How to Find an Editor

Once you’ve completed your manuscript, you’re likely to feel a sense of accomplishment. Those months, or possibly even years, of hard work and dedication to your story have finally come to completion! You then go back to your manuscript and revise it, tinker with it, and maybe run it through a software program to check for issues with grammar and spelling. After those steps have been exhausted, you may realize there’s only so much you can do on your own, and you embark on the next step toward publication — finding an editor. But how do you find one, and more importantly, how do you find one who is trustworthy, skilled, and reliable?

Before you begin your search, though, you’ll want to determine which type of editing you would most benefit from. Are you concerned that the character arcs are more of a flat line or that the plot flounders halfway through? If so, a developmental editor will be able to help you. Or are you worried that some of your sentences are more than a mouthful, that you’ve repeated words or phrases, or that the dialogue is stilted and unnatural? In this case, an editor who specializes in line editing can address any of these concerns. And finally, if you feel confident that your manuscript only needs to have the grammar and mechanics finetuned, you will be looking for a copy editor. But if you’re not sure, not to worry! Many editors will provide assessments and will be happy to guide you in the right direction.

Now that you’ve likely narrowed down the type of editing your manuscript needs, it’s time to figure out where to look. While there are multiple places to look for an editor, here are three that almost guarantee you will receive a bounty of responses:

1. Professional associations, such as NAIWE, usually have easily searchable member directories. You can then narrow down the search results to show only service providers who are familiar with your genre and perform the type of editing you’re looking for.
2. Facebook writing groups will provide you with additional options, but it pays to be cautious on this platform as you’ll need to wade through the multiple responses from scammers (which sometimes outnumber those from bona fide professionals).
3. Fellow authors often share recommendations for all types of publishing-related service providers. They will also have insights that can’t be gleaned from a professional directory or Facebook post, such as how quickly the editor responds to emails or if the editor is frequently late with submitting promised deliverables.

Soon, your inbox will be overflowing with messages from editors eager to work with you. However, the time has come to separate the scammers and the unqualified from the experienced. These tips will help you do just that:

1. Are the editors familiar with your genre? If not, they won’t be aware of conventions, beats, and reader expectations, which could lead to poor reviews/not having your manuscript acquired by a press. Browse through the editors’ websites to see whether they’ve edited books in your manuscript’s genre, ask which projects they’ve worked on before that are similar to yours, and check a few of the listed books on Amazon to check that it’s really their name in the acknowledgments/front matter to make sure this isn’t a cover they “borrowed” and claimed as their own work.
2. Ask to look over the editors’ contracts (and make sure they have a contract as this protects both of you!). It may be beneficial to request a “No AI” clause since some scammers are known for running manuscripts through writing software programs and then charging for something you could have done on your own . . . for free. Also run their correspondence through an AI detector as some scammers may use an AI generator to write their responses for them to increase the likelihood that they’ll sound like a trusted professional.
3. Ask for a sample edit, and then send the editors a section of your manuscript once they’ve agreed. Do not ask to see or rely on an already edited sample since there is no way to prove who actually completed this work, and it also doesn’t demonstrate how this editor can improve your Some editors charge a small fee for sample edits while others will complete one for free. Either is perfectly acceptable (after all, editors are giving up time that could be put toward paid projects to complete the sample and any write-up that accompanies it).
4. Make sure the editors accept payment methods that allow the consumer to make a fraud claim/receive a refund. For instance, PayPal is a valid payment method, but avoid someone who asks for payment through PayPal “friends and family” or similar payment methods that the platform will see as payment between two individuals and not as money exchanged for a good or service.
5. Finally, go with your gut! If something seems off, that’s reason enough to say “no thanks” and continue your search.

 

Jennia Herold D’Lima is a full-blown logophile. She joined her high school’s newspaper in ninth grade, winning statewide awards for her writing, and expanded her journalism skills by continuing to write and edit throughout her high school years and as a college freshman. While earning her BA in psychology (and minoring in cultural anthropology with a focus on precolonial Mesoamerica) and her MA in applied developmental psychology, her writing and editing naturally skewed toward all things academic. Writing for and publishing in peer-reviewed journals, editing papers for classmates, and writing parenting resource guides honed her research skills. Jennia joined multiple professor-led research groups and completed four internships throughout her academic career. After graduating with a master’s, she worked at a national nonprofit in Washington, DC, and as an assistant researcher at the University of Washington in Seattle. Jennia gradually transitioned to full-time editing. She is the host of the Writing & Editing podcast. Jennia enjoys traveling, volunteering, and taking creative photos of books and book-related items in those rare moments when she is not reading or editing.