Editing / Proofreading Services

[mumblecrust]

I'd like to have someone proofread and edit my manuscript, but before I drop $700+ on it I want to find the best place to use. Anyone have any recommendations? I was going to use Scribendi, but I can't find much in the way of reviews for it. A lot of the other top Google hits seem vaguely scam-y.

What I'm looking for is a basic grammar/sentence structure/etc check, but also recommendations for improving sections of the text, suggestions for which parts work and which don't, etc. To my understanding, a basic edit.

Any help is much appreciated

[thirdwind]

A writer should be able to edit and revise his or her own work. So, my advice is to go over your work again and again until it's as good as it can be. If you need help with things like grammar and sentence structure, then go over those things until you feel like you have a good grasp of them.

You can also ask a friend or family member who knows enough about reading/writing to look over your work. Just make sure their opinion is not going to be limited to only positive comments. You need some constructive criticism.

I would also advise against paying anyone to edit for you. Like I said, a writer should be able to edit his or her own work.

[Cogito]

Thirdwind beat me to it.

Editing services are costly, and are a poor investment for an unpublished author. Authors with multi-book contracts use them in order to meet deadlines, but invest considerable time and effort to find an editor who can conform to their style.

For a new writer who has yet to even establish his or her own style, such an investment makes even less sense.

You need to be able to submit a clean manuscript all on your own. Sure, a few minor errors will undoubtedly slip through, but all in all, you need to be your own best editor.

[mammamaia]

tw and cog both beat me to it!

while i do all that for shorter works and even take on a whole book on rare occasions [all for free], i have to repeat what's touched on above, that if you want to be a writer, you'll have to learn to and be willing to do what all writers do... which is edit their own work...

sure, the rich and famous bestselling authors have their own editors, but you can be sure they didn't pay anyone to do it for them when they were just starting out...

[bluebell80]

Self-Editing for Fiction Writers! The best book out there for learning how to edit your own work. I've read through that book a good 20 times now. Also pick up a pocket grammar/punctuation books, Mariam Webster is the one I use, but I also have some websites that I use as well for basic grammar fixes.

After you have written something it is probably best to leave it alone for at least a week before you start trying to edit. It's hard to edit something after you have been working on it for months or years and it is fresh in your mind. Spend a little time reading through some books aimed at writers for the purpose of editing and crafting of fiction. Then go back with fresh eyes on your manuscript and edit the crap out of it, yes I mean that in both senses of the context.

It's pointless to pay someone to edit your work for you. If you make it the best you can by yourself and then start trying to find an agent/publisher editing advice will be given by them for free if they think it is something worth investing time and money in.

You could plop down $1000 on an editing service, but all you'll get is cookie cutter editing jobs, basic grammar and spelling, you won't be getting much else. To me that's a waste of money.

[mammamaia]

besides which, regardless of how good/poor an editing job you paid for, the vast majority of first novels are never sold, so it'd be a total waste of money...

[Arch]

I know that some people will tell you that a writer can't find their own mistakes, but I disagree. I believe that if a writer takes their time, they can find all their errors. It takes patience.

Most people use editors, because they think that editors know more about grammar and I disagree. An editor doesn't know everything there is to know about grammar and just like a writer can overlook errors, so can an editor.

If you take five books that's on your bookshelf and sit down with them and compare them to the grammar rules, you will find errors in every last one of those books.

I could be wrong, but I honestly don't believe paid editors go through every sentence in a manuscript to make sure a grammar rule hasn't be broken.

Editors are looking for certain errors.

A grammar book covers so much information. A lot of stuff aren't being taught in school.

Grammar books and dictionaries come in handy, when you are writing. I think that all writers should own an old grammar book. One that's at least dated back to the 1940's, as well as own a few up to date grammar books. You'll be surprise what you'll learn from them.

[thirdwind]

Originally Posted by Arch

If you take five books that's on your bookshelf and sit down with them and compare them to the grammar rules, you will find errors in every last one of those books.

Most of those "errors" are done on purpose for effect. Not to say that an occasional error doesn't happen, but a grammatical error in a book doesn't mean that it's a typo or something that was overlooked. The author had some kind of intention and purpose in writing the way he/she did.

[Arch]

Originally Posted by thirdwind

Most of those "errors" are done on purpose for effect. Not to say that an occasional error doesn't happen, but a grammatical error in a book doesn't mean that it's a typo or something that was overlooked. The author had some kind of intention and purpose in writing the way he/she did.

A lot of readers are hard on authors, when they see errors or what they think is an error. I find that a lot of readers that are hard on authors, are people that don't even write.

[writewizard]

If you feel as though you must, I use craigslist for the majority of my writing needs. However, I'd be happy to glance over it for you if you wanted. Also, if you are really planning on spending $700 on it, unless you are needing someone to majorly edit the book, I would not. I don't know how much you're expecting from this book, but I would not expect much. Then again, I've never published before, so I can't say much.

Also, if you do use a website like craigslist, never pay up front. Ask for samples of the work and make sure you like their style before agreeing to pay anything.