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How To Find An Editor

Cover of Practical Creative Writing Exercises by Grace Jolliffe - article about how to find an editorIf your book is being published in the traditional way you won’t have to worry about how to find an editor.

Your publishing company will appoint an editor to edit your work.

This will probably be someone they have used before and whose work they have come to know and trust.

The task of your editor will be to search out structural, story and other problems.

You should welcome this – a good editor can improve your book hugely and dreams apart, no writer is perfect.

However, if you are self-publishing, appointing an editor is one of the many tasks you will find yourself responsible for.

In an ideal world, all writers would be able to afford the best of editors. However, we are not in an ideal world.

In this post-recession climate, it is writers and artists who tend to feel the bite in their income.

man writing at desk illustrating an article on how to find an editor

Good editors can be expensive and sadly, so can bad ones.

Spend some time searching for a good editor. A great place to start is here on Kboards.

Also, join some writers groups on social media forums and ask for recommendations.

Ask for references and samples. A good editor will often do a sample edit on your work so you can see what they are offering.

But what if you can’t afford editing services?

If you have made the decision to try self-publishing and cannot afford an editor then the question is would you be better off waiting until you can?

Cover of Practical Creative Writing Exercises by Grace Jolliffe - article about how to find an editorMy answer would be yes. No matter how tiny your budget is I think you should prioritize editing.

There are people who will perform editing work for you quite cheaply. If you can wait until you can get the money together then that is your best option.

LOW BUDGET EDITING

Cheaper editors may be gaining experience by charging less and their work will not be of the highest professional standard… yet.

But they might be willing to work very hard in order to build their portfolio of writer references.

At the very least they can provide a fresh eye to look over your work and therefore see errors that you miss.

Remember, that as writers we can be too close to our work to get a clear view.

It is amazing how easy it is to miss glaring errors in our own work! 

Cover of Practical Creative Writing Exercises by Grace Jolliffe - article about how to find an editorIt is important to realize this because the last thing you want is your readers, or other writers posting snide remarks in your reviews.

Before hiring any editor you should ask for samples of their work and check their references by contacting the writers of books they have edited.

At the end of the day, my best advice to anyone self-publishing is to pay as much as you can to get a good editor.

Your reputation as a writer is precious and you don’t want to ruin it before you’ve even begun.

However, if you are absolutely broke and cannot beg, steal or borrow the money for an editor then there are some great suggestions in this post about how to edit a book on a low to no budget.

By the way, if you are just beginning your writing journey I recommend you read this.

Best of luck!

Grace

P.S. All the creative writing tips and information are provided here free for you. All I ask is that you leave a comment in the box and like, or share so that others may learn too.


Do you really want to write?

Cover of Practical Creative Writing Exercises by Grace Jolliffe - article about how to find an editor

Read Practical Creative Writing Exercise for all the information, tips and exercises you need to start your writing career now.

Stop procrastinating – write now.

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