Hey there everyone. I hope you all are enjoying the Fall season. I know I am. Today I’m going to talk to you about what you should consider when trying to choose the right Editor. I have a fresh brand-new novel collecting dust on my hard drive right now and it’s eager to be read. But there only one problem, it needs to be edited.

In choosing an Editor my first task would be to look at their credentials. Do they have any formal education or any degrees as an Editor? How long have they been editing and if you’re trying to edit a novel, make sure they specialize in book editing because I’ve seen some advertisements that only edit essays or anything shorter than a full-length manuscript.

Make sure that they handle the word count you are looking for. Some editors may put the word count in their ad and some may not. The ones that don’t may request that you contact them directly and they will give you a quote and opt to discuss how much it will cost per word such as: http://www.book-editing.com

The cost will be high. I will not lie to you about this. I have often complained to people close to me how ridiculously expensive it is to hire a professional Editor. The cost can be as low as $500 to $1200 and that may not even cover all of the services that you need.

Find out what services they offer such as giving you a full evaluation of your novel and a report on how they feel about certain things such as plot devices, character development, accuracy, and your overall skills as a writer. Do they do copy editing and line editing? Figure out what your book needs and choose which one of their services is right for you. It could be one or two of their services or it could be all of them. Just keep in mind that the more services you choose, the higher your overall cost will be. Here is one example of Editor service that can vary in price: http://www.editorworld.com

If you’re strapped for cash like most poor writers, ask them if they offer a payment plan and will allow you to give them a few pages at a time to edit instead of trying to do it all at once.

If you’re at all nervous about what the Editor is going to say about your novel, don’t be. They have seen the very worst and the very best of novels. They will only give their honest opinions and constructive criticism but even if some of their comments seem a little harsh, try not to be offended too much and pick your heart up off the floor because they are only trying to help you make your novel the best that it can be. And then after they are done ripping your story apart you can curse them to yourselves while taking it all in stride because you know you’re the best writer in the world, right?

Don’t think for one moment that after the Editor is done editing your novel that the work is finished. No way… They will send you the edited copy and want you to make the necessary changes that they have highlighted, marked or commented on. The red marks will make you cringe but not to worry because if you really think about it, you are really working with your Editor in making that story read as smooth as a baby’s bottom. There’s nothing like reading a book that has misspelled words, grammar mistakes or plot points that don’t make sense and can easily be a turnoff that will make readers never want to pick up your book again. Or worse highlight everything wrong with your book in a scathing review on amazon for all the literary world to see.

Editing is a lot of work and it’s very expensive. I personally wish that the cost was lower, but I guess that’s just the name of the game. You either spend the money that it takes to get your book edited or you shell out money to learn how to do it yourself like the pros, so you will never have to pay anyone to edit your books again. Either way, the book gets edited and then it’s time to move on to finding an Agent to represent you to Publishers. Yay! One problem solved.

Finding an Editor that’s right for your needs won’t be easy but with some careful searching and doing your homework, you will be on your way to having a perfectly edited product that will be read and enjoyed by many for years to come. After all, that’s why we writers are working so hard to make our books flawless, so they can someday be read and enjoyed.

Until next time…