• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • #Help1Writer
  • Publishing
    • Publishing 101
    • Self-Publishing 101
    • Pitch Contests (soon)
    • Find an Agent (soon)
    • Publishers
    • Literary Magazines
    • Query Coaching (soon)
    • Editing Services
    • Conferences (soon)
  • Spotlight
    • Featured Authors
    • From Famous Authors
    • Short Stories
    • Poetry
    • Art
  • Contests
    • EWR Writing Contests
    • Other Writing Contests
  • Writing Lab
    • Writing Lab 101
    • Writing Prompts
    • Resources for Writers
    • Editing Services
  • Submissions
    • Guidelines
    • Submit to EWR
  • About Us
    • About Us
    • Write for Us
    • Advertise
  • Social
    • Hub
    • Email
    • Forums
    • Members
    • Register
    • Log In

EveryWriter

A New Community of Writers

  • Poetry
  • Short Stories
  • Book Publisher Listings
  • Literary Magazine Listings
  • Classifieds
You are here: Home / Articles On Writing / 5 Tips For Choosing An Editor

5 Tips For Choosing An Editor

You’ve committed two drafts to paper, followed every spellcheck suggestion, and triple-checked to make sure your main character’s (or MC’s) eyes don’t alternate color like a kaleidoscope between chapters. You’ve done all you can, and there’s only one more daunting step before sending it off to query or publishing: Editing. You can edit yourself, sure, but the old adage about a man who represents himself in court having a fool for a client can be applied. Seeing your own mistakes isn’t easy on the first go around, let alone the fifth, and you’re going to need fresh eyes. More importantly, you’re going to need fresh eyes with the knowledge necessary to make your work the best it can be. But how do you know if an editor is right for you? Conveniently, that question has hopefully been answered in the following list.

1. Good reviews

As with most services, the best way to ensure you get someone qualified and competent for a job is by confirming that their previous customers are satisfied. Check for reviews and testimonials on the editor’s site. Ask other writers about their experiences with particular editors as well. Word-of-mouth might seem antiquated, but it’s still an effective way to find someone that at least someone trusts.

2. Get a sample

Just about any editor will do a treatment of 750 words\3 pages free of charge. It’s not a tremendous amount of work, but it can give a general idea of what their abilities are, how they work (long gone are the days of uniform red marks on a copy), and how they will approach your work. It will also allow you a peek into how they’ll handle point number three…

3. Respecting your voice

Every writer has their own voice, style, pizzazz, whatever you want to call it. That intangible place where rhythm, prose, and word choice mingle into a unique voice. Hemingway’s straightforward curtness, Faulkner’s beautiful verbosity, Pahlaniuk’s visceral descriptions. A good editor will hone in on that voice and enhance it, not step on it or rewrite things as they would write them. If the give-and-take of the editing process isn’t respected, the editor will end up sending something that, while possibly improved, isn’t what the author wanted. That’s a surefire recipe for wasted money and resentment.

4. Clearly define the work needed

Are you getting a copy or a content? Proofread or line edit? If it’s still early in your process, is it a developmental? Both of you need to be incredibly precise about what it is exactly that you expect out of the process. Once you’re sure what it is you need, make sure that the editor you hire is familiar with that work. I started off proofreading and gradually evolved to copy and content after years of honing my craft. Not every editor will have the same skill set. The best proofreader in the world might know as much about what makes a story work or a character flop as you do about peach farming in Mongolia.

5. Clear pricing

After you know what you need, you need to know what it costs. Most editors charge by the word or by the page, so the final cost should be more or less settled on before red pen even touches paper or, more accurately, the little “record changes” box gets ticked. Discuss in depth what you want, roughly how long it will take, and what that will cost. Don’t forget to agree when the money changes hands, either. Most of my colleagues are honest, but, as with any specialty service, it doesn’t hurt to be wary of hidden costs or unnecessary work with its own extra pricing. On the flip side of that: Don’t spring additional work on your editor and expect not to pay for it. A contract is never a bad idea when money is involved, either.

Putting your baby into the hands of a stranger isn’t going to be easy. Even less so when that stranger has a pair of scissors and their own idea of how that baby should be shaped. Hopefully, these tips can at least make sure that whoever you find knows where to start snipping. If you follow the above, you should be one step closer to having your book in a reader’s hands.

WP Post Author

Ian M. Broderick

Ian was born and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, where he has worked as a freelance editor for nearly a decade. In his free time, you can find him writing science-fiction, working on leather, or juggling. He collects hobbies like stamps but would never collect stamps as a hobby.

See author's posts

+1

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Classic

Robert Louis Stevenson on Walt Whitman’s Style

A note from the editor Note from editor: I am going through and updating some of these classic articles/essays on writing. Some of these, are just so amazing. They are pieces of literary history. This particular piece is Robert Louis Stevenson’s review of Walt Whitman’s writing style. It’s a unique look from one famous mind […]

Is There a Santa Claus 1897

Is There a Santa Claus 1897

The following, reprinted from the editorial page of the New York Sun, was written by the late Mr. Frank P. Church: We take pleasure in answering at once and thus prominently the communication below, expressing at the same time our great gratification that its faithful author is numbered among the friends of The Sun: Dear […]

More Posts from this Category

Mission

Around our site

  • Poetry
  • Short Stories
  • Book Publisher Listings
  • Literary Magazine Listings
  • Classifieds

Short Stories

Literary Magazines

Book Publishers

EWR: All for 1 One for All

Spotlight

Footer

Other

  • Join us!
  • Privacy Policy
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Newsletter
  • Jobs
  • Forum
  • Questions

Categories

Search Users

Search for:

Newsletter

Copyright © 2021 · Metro Pro on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in