and it does make you feel so alone. When you have kids to raise, it's hard to keep putting more and more money into your books without feeling guilty, but if you put out substandard work, you feel horrible and embarrassed. I've had quotes from $1400. to $3000.00 for editing. It depends on word count.
ReplyDeleteThis post hits the nail on the head for me, thanks! :)
KT! It does make you feel alone. That is why it's so important to try to find the right one and keep them:) Thanks for stopping!
DeleteKT, editors have a wide range of prices. Though it seems that most are incredibly expensive, you can find a great one for much less than the prices you mentioned. For example, I edit, and I wouldn't dream of charging $3,000 (unless the book was...absolutely gigantic).
DeleteGreat advice, Tanya.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sandy! I appreciate you stopping.
DeleteAwesome tips :) I had to learn the hard way when I put out my first book. I ended up pulling it, now I know.
ReplyDeleteJessica, I hope you get it back out there!!
DeleteGreat advice, Tonya. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping, Jeff!
DeleteAs an editor, writer, and reader, I couldn't agree most with this post. :)
ReplyDeleteBefore I leave, I'd like to comment on something unrelated: consider changing your link color to something other than red. On my screen at least, the red clashes against the gray to the point that the link wasn't just hard to read, but hurt my eyes as well. Ha.
Thanks for stopping by, Lauren. Are you accepting clients for editing? I have several writers who ask me about editors and I'd like to add you to the list.
DeleteMy editors get caught up in the story and start to skim. Bad! I think a professional editor has to read the work backwards, taking one sentence at a time to check for errors. Even when I had 15 Beta readers, the 16th person to read the book found 7 errors! I've found the average price of an editor for a 200 page book is $1,400. When you have 4 books, that's $5,600. Pretty steep. But, like they say, you get what you pay for...
ReplyDeleteThank you for the info. It sounds pretty user friendly. I guess I’ll pick one up for fun. thank u
ReplyDeleteProfessional Editing Services