Hello all, i am in the process of writing my second book, while my first is being edited by a good friend. However, she isn't really interested in doing more than this one book for me. What I need is help finding someone that will edit my books from here on out, and wont charge me a lot, or any, money. I don't see spending upwards of $700 on getting a book edited, then not making any money on the book itself. I am not trying to be cheap or not pay someone for their service, just don't have a ton of money to give someone.
See if you can find someone who will do a "novel exchange" with you. You edit theirs and they edit yours. Should be same genre if possible, but not necessary. That works for an initial editing. But a professional editor can really be helpful. You should not be paying upwards of $700 though! I think the going rate (at least in this part of the states) is $1.50-$2 per page. Good luck!
You have to look at it from their perspective. It takes a ton of time to competently edit a book (heck it takes a lot of time to even read a book). You just aren't going to find anyone willing to give all that time for little money.
It will largely depend on what kind of editing you're looking for. If you just want a quick proofread to catch the most obvious errors (and if your work is reasonably low on errors to begin with) you can find amateurs who will do a reasonable job for a couple hundred dollars. That's about the only kind of edit I'd recommend accepting from someone on a you-do-my-book-I'll-do-yours basis. If you're looking for a deeper edit, one that includes suggestions for how to actually improve characters, structure, or even plot, I'd be VERY wary of a budget editor... if someone doesn't know what she's talking about she can actually make your book a lot worse, and charge you for the privilege. So if you aren't interested in finding a publisher to pay for all this, and don't have the money to pay a professional what she deserves, I'd stick to getting lots of beta readers and reviewing ALL of their opinions looking for consensus before making changes, and then paying an amateur with a good eye a couple hundred for proofreading.
$2 per page is what I paid, though the draft manuscript was huge. It was worth it. Plus many others on this site will do a pretty comprehensive edit for free, valuable especially if they have also written/published. Before paying for an editor, caveat emptor! Get an editor recommended by another writer, and get a written contract that specifies exactly what you are buying, what format you are to provide them, and when the task will be completed.
Nurturing a prodigy? I'd say one could position themselves in that rare spot twixt @Homer Potvin 's eunuch and leper ( I think they's who he mentioned) and take something other than money. In my field I'd offer my skills for free if I spotted a rarity—someone exceptionally high (but raw) with talent and low on funds. Yeah, I'd likely be happy with just with a sense of having done good if I played a hand in breaking out the next big name.
Yeah, no. I have a skill people will pay good money for and I'm not giving it away to some cheapskate. In any case if their manuscript was that good, they could get a publisher who would then pay for editing. Sorry, that sounds way grumpier than I meant it. I'm irritated (not at you) about how little some writers value editing.
I recall, being poor, had only my dreams, I spread 'em under tenderiser's feet; she trod heavily. :-( Sometimes cheapskatery is a forced condition; I'm thinking publishers can be too ready to dismiss stuff to slush piles on technicalities. I reckon many a classic's not seen daylight for it. If I say saw someone here with real promise and I had the ability + the time (< key thing), I'd give them a leg up. Well I'd like to think I would. Not seeing it being too different to workshopping.
You're clearly a much more generous person than me. I do an awful lot of beta'ing for free but it's not a professional service and I would never charge for it. In fact, an author once tried to pay me and I returned the money. When you're paying someone the dynamic is different, expectations are different, and I think it's very different to a standard beta read.
I totally understand. My field is also one wherein there is a muddy area at the shoreline. "So you speak more than one language. So does every kid in Miami. How does that make you a professional anything?" Yeah, take your bilingual nephew to federal court and sit him down to interpret a murder case. See what happens.
Yep! "Why should I pay? I can get my Spanish friend to translate it for free!" Okay, you go ahead. Let's see how that works out for you.
Just because you don't see spending the money doesn't mean a good editor (and you only want a good one) isn't worth it. You said you would like to pay someone not a lot "or any money." Well, that is being cheap and not paying someone for their services. If the investment isn't worth it to you, then it's not worth it. But that doesn't mean people are going to do it for free.
I think that it's not unusual for people to mistakenly expect a service provider to base the price of their service on the payoff for the customer, rather than the market rate. I used to read a discussion forum for people who did tailoring and mending, and from the stories it wasn't unusual for someone to bring in a garage sale find to be altered, and to complain indignantly when the alteration cost was several multiples of the (garage-sale-priced) cost of the item. They thought that they'd gotten a $200 skirt for $5; the fact that they could have a custom-fit $200 skirt for $45 didn't console them for losing the original bargain. Self publishing earns very, very little. But that won't mean that editors will charge very, very little.
I agree - I hold someone I'm paying to a much, much higher standard than someone who's doing me a favor.
Extremely elseforum I've been reading the drama of a house contractor who did work for relatives for just his out-of-pocket cost for materials. Apparently the exchange of any money at all blurred that situation to the point that he was facing demands on schedule and reworks that would be a bit excessive even for someone paying premium prices. So I guess I'm saying that "free" or "full-gouge price" are the best two alternatives. Not all that relevant to the thread. I just have random thoughts.
Yes it is, when you are just starting out and dont have that kind of money. I dont expect to make a killing on any of my writing, so i am looking for someone that would be willing to do it for cheap. If i make a book deal with an agent or a publishing firm (both are highly unlikely), then it wont be an issue. Until then, i need it to be cheaper than that.
I think I must be missing what's meant by editing. Isn't this something we do ourselves? If you're talking about someone who will advise on what needs removing/adding, I thought that came at a stage when you had an agent and/or publisher for your book? You say yourself you can't guarantee the book will make any money, so why fork out cash getting someone to do a job you can do yourself?
There is an industry for editing writing. Look at it this way- if I write a novel, many informed people read it and say a major publisher will pick it up, I have a much better chance of selling it if I find an editor and shell out the money to have it edited by someone that does it for a living. They usually went to school for it and have degrees and stuff. But really it mostly comes down to what you want to present to the world.
There are programs that do the copy editing quite thoroughly. Not only that, but they teach you in the process. Here is a website critiquing six of them, some of which are free https://thewritelife.com/automatic-editing-tools/
I understand this, but I just thought it was something you got done after your book had been picked up.
