Experience: Experience, including internships at publishing houses and work in other media—such as newspaper or magazine editing—also is important for prospective book editors. Moreover, connections in the publishing world, whether to another editor or successful writer, also can help your chances of landing a job as a book editor. If you are interested in editing books that deal with a specific subject, such as fashion or food, you should have formal training or work experience in that area to increase your chances of getting hired. To grow your network, you can join professional organizations such as the Editorial Freelancers Association (EFA).
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 got in touch with Ebook Launch lately to sort out a cover for my second book, and I cannot recommend them enough. The process was quick and easy, and the effort put into capturing the mood of my story was apparent from the first sketch. Their service was friendly and accommodating, and they were open to making or reverting changes to my covers without any trouble. I appreciate the hard work they put in on my behalf, and wholly recommend their services.
Your last point is actually raising my eyebrow in the sense that no one ever wants to make a newbies his/her editor.But the newbies can actually have some creative editing style which the experienced one still havent gotten..A case study is the people who work in the government house or secretariat, the same way in which they draft a letter in the 90’s is still the same way they are still giving it now.But giving newbies a chance to explore their creativity can bring about great and effectual changes..
Unlike most other basic “proofreading” packages, ours includes copy-editing where needed, light revision, rewriting and improved word choice, as well as a one page summary of some big picture issues that can be improved. If we see something that looks bad, we’ll fix it – but we won’t wrack our brains trying to solve bigger issues like plotting, character motivation, story architecture, etc.

No other word to describe this company besides UNMATCHED! I was having trouble finding someone to do my cover design for both my ebook and my paperback covers until I came across Dane and the team at Ebook Launch. I have not for a single second regretted hiring them for ALL of the work I needed done in order to self-publish my first book! My cover was (no lie) 20 times better than I was hoping for expecting! The team is helpful, knowledgeable, friendly, and professional. If you need ANYTHING done for your book, I could not recommend them more. Work with them and you will not be sorry. Guaranteed. Thanks for everything you guys!

Absolutely, Tom. Encrusted oldie, I like that one. Thanks for your thoughtful and positive comment. I think the heavier the editing, the more important confidence with a genre or niche is. For a developmental edit, I’d want someone with specialty experience in my genre, whereas with a proofread, I’d be comfortable with pretty much any competent editor.
Specialty – Do you want a copy editor who will strictly follow the rules in the Chicago Manual of Style? Do you want someone whose specialty is line editing and can write smooth, clear, and creative sentences? Are you looking for someone to make sure you don’t have any glaring grammar or spelling mistakes so as to avoid the brutal grammar police reviews? Or do you want someone to look at the overall structure or plot of your book?
Hiring a grant writer can give you a competitive edge when applying for financial grants for your business or nonprofit organization, or as an individual. The cost to hire a grant writer can vary depending on their academic background, areas of expertise, previous grant writing success and years of experience. According to the Grant Professionals Association, grant writers should be paid hourly or by flat fee. It is unethical for a grant writer to accept a commission or percentage compensation of grant monies received. They can, however, be awarded bonuses in line with the hiring company’s prevailing practices. Here are some examples of average grant writing fees:
Once you have narrowed your options down to a few editors, five or less for example, set up some initial contact with each of the children’s book editors. Start by contacting them and see if they can answer your core questions via email. Find out if they are willing to chat with you by phone or skype about your project when you are ready to make a decision. Ask for them to specifically identify what children’s book editorial services they will be able to provide.
After researching a lot of different designers, I went with Ebook Launch for my debut novel because there wasn't a single cover in their portfolio I didn't like. I didn't know exactly what I wanted, but I knew what I liked and what I didn't like, and they took my mishmash of half-formed ideas and turned it into a beautiful, eye-catching, genre-appropriate design! Not only that, but they were speedy, responsive, and accessible. A real pleasure to work with. I will definitely be coming back to them for the rest of the covers in the series.

I was recently directed to your excellent article from almost a year ago by a colleague at SouthWest Writers in Albuquerque, New Mexico. As a freelance literary editor of memoir, poetry, and novels, I offer authors guidance and support similar what you describe, but of course I cannot handle editing every genre. I was gratified to know that I’m doing the right thing by sticking to my specialties. By coincidence, someone who reached out to me last week on LinkedIn was looking for a children’s book editor and one of your readers in this conversation recommended one. That reminds me… Read more »

Fiction writers may want to join a writers group or workshop to benefit from the help of others who have experience with your genre and can help you develop your craft, challenge flaws in your narrative or character development, and help you improve the overall quality of your story. A flawed plot or character is much harder to revise after you finish writing your book, so it’s important to catch such problematic aspects of your book early on.

I used Ebook Launch to format my first book, a novella entitled His or Her Betrayal for both ebook and print, and I was happy with my results. They are very professional and get the work done in the amount of time that they tell you. I just submitted my second book Love, Lies and Heartbreak, which is a collection of short-stories for them to format for print and ebook as well. I'm sure I won't be disappointed in their work. They are my permanent source for formatting my books. Thanks so much for your great work guys!!
Blake, that’s wonderful info. Thank you. I completely understand the response about guaranteeing the work. That was just something that popped in my head as I read a book written by a screenplay consultant I hired years ago and he wanted a review so I read it to help him out but found maybe 5 or 6 error’s myself in the 200 page book. I felt like it was unprofessional but didn’t have the heart to tell him. But the errors stuck out like a sore thumb so I was curious if that is normal or not.