Ebooklaunch rocks! I have published with HarperCollins and Chronicle Books and I am such a fan of Ebooklaunch. Anyone looking to create a stand-out book cover and a beautifully formatted book should stop right here. They are so creative, responsive, and supportive, and they make the whole scary prospect of self-publishing completely doable. The response to my cover has been fantastic. I can't recommend this company more highly.
Another great resource is Reedsy; a platform for finding freelance editors, writers, and all things book related. You can also use the Editorial Freelancers Association to help narrow your search. These websites are fantastic because they vet their members, meaning you will only be viewing the best of the best when it comes to editing. Keep in mind, Reedsy prices will typically be higher than going to an editor directly because the website, rightly so, takes a commission (from both the editor and the author) for finding, vetting, and then managing your contract.
I do developmental editing mostly, so I charge a flat rate to read once and build an action plan, half before and half afterwards. Then we contract to work through the plan, where the bulk of the editing takes place and for this I charge 25% up front, 50% after the developmental edit, and 25% on completion of the final proof. I find that authors appreciate the spread payments and the transparency this brings.
#1. ACCOUNTABILITY: Anybody can call themselves an editor these days, but even if they have the right skills, it doesn’t mean they’ll do a good job. I’ve heard too many horror stories of editors who ghosted clients or provided shoddy work, leaving writers out of pocket with no recourse for a refund. We have one of the best refund policies in the industry and take personal responsibility for every project, which means – if clients aren’t happy with the work, we’ll do everything in our power to fix it.
If you’re a first-time author and have never hired an editor before, I would not recommend hiring an editor without first getting a sample edit. An editor can have a great resume and speak eloquently on the phone, but the real test of their skills is how they edit your book, and the sample edit is a quick, free way to find out. It’s standard for a freelance editor to offer a free sample edit unless they are exceptionally well-known.
About 25% of my (fiction) editing work is direct with authors, and the rest is split between two publishers. It my be of interest to note that these rates are close to what publishers pay their editors. That is to say, if you, as an author, were to traditionally publish your book, you would be paying this amount via royalties. Creating a professional product via self-publishing is not cheap, the costs (and income!) just shift from the publisher to the author.
#1. ACCOUNTABILITY: Anybody can call themselves an editor these days, but even if they have the right skills, it doesn’t mean they’ll do a good job. I’ve heard too many horror stories of editors who ghosted clients or provided shoddy work, leaving writers out of pocket with no recourse for a refund. We have one of the best refund policies in the industry and take personal responsibility for every project, which means – if clients aren’t happy with the work, we’ll do everything in our power to fix it.
I say “most of your desired criteria” because it’s rare to find an editor who will meet all your criteria. For instance, you may have to pay a few hundred to a few thousand dollars more for your top pick. Or, you may find someone at your precise price point, but their experience isn’t quite what you’d like it to be. You must be the one to assess what trade-offs you’re willing to make.
BookBaby’s Book Editing Services offer three different options for authors: Line Editing, Copy Editing, and Proofreading. These different levels of editing services cover everything from basic grammar and misspelling corrections to review of the story narrative, story development, characterization, and sentence structure. We offer options to ensure that each author is satisfied with their editing service.
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.
First, decide whether your time or your money is worth more to you right now. You can greatly reduce the amount of money your project will cost by investing more time, and vice versa. If time is no object, you may want to spend some hours in the library reading style manuals and going through your manuscript with a fine-toothed comb so that when you do hire an editor, (s)he will be able to zip through it quickly. If you end up deciding that’s more effort than you want to invest, then you will at least find the monetary cost of hiring someone to do it for you a less bitter pill to swallow.
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.
I find many of these responses by Trish to be unethical trolling for business on another editor’s conversations. Trish may be an excellent editor, but her actions here leave me speechless. I agree with a lot she says, but what if her dealings with me are as unethical as her trolling here. I expect expertise and experience from my chosen editor. But, before that, I expect a high ethical standard and professional interaction on the web.
Preparing a manuscript for publication or for your dissertation committee is a challenge that all academics must face. But who really wants to spend hours aligning page numbers or putting a reference list in the correct style? Make life easier with formatting services from an experienced scientist that understands the challenges of academic writing!
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).
Trish – I agree with your replies to this article and Carol, I agree with your comments too. And while I disagree with some of Natasa’s points, a sample edit is definitely good advice, not only for the writer, but also for the editor to ascertain what type of editing is needed. Many new, inexperienced writers still ask for a ‘proofread’, only to discover what they actually need is a developmental edit. I also agree with Natasa’s point that a good rapport is crucial. As to the suggestion that an editor shouldn’t be working on seven to 10 books per month, well, I never work on more than two (although I do fit in other small projects for regular business clients – they break up the working day and help me to refocus). I don’t know how anyone could work on such a large volume of books effectively — or at all — unless they were very short books!
Although many writers talk about having friends, family, and old college professors help them edit their work, that’s really not the ideal way to go about the editing process for a book or short story that you plan to publish. A professional editor with years of experience and training in your market or genre can provide valuable feedback and advice that goes far beyond simply correcting spelling errors, typos, grammatical errors and usage errors.
Thanks Derek and Jane! To add one more thought, I think where we all agree is that the writer can’t get up from the operating table (this analogy is getting gruesome…), thank the doctor and walk away. The perfect recipe would include: an incisive (pun intended) editor, and a resilient, driven writer. By the way, Derek, I’m thrilled to have this conversation, as I’ve enjoyed your writing for quite some time (recently I loved your piece on Tomorrowland). Cheers, Teymour Shahabi For 3 weird self-editing tips, check out my new episode: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mmLEuH9x28
The book provides further support for the importance of government-sponsored R&D by documenting numerous historical facts that demonstrate how government investments created the modern world and fueled the prosperity the world has witnessed over the past 200 years. The book also explains the origin of major technology revolutions over human history in a very accessible way. It ends with an investment strategy and a plan on how our nation can continue its prosperity for future generations.
You might hire someone for a proofread, but let the editor know that you’re open to hearing from him or her if the work needs a heavier edit. The editor would need to present you with evidence in the form of sample pages that showcase what’s needed—and your job is to make sure you agree. You want to feel like an editor’s edits are polishing your work and making it shine. If you feel dread or anger, or even if you feel misunderstood, it’s likely not a good fit. At the very least you want to share your reactions with the editor so they can respond or change course.
Developmental Editing helps you fine tune the sequence and the order of your book. Have you presented the information in a format that makes sense to the reader; does each piece of information build upon previous material? If you’ve had a few people read drafts of your book and they’re confused, you need developmental editing. A developmental editor may even be able to help you uncover features in your work that will create a powerful experience for your readers.
I hope this helps! Please don’t be discouraged by editor’s rates. Many of them do this full time or to supplement their other income with their business. The quality of service is not necessarily tied to project cost, but hiring anyone who is a contractor or freelancer often means you’re getting one-on-one personalized attention you might not get if you worked with, say, just the editor of a publisher who could see your book as a quota to fill. Just my two cents!
I am not without sympathy when some new authors get “sticker shock” upon hearing an estimate for my editorial services, and I am actually relatively affordable. (Most reasonably well-written novels would not cost even close to $3000 for me to edit, let alone $5000.) I also offer generous installment plans and discounts for bundled services. But there is a limit to how low I can go.
I want to thank the author of this article, the people responsible for this website, and the helpful comments I’ve read here, before discontinuing my watching of this thread. I have reached out to several developmental editors through emails and by posting my need for such an editor on the-efa.org. If anyone decides to go that route, the response has been tremendous. Be aware of their policy for posting jobs, though. They require aspiring authors to adhere to the ‘going rates’ shown here: http://the-efa.org/res/rates.php.
A professional editor will not only help improve your manuscript, but they should be able to provide guidance for you as a writer to help you improve your writing skills. A great editor will tell you what areas you should be focusing on to improve—things like using the right point of view (POV), avoiding filler words, writing dialogue properly, character development, and more.
The single most decisive factor should be the quality of the edit itself: Will this editor help improve your book? In order to assess this, nothing beats a sample edit (even if you have to pay for it). Testimonials and credentials (such as experience at a major NY publisher) can help you narrow your list, but you should submit the same sample to a variety of editors and compare their work side by side. Some editors will push too hard, and some won’t push hard enough; some will simply “get” your writing, while others will seem to speak another language entirely. In my experience, the editor’s résumé is far less revealing than the quality of the sample edit. In fact, the higher an editor’s pedigree, the more reluctant the editor might be to provide a sample edit. Don’t be afraid to insist: no one should expect you to invest in a car without a test drive!
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.”
