I was referred to Ebooklaunch by another author friend, after searching for the perfect cover and layout artist. I was about to give up, but once we emailed back and forth and I gave them the concept of what I had in mind, I thought I had nothing to lose. I was astounded by the design, for: Case of the Mouse Trap Legend. I was absolutely blown away - it far exceeded my expectations. I couldn't be more thrilled and will return in the future for more covers. Thank you very much!
I held the role of blogger and web content writer for a multimedia entertainment company before transitioning to freelance work. I have assisted many clients on projects ranging from product descriptions, to blog articles, to content editing. My areas of expertise are in science, fashion, travel, and yoga. I have also edited over 50 eBooks and can provide professional book descriptions.

It’s difficult to answer this question without first addressing what an editor actually does. Editors can review the content of your writing (characterization, pacing, plot, etc.), which is often referred to as content editing; the form of your writing (the grammar, the punctuation, etc.), which is often referred to as copyediting; or both. (By the way, proofreading is indispensable, but it’s the final step of checking for typos and other glitches once the book is ready for print—any writer who thinks that proofreading is editing is in grave danger of getting ripped off.)
EFA has an excellent reputation in the field, and their high annual membership fee keeps out the riff-raff and newbies merely flirting with the profession. For writers, EFA also has a very useful rates survey for the different kinds of editing, helpful for anyone shopping around: (the-efa.org/res/rates.php) For those keen to find a fully vetted editor, try Editcetera (editcetera.com). This group not only tests every applicant, they also supervise for a full year. Of course, their rates are higher. Another highly regarded editorial organization is Bay Area Editors Forum (editorsforum.org), with a searchable database of editors. I’m a member there.… Read more »
I like the idea of embedding “fine print” into the initial email. I also think it’s a good idea for an author to check references; the questions Val suggested are great. Third, as another commenter said, an editor can give the author a general assessment of their book, which will help the author decide if that particular editor will be a good fit or not.
You draw distinctions that use idiosyncratic definitions of some fairly standard terms. For example, Chicago defines the terms “manuscript editing,” “line editing,” and “copyediting” as synonymous with each other, and none of them as synonymous with “mechanical editing,” although that is one element of them. Certainly, I agree that an author has a right to expect more than merely mechanical editing unless that is specifically what they have requested. However, I cannot agree that the only route into competent and appropriate freelance editing is internal employment within a publishing house, and that the only clients who should be counted as a relevant part of a freelance editor’s curriculum vitae are those who are traditionally published.
In fact, Pressfield writes, “Resistance is experienced as fear; the degree of fear equates to the strength of Resistance. Therefore the more fear we feel about a specific enterprise, the more certain we can be that that enterprise is important to us and to the growth of our soul. That’s why we feel so much Resistance. If it meant nothing to us, there’d be no Resistance.”
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