So How Do I Find an Editor?

Once you know what kind of editor you are looking for, it’s time for a bit of sleuthing. If you have writer friends, ask them what editors they’ve worked with and what their experiences have been. Do you have some favorite authors or books? Check out the copyright and acknowledgments pages to see if they have mentioned the name of their editor. If you enjoyed the book and felt it was well-edited, chances are the editor is skilled in that genre. Look them up online. Most professional editors have websites. Attend writers’ conferences. Many editors, both in-house and freelance, attend national and local writing conferences. You may have a chance to meet in person and see if you click.

Always search for an editor who has come recommended by another author, through a professional organization, or who has shown industry experience (remember those copyright and acknowledgments pages mentioned above?). There are too many unskilled “editors” advertising their services (some at cut-rate prices; others at ridiculously high prices—so don’t judge by price) to risk giving your precious story, time, and money to someone who has no idea what they’re doing. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to “fix” poorly edited manuscripts—and that comes with the difficult job of repairing a writer’s trust in editors, the industry, and their belief in themselves. That’s not the way anyone wants to start out.

Now that you have the names of a few editors you think might work, research them. Some questions you’ll want answered include:

• What is their experience? How long have they been in the business? Do they have a website? Where did they get their training? Have they worked as an in-house editor for a traditional publisher? Have they worked with self-published authors?

• What books have they edited? What type of editing did they do on those books? What authors have they worked with? Do they have testimonials from them? What do the authors say about their editing experience? Has the editor been acknowledged in the book? What are readers saying in online reviews?

• What kind of an editor are they? If you need a developmental edit, you don’t want to hire a copy editor. If you need technical editing, you don’t want a proofreader. Not all editing specialties are the same. Know what kind of an editor you need.

• What genre do they specialize in? This is especially important if you’re hiring a developmental or technical editor, not so much for copyediting and proofreading. You want your big-picture editor to have strong knowledge of your genre so they can best guide you in the intricacies of market expectations.

• What is their availability? Some editors are in high demand and may be booked 3-6 months out, if not more. Others may intentionally not take bookings that far out because a late manuscript affects all the other manuscripts in queue. It’s important to know your timeline when you look for an editor. Do you need the edits by a certain date or can you be flexible? Is it more important that a book be done by a particular date or that you get the editor that’s right for you and your story?

• How much do they charge? Editing fees vary widely and depend on the editor’s experience, the type of editing involved, the length of your manuscript, the shape the manuscript is in, the complexities of the story, and a whole host of other things. Editors charge by the word, the hour, or by the project. If an editor quotes you a price without asking you basic information, such as the genre, the word count, the type of editing you want, and their seeing at the very least a sample of the manuscript (I personally ask to see the entire manuscript), then run. It’s a sure sign of inexperience, if not an outright scam. Editors need to know what they’re working on in order to give you a quote.

For an idea of editing costs, take a look at the freelance editing rate sheet published by The Editorial Freelancers Association. You will quickly see the wide range of pricing. Editing is an investment in yourself and your story. If you look at your publishing efforts as a business—a business that requires you to always be learning, improving, and hiring the right people—then it’s easy to accept editing as a necessary business expense. However, if your goal in publishing a book is not to make money but to just say you did it or to share a copy or two with family and friends, then perhaps editing isn’t something you want to invest a great deal of money in. There’s nothing wrong with that. Editing is a financial commitment. Whether you’re an indie author or looking for a traditional publishing contract, a quality edit is an investment that will improve your chances of success.

• Do they do sample edits? This is a touchy subject among editors. Some offer sample edits of 5-10 pages for free, some charge a fee but take it off the total cost if you decide to hire them for a full edit, and some (like me) don’t do samples. Get any group of editors together, and this can become a highly contested subject. Whether or not you ask for a sample edit is up to you, but understand that samples are more common with copyediting and proofreading than with developmental editing. This is because it’s difficult, if not impossible, to offer developmental edits without first reading the entire manuscript—and no editor who supports themselves or their family through their editing business will read an entire manuscript for free. That just isn’t going to happen.

Finding the right editor for your story, your personality and working style, and your budget isn’t easy, but doing so will greatly improve your chances not only for a successful book but for a successful career.