Finding an Editor

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Philabuster
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Finding an Editor

Post by Philabuster » June 2nd, 2013, 2:44 am

I'm in the market for a good editor to edit my 81k word manuscript, but I'm also a struggling starving artist. Where can I find an editor that will do a good job but won't charge me a ridiculous amount?

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polymath
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Re: Finding an Editor

Post by polymath » June 2nd, 2013, 4:33 pm

Philabuster,

I am a freelance editor and have been for fourteen years, have a master's in English and an editing and publishing certificate earned along with my BFA in English, all writing concentration coursework.

Do you intend to submit your manuscript for traditional publishing? If so, then hiring an editor is premature. Once the manuscript is accepted for publication, the publisher will provide editing services. Now is the time to prepare and circulate a query to agents and publishers that accept unagented submissions. Some agents also provide editing services and charge a higher commission. Donald Maass Literary Agency is an example, charging a thirty percent commission.

If you intend on self-publishing, independent publishing, or small press that doesn't provide substantive editing services, then now is a good time to consider a freelance editor. Be prepared for detailing exactly what degree of editing you want. This is essentially a copyediting practice at three levels.

First level, light copyediting scrutinizes solely for nondiscretionary issues: grammar, spelling, punctuation, and mechanical style. This service should charge on the order of $0.35 to $1.00 or upwards of $2.00 per Standard Manuscript Format page, depending on how clean the style is. More work, more cost. Note: Standard Manuscript Format's monospaced typeface, like New Courier, allows for quantifying page count. A manuscript in Times New Roman typeface is more tedious to edit and not as easily quantifiable due to the proportional kerning of the type. One page could be four hundred words or more and another could be as few as two hundred. Word count is not a reliable copyediting metric either.

Second level, medium copyediting scrutinizes nondiscretionary and discretionary mechanical style and craft and voice. This level begins to examine craft and voice issues from a developmental editing perspective, but doesn't go in depth into audience accessibility and appeal. Costs for this type of editing are wide open and range from several dollars per page to several thousands of dollars for a manuscript.

Third level, heavy copyediting deeply examines the gamut of audience appeal and accessibility, voice, craft, and mechanical style. This is a pricey service no matter what. Generally, this degree of service is for a project with great potential and limited development.

An 81,000 word manuscript will amount to roughly 325 manuscript pages. Judging from my sampling of your writing, a light copyedit should run about $0.50 per page or $163. A light copyedit with a summary report of audience, craft, and voice strengths and shortcomings, about $500.

Frankly, I don't think your manuscript is quite ready for editing or submission. The sampling of your writing I've done suggests to me you have a few craft, voice, and audience shortcomings yet to overcome, though mechanically your writing is above par.
Last edited by polymath on June 4th, 2013, 1:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Philabuster
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Re: Finding an Editor

Post by Philabuster » June 3rd, 2013, 3:58 am

Fair enough. Thanks polymath.

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wilderness
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Re: Finding an Editor

Post by wilderness » June 13th, 2013, 10:48 pm

You could try the site: https://www.writer.ly/

They allow you to post a book-related job offering and then different editors will bid on it. You can select based on their qualifications and their bid, so it's great for the budget-minded. Hope that helps!

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Philabuster
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Re: Finding an Editor

Post by Philabuster » June 18th, 2013, 12:43 am

That's a HUGE help wilderness! Thanks!

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Re: Finding an Editor

Post by jonm » July 4th, 2013, 9:28 pm

Did you find one as i need one to

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Philabuster
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Re: Finding an Editor

Post by Philabuster » July 11th, 2013, 1:18 pm

Still looking!

MissPineapple
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Re: Finding an Editor

Post by MissPineapple » July 30th, 2013, 11:42 am

Hi,

Have you thought of trying Spinetinglers? There is an offer on at the minute which includes a copy edit in the publication packages. It might be worth getting in touch with them to see what you think. This one seems fantastic value for money http://www.spinetinglerspublishing.com/ ... -packages/

Hope that helps :)

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Mike Dickson
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Re: Finding an Editor

Post by Mike Dickson » September 26th, 2013, 7:27 am

polymath wrote: Do you intend to submit your manuscript for traditional publishing? If so, then hiring an editor is premature. Once the manuscript is accepted for publication, the publisher will provide editing services.
Polymath,

Doesn't it help to find an agent with a highly polished manuscript? I would think a prospective agent would toss a manuscript with a great plot and so-so writing.

Your thoughts?

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polymath
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Re: Finding an Editor

Post by polymath » September 26th, 2013, 1:15 pm

Mike Dickson wrote:Polymath,

Doesn't it help to find an agent with a highly polished manuscript? I would think a prospective agent would toss a manuscript with a great plot and so-so writing.

Your thoughts?
Yes, a highly polished manuscript helps. Nothing like frequent style, craft, voice, and appeal hiccups to disrupt a reading experience, though. Polishing a manuscript may equally as well be a hindrance from polishing away the creative vision and expressive voice. I've seen a few promising ideas spoiled by overpolishing and by underpolishing. Actually, the writing development process I've noticed most commonly is raw draft, rough draft, working draft, polished but lackluster draft, writer stuck not knowing what's not working, epic stall. Rarely, progress might resume if the work's appeal, voice, and craft are finally fully realized as a glorious synergy.

Keep in mind that editors, agents, and publishers screen for easy reasons to reject, since many, if not all, are overwhelmed by a deluge of manuscripts they can't possibly represent. Like government, banks, insurance companies, all of commerce's routine responses, a no answer gets through drudge work faster than yes.

Agents, publishers, and editors evaluate a manuscript by differing individual criteria, some intuitive, some objective, some subjective, some all the former, some one or two discrete areas. Number one, though, audience appeal is universal. Is there an audience of sufficient size this manuscript will appeal to? If the conclusion is yes, many literary agencies and publishers may work with a writer to clarify and strengthen the work, or tentatively indicate interest and provide a panel of editors, suggesting an editing service for the writer's selection consideration, or perhaps indicate interest if the manuscript is reworked at the writer's discretion.

Developing a working relationship between editor and writer is at the writer's discretion and often expense. Some promising works ask for more work than an agent or publisher can justify in house expense-wise. Often, they are rejected outright or, in a better outcome, infrequently, the writer is asked to rework and submit again. Tragically, not many realize their works' shortcomings. So editors, agents, and publishers rarely do much more than impersonally, courteously form reject.

A fundamentally flawed manuscript a writer does not see shortcomings in is essentially a dead end for the writer, and an editor, an agent, and a publisher, and in my opinion, not worth any expense to rework. Maybe the inspiration has golden promises. Reworking probably won't make it work. A complete rewrite might.

From there, editorial evaluation breaks down into craft (plot mostly but also content and organization), voice (expression), and mechanical style (grammar and such). The mechanical style may be finely polished but the craft or voice weak. The style and craft may be highly refined but the voice unsettled or lackluster.

If a manuscript has a number of minor mechanical style glitches but is strongly organized and the content mostly fully realized and appealing, and the voice mostly expressive, settled, and appealing, those glitches are comparatively easy to adjust. Actually, my experiences as editor with publishers I've worked for, a large majority of manuscripts have numerous mechanical style glitches, far more than the average six to twelve that are overlooked all the way through to publication. I recently completed a proofreading pass on a manuscript pending publication that needed on average two nondiscretionary mechanical style glitch adjustments per paragraph. The writer paid me $ per page and was glad for it.

Adjusting craft, voice, and appeal are nigh impossible; from, one, no editor worthy of the title should impose her or his creative vision onto a writer's; two, if the creative vision isn't readily discernible, is inaccessible, it cannot be adjusted by an editor; three, the writer writes the narrative, not an editor (nor a reader); otherwise, the editor might just as well have written the narrative in the first place; four, the expense of working out glitches, shortcomings, and kinks may be too fiscally and emotionally high for editor and writer; and five, worthwhile editors especially are wary of working with promising but grossly underdeveloped, underrealized ideas and inspirations due to concerns about litigation.

Since mainstream publishers no longer accept unagented, unsolicited manuscripts, literary agents have been filling in the editorial gaps: some in house, some from part-time editors, some from retained freelance editors, some from subject-matter experts, some from stringers (contracted consulting editors). Since many agents and publishers may not offer in-house editing services, oustide editors are coming along to fill in gaps. But many self-proclaimed, and costly, editors are not up to the task. Most are fair to middling proofreaders, fewer are reasonably competent copyeditors, far fewer are adequately competent developmental editors.

For me, if a work under consideration has promise but has fundamental shortcomings, I'm reluctant to get involved. No editor or agent can guarantee publication acceptance, though that's what many writers believe editors and agents' roles are, and what a writer wants and pays for from editors and agents.

A manuscript close to a finish line will pass scrutiny and ask for editorial contributions to strengthen the work so its promise is fully realized. One that's barely out of the gate, and most are raw though believed by a writer as finished, in terms of craft, voice, and appeal, has stopped short. No editor can help with that. Writing workshops may fill that gap, which is their role: strengthening writing skills.
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