Are you off to a conference this weekend? Next weekend? They’re coming boom-boom-boom now. Big ones, small ones, all over the country. Are you going for pleasure—to schmooze, attend panels, get autographs? Or are you a writer on a mission, synopsis perfected, elevator pitch memorized? But what if an agent or editor actually likes your pitch? Is your manuscript truly ready? If someone asks you for the first three chapters, should you quickly hire a freelance editor to give them a final once-over?
Um, no. Did I say that? I’m a professional freelance editor, after all. Yes, I did say that. A professional freelance edit of a book-length fiction manuscript can cost a thousand dollars or more. Usually much more. While most freelance editors no longer charge by the hour, instead preferring to charge by the word or the page or the project, they continue to prepare their estimates based on what they’d like to earn per hour, and that’s usually in the $35-to-$50 range. At this point, that would be wasted money.
Freelance editors do several different types of editing. Copyediting is the most basic—correcting spelling, grammar, punctuation, syntax, and word usage. Line editing goes a little further and includes clarifying meaning; rewording jargon and awkward phrasing; eliminating wordiness; changing passive voice to active voice; flagging inappropriate, ambiguous, or incorrect statements; ensuring parallel structure; rearranging sentences within paragraphs; correcting inconsistencies in writing style and tone; and flagging discrepancies in plot, setting, and character traits. Substantive editing, also called heavy editing, focuses on the structure of the story.
Agents and acquiring editors don’t reject manuscripts because they have a dangling modifier here and there. What they look for is a first sentence that grabs, a first paragraph that mesmerizes, a first page that forces them to turn to the second. If the mechanical aspects of the writing are so awful that they hamper reading, that’s one thing; by all means, get yourself some recommendations and estimates. But if what you want is just a second and maybe third pair of eyes to review your first five pages, your character development, your pacing, your dialogue, and so on, find a critique group or writing workshop. There are also a number of writers and English teachers who edit fiction manuscripts as a sideline and for much lower fees than professional editors.
As Laura mentioned in her April 24 post, “What is selling is not only house-dependent, but even editor-dependent within a house.” Every editor, as well as every agent, has his or her specific preferences. Don’t spend several months revising your manuscript to add a murder to page 100 because you paid a small fortune to a freelance editor who told you that you have to do that. Not all editors and agents insist on a murder on page 100. Your dream editor might not even like it! If an editor likes your basic story and buys your manuscript, he or she will guide you in reworking whatever needs to be reworked to satisfy him or her and the specific publishing house. Getting even a basic copyedit might be a waste, since the overwhelming majority of trade publishers send all manuscripts out for that—and pay for it--as part of their SOP.
If you really have a few extra thousand dollars taking up precious space in your bank account, take a marketing class for writers. Obtain a domain name and hire a web designer. Or, go to Nordstrom and buy a designer suit to wear to all the awards ceremonies you’ll be attending as a winner at next year’s conferences.
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4 comments:
HAH! Oh, that's what I needed...I've had a very, very long day, so I needed the "If you really have a few extra thousand dollars taking up precious space in your bank account".
I talked a while back about good and bad agents and editors (at publishing houses). The same holds true of copy editors.
Here's the thing: I'm a snob. Yes, I admit it. I want degrees. I want references. I want a website that looks professional (and doesn't have spelling errors). I know you don't want to toot your own horn, but you have a fabulous website. It shows your qualifications, it's well put together and it's easy to navigate.
And, as a bonus, the books you've edited have actually been published. (Not self-published, like those that several other freelance fiction editors showcase.)
If I ever have a spare few thousand dollars hanging around, after I go to the south of France, I'll hire you to line edit for me! Because I may be a snob, but I'm not a fool...a good editor is something everyone can use!
Elaine,
Great distinctions between the various editors in the biz - and the nod to critique groups was encouraging.
Matter of fact, between your post and Laura's I felt compelled to write about critique groups, too!
Only wish I'd read your post a few months ago! In December - in a moment of self-doubt - I put down a deposit with an editor for substantive editing, anticipating that I'd be finished shortly with my first novel. Since then (and no, I'm still not finished) I've revamped structure based on a lot of blood-sweat-tears and study of how to craft story, reinvented scenes and deepened the story's emotional arc, and have much more confidence in both myself and my critique group. What's more I now realize that the overwhelming majority of first novels end up in a drawer. Oh my.
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