My current work in progress, The Pursual, is the first story I plan to publish as a novel. As such, I think developmental editing will be essential to creating the best possible product.
But now, a problem presents itself. One I hope is not unique to me.
How do I pick the right editor for me?
Over the last few months, I’ve scoured kboards and the various Facebook groups to which I belong to get names and reviews.
I wrote down the names of a few and stalked them for a little bit. Still, I’m not certain which editor to choose.
I did, however, reach out to a few and I’m going to wait for them to let me know if they have any openings in the next few weeks.
Here were a few metrics I used when deciding which editors to contact.
- Genres: I tried to focus on editors that read, write and/or edit YA.
- Budget: as I’m just starting out, my budget is tight and I’m limited to a small budget which must stretch long enough to cover the book cover, advertising and God knows what else.
- Recommendations: I checked out testimonials from their clients and of course, the more recommendations the better. I must admit, I also checked out the amazon reviews of the books the editors worked on to make sure there weren’t a lot of 3-stars or lower. (I lie, I was looking for no 3-star or lower reviews).
- Their writing: some of the editors I stalked (I really shouldn’t use that word, should I?) Are writers themselves and so I availed myself of their books and if they had writing I liked (actually, envied) they made it to the next round.
- Credentials: I also looked for editors that are members of editorial organizations though I admit, this wasn’t a priority.
Wish me luck. I hope this approach works for me.
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F. F. JOHN 