More about choosing an editor.

Choosing an editor is not easy. The good ones have fees that could choke a horse. However, they are GOOD editors, so the fees they charge are worth it. If you can afford those fees. Unfortunately, many Indie authors just can’t break out that kind of cash.

Enter the rip off artists. They come in many levels of incompetence from authors who just want to make some side cash but don’t really know how to edit, to outright thieves who will take your money and give you nothing in return. Unfortunately, the latter kind thrives on the internet. We have all heard the stories of writers victimised by people calling themselves editors but didn’t even fix spelling mistakes, much less formatting, style, or continuity issues. As an editor myself, I am always learning and improving my craft this kind of thing makes me so angry – not least because it taints all freelance editors with the same reputation – but rest easy.  This post is not an estate agent type post telling you to only trust me and ignore all those other editors.  Finding the right editor for you is important.

So here are some guidelines for how to find the honest ones, pick an one, and dealing with them. Feel free to pipe up in the comments with any other suggestions I might have missed.

  • Go with someone you know or who is recommended. If you can’t do that, the following steps can help.
  • Do your research: collect reviews and referrals. How do they respond to complaints?
  • Ask for a sample edit from the first chapter of your book, before any money changes hands. A new editor should be willing to do this to get your business, and most honest editors offer this as standard.
  • Have someone you already trust and knows what they are doing, read the sample and let you know if they are good.
  • Try to find one who will take a deposit up front and charges balance when the job is complete. If they demand the whole balance up front, steer clear.  That said, I do expect full payment up front for small jobs (less than 10 pages =2500 words), but 50% of that is refundable if the client is not happy with my work
  • Generally, I would advise you to avoid those who demand the full amount upfront.  If their work is genuinely substandard –this is not the same as being unhappy about harsh feedback- do not pay the balance and demand your deposit back. New writers should be aware that it often takes several rounds of editing before your work is publishable.  
  • No editor can wave a magic wand and suddenly turn an unstructured first draft into a literary marvel in one go, and no reputable editor will claim to be able to.  It depends entirely on the submitted work.
  • Not all editors offer the same services or deal with the same type of text.  You need to find out which genre they will work with and what levels they offer.  I offer all four levels and am pretty much happy to edit whatever crosses my desk.  Others may only deal with certain genres, or offer higher level editing. An honest editor will use your work to assess the level you are writing at and determine what the work needs.  They will advise you what needs to be done, and if they are not able to offer the full scope of work required, you may find they will point you in the direction of someone who can.
  • If you have ever dealt with an editor who has given you less than the quality of work promised for your money, you still have rights.  A freelancer is subject to the same consumer laws as everyone else.
  • You want to engage with someone who will cut deep and pick up the typos and mistakes. Remember, a good editor is on your side.  A reader is not. The editor wants you to be able to publish your best work possible. You are not looking for ‘nice’. If they go too easy on you or appear to be in a rush to get to print, it can still count as bad editing. The reader will not be nice or give you the benefit of the doubt as it’s your first book.  They will, at best, put your book down and never read your work again.  At worst, they will leave a scathing review from wherever they bought it, and they will still never read your work again.  
  • A good editor will not point you at a publisher or insist that their services rely on you going with a particular press.  If they do, they are probably taking a back-hander.  I’m afraid you will have to do your homework for that too.

Rayne Hall is offering a freebie!

Rayne Hall, for those not familiar with her, is a horror writer but she also writes some very helpful writing-guides. The subjects of these vary between marketing ideas, advice on how to write specific scenes, and how to self-edit (all very helpful to new writers or those who fancy a change of genre).   You’ll still need an editor. Even editors use editors.

Now she is offering a free workbook when you sign up to the mailing-list. Be aware that it might take a day to come through so make sure you have the email address (from the confirmation) on your safe-senders list or it will end up in the junk file.

What is it?

This is a twenty-six-page collection of fifteen individual writing exercises, aimed to develop your own voice within your existing work. These exercises are very helpful and will aid you in your self-editing process. By all means allow your favourite authors to influence your work, there is even an exercise to pick your top five (harder than you think to narrow down: I came up with ten on the spot), but the idea is to emulate, not imitate.   This will be a great help to new writers, and those who want to improve their work.

Courses (Part 2)

Okay, make that four online courses.  Queue the statement “My name is Anna, and I am a study addict.” Why have I done this?  Simply put, to make me better equipped at helping the authors who come to me for my services. I digress.

Harry DeWulf has very generously given me a voucher to take his Read Worthy Fiction Course (and inadvertently enabled my addiction to self driven distance study). I’m currently listening to the audio files for the first two lessons and madly jotting down ideas for my first 500 words. In keeping with the theme of the course, I intend to publish my finished article but I am undecided about how.  I am considering an episodic approach to publishing. Right here on this blog.  I have (probably unwisely) decided to allow my readers have a say on this.

[polldaddy poll=9542330]

I should probably go away now and consider what I have actually let myself in for…

Additional information.

  • Harry Dewulf can be found on Twitter @densewords.
  • The Read Worthy Fiction Course is available via Udemy.com and normally costs £95. I have placed a link to his website in the sidebar of my main website but you can find links to his courses here. I highly recommend his advice.

 

Courses…

I have just signed up for three, yes, three online courses.

This free online course is for English language teachers around the world. It will help you develop the skills and practices you need for your continuing professional development (CPD).

This course is part of our Teaching for Success: Practices for English Language Teaching program. In the program we will look at the 12 professional practices for CPD on the British Council’s teacher development framework.

In this course aspiring writers will be introduced to perhaps the most elemental and often the most challenging element of story: plot. We will learn what keeps it moving, how it manipulates our feelings, expectations, and desires. We will examine the choices storytellers make to snag our imaginations, drag them into a fictional world, and keep them there. We will learn how to outline and structure a plot, discuss narrative arc, pacing and reversals and reveal the inevitable surprise: connecting the beginning, middle and end.

Have you always wanted to write, but never quite had the courage to start? This free course, Start writing fiction, will give you an insight into how authors create their characters and settings. You will also be able to look at the different genres for fiction.

  • identify strengths and weaknesses as a writer of fiction
  • demonstrate a general awareness of fiction writing
  • discuss fiction using basic vocabulary.

I do this with two reasons in mind.

First and foremost is to update and revise my own skills.  While I hold a degree, it is in a very specific area of history. It also dawned on me recently that I took my English Literature A’ Level sixteen years ago.  That was a realisation that had me reaching for the teabags and kettle, believe me. So here I am updating my skills, but don’t believe for one moment that I feel like this is a chore.  I love these online distance learning courses.  I spent five years with the Open University, taking one module at a time, to get my degree and while some units were more interesting to me than others, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Any chance for more study is welcome.  Yes, I am one of those…

Secondly, I initially began my degree with a career in teaching in mind.  Now I have finished and, much like my two co-authors on this blog, I find myself on a path to a career in editing.  While not quite the path I was expecting, editing work remains essentially a teaching role.  It is my job to guide writers on their way to publishing the best work they can produce. I do still hope to train in F.E. teaching and if that helps me to become a better editor, then so much the better. I have not stopped on my path, I have merely taken a minor detour.