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Choosing an editor is a daunting prospect for an author. It’s nerve-racking passing your novel over to someone whose job it is to find errors in your writing. And how do you know your editor will understand your vision for your novel? How do you know if you’ll get on? How do you know if they even know what they’re doing?
Those are just some of the questions I’m going to address in this blog post, as well as giving you some suggestions on how to find an editor that you’ll enjoy working with.
You see that line above an editor’s job being to find errors in your writing? If that’s what comes to mind when you think about hiring an editor, maybe a little mindset shift will make hiring someone less daunting.
Your editor is there to help you publish a better book. They’re a member of your self-publishing team, and editing is simply a part of the self-publishing process. We’re not out to make you look bad or feel stupid. Obviously, some of our job is catching errors, but the ultimate goal is to make sure your readers love reading your book, which is, of course, your goal as well.
Our job is to take your book and make sure it’s your story that catches your readers’ attention, not your sentence structure or inconsistent style choices.
Remember as well that you can always ask for clarification about an editor’s changes, or even reject them. Your editor should always use a feature like Track Changes in Word or Suggestions in Google Docs to make their changes, so you can review them and make the final choice about which changes you want to keep.
The best way to find an editor is often through word of mouth recommendations from other writers in your community. Some authors might also share the names of their editors in the acknowledgements in their books. However, even when you get a recommendation for an editor, it’s still important to ask questions and do a little investigating to make sure they’re the right one for your novel. Just because they worked out well for one author, doesn’t mean they’ll work out well for you.
Most editors have an online presence, either on social media, a website, or both. The advantage of searching for an editor is that you can be specific in what you look for. Search for editors that specialise in fiction and have experience working in your genre. Look at their website and social accounts. Do they share content that you enjoy or find interesting? Do their values align with yours?
Facebook also has a huge array of groups that are useful for connecting editors with writers, such as Ask A Book Editor. This group is for asking editing questions but because some questions have to be answered by editors only, it’s a useful starting point for finding an editor you might want to work with. Even though they’re in the group on their personal accounts, most of them will have their business pages linked in their profiles or are happy for you to send a message. For directly looking for an editor to hire, try groups such as AABE - Help Wanted.
Professional editing societies such as the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA) have membership lists on their websites for authors to search through, and some have job boards where authors can post their editing requirements.
While being a member of a professional organisation doesn’t guarantee an editor will be perfect for you, it does mean they take their business seriously and are willing to invest the money required to join the association. Some organisations, such as the CIEP, have different levels of membership and require an editor to reach certain standards of training and experience before they can rise to a higher level.
Sites such as Fiverr don’t always have the best reputation, and unfortunately this is for valid reasons. However, you will find good editors on these sites. These freelance sites are a fairly inexpensive way for editors to find clients, and when you’re starting from scratch with no connections, they’re useful platforms for newer editors – or those new to freelancing – to start building up their businesses. So, don’t write off sites such as Fiverr or Upwork, just be careful about who you hire. Don’t just go for the cheapest option; contact sellers and speak to them before placing an order, have a look at several different profiles, and watch out for sellers who’ve straight up copied their listings off of other people.
So now you know how to find an editor. But how do you find the right one for you and your novel? Like I said before, one that worked for another author might not work for you. Before you start shortlisting editors, have a think about what characteristics your ideal editor might have. How do you envision working together? What sort of changes are you happy about them making to your novel? Do you know what sort of editing you need? How much feedback are you open to?
Consider these sorts of questions alongside the following list of things to look for as you make the choice of who to hire.
One of the first things to check is if an editor has experience working with self-publishing fiction authors. Editing fiction is quite different to editing non-fiction, and even though many editors successfully edit both fiction and non-fiction, you don’t want to end up hiring an editor for your romance novel who is used to editing only university textbooks. It can also help to hire someone with experience working with your specific genre, especially if you’re hiring someone for a more in-depth edit, such as a heavy copyedit or line edit.
It’s also important to find someone who has experience working with self-publishing authors, especially if you’re new to book publishing. There are differences between the traditional publishing process and the self-publishing one, and with no publisher or agent to guide you, it can be helpful to have an editor experienced in self-publishing to step in and advise on exactly what is required during the editing of your novel and to bring your attention to those things you didn’t know you had to know!
There are different levels of editing, and even among editors, there are differences in how these levels are defined and described. Make sure you chat to an editor before hiring them to make sure you know exactly how much editing you’ll get for your copyedit or your line edit, because it’s likely to vary from one editor to the next. This is where sample edits are invaluable.
Also be prepared to take advice from an editor about how much editing your novel requires. Try not to take it personally if an editor receives your sample and tells you it’s actually not ready for a light copyedit like you thought it was. If an editor recommends a heavier edit, ask them to send you a sample of what that will look like so you can see the results of the suggested changes for yourself before making a decision. Remember an editor’s goal is to make your book as enjoyable for your readers as possible.
I discuss the different levels of editing, and the different definitions, in this post: The Self-Publishing Author’s Guide to the Different Types of Editing.
Anyone can decide they want to be an editor and set up a website or social media profiles making it so. There are no regulatory bodies or essential qualifications.
So how do you know your editor knows what they’re doing?
Look for testimonials from happy customers on an editor's website or social media. An editor might also have a portfolio on their website showing some of the books they've worked on. This is a great way to make sure a potential editor has experience working on the type of book you've written. An editor with knowledge of your genre will use that extra expertise to make sure your novel meets your readers' expectations.
Ask an editor which style guides and Englishes they're used to working with, and find an editor with in-depth knowledge that means they'll pick up small errors and inconsistencies that an editor with only passing knowledge might miss.
Even though there are no essential qualifications for becoming an editor, there are many training courses, including some focusing only on fiction editing. In the UK, those taught by the Publishing Training Centre and the CIEP are recognised and highly regarded within the publishing industry.
Specific editing training is definitely desirable but you might find some editors don't have training courses listed on their website – they might have an English or journalism degree, or many years experience working in-house for a publisher, or publishers, instead.
Regardless of whether you want your editor to have publishing industry recognised training or years of editing experience, always feel free to ask a potential editor about their education and training and their editing experience, if you can't find the information on their website or social media. Most editors will be happy you're being diligent about choosing the right person to work with, and it's important that a potential editor's knowledge matches your book's requirements.
Some editors offer free sample edits, while others charge a fee for them, which is then normally knocked off the price of a full edit if you go on to hire them. Personally, I always ask for a sample when working with new authors, and I suggest that authors ask for a sample from any editor they’re considering working with.
A sample edit is a valuable trial edit that gives you a taster of what it’s like to work with a specific editor. It gives you an indication of whether you’ll get on while you work together and what sort of edits the editor will make to your novel.
A lot of fiction editing is subjective, and it’s important to find out if your editor’s idea of maximum readability meshes with your own. Use the sample edit to find out if an editor can make changes that improve your novel without losing your author voice or deviating from your vision for your story. A sample edit drastically reduces the risk of nasty surprises or problems cropping up after you’ve sent your complete novel off for editing.
Communication styles vary from editor to editor, and you’ll have different communication preferences compared to other authors. You might want to pass your novel over to an editor and have it returned in three weeks all done with a list of queries to sort at the end, or you might want to catch up with your editor regularly throughout the job and deal with queries and questions as they arise. You might want to stick to email, or you might want to chat on the phone or via Zoom.
There is no right or wrong, just different preferences, but it’s important your editor has the right communication style for you.
Regardless of your preferred communication method, potential editors should be willing to answer your questions and you need to respond promptly and truthfully to any questions a potential editor might ask you. The editing process will go a lot smoother if you and your editor work as a team.
Yes, I know, this one isn’t exactly measurable but I think it’s important to consider. Sometimes, you’ll just know an editor is the right one for you. After you’ve checked out references, credentials, and sample edits, your final choice of editor is likely to come down to the one you like the most. And, honestly, that’s just as important as all the other things I mentioned. The goal when choosing an editor is to find someone who will work with you to get your novel ready to publish. And that process is going to be a lot easier when you get on well.
To find out if we’ll work well together, contact me or book a free sample edit.
I'm here to help you at all stages of the novel-writing process, from self-editing support with story and editing evaluations, through line and copy editing, right up to the final proofread before you hit publish. Find out more about my services, including my process and prices, on the services and prices page.
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