My structural editor I actually got by accident because she was a client of my wedding photography business and we agreed a quid pro quo on the first couple of books.. proof reading/spag edit I got the first one from reedsy, the second one I got via recommendation on a self publishers facebook group. On the first book i naively thought I didn't need a proofreader, but i really really did, and I wound up updating the manuscript to remove the many errors i'd missed in terms of where to look I'd strongly suggest recommendation from satisfied customers is key, and get a sample edit... most editors/proofreaders will insist on a sample anyway as part of their pricing
That's a good point about the samples. I did see a sample and had a conversation before we started working on anything. Because we knew some of the same people I was able to get reviews of sorts on what it was like to work with her. When we talked about pricing, she was way out of my price range even with a "friends" discount. I asked her to focus on certain things and than do as much as she could with what I could afford. I do think it was worth it. I don't know if anyone can answer this question. I've got a somewhat new but steady writing gig where I work with an editor who definitely knows his stuff. What do you think the chances are I could get him to edit my novel if I would be seeking out agents and other publishers with it? I'm so poor, but I would want to to fair and hopefully able to pay him something. But is this a bad thing to even ask. It's just that I am developing a relationship with him. He gets my writing and makes it better. I've mentioned this elsewhere on the forum that I'm writing for them on a trial basis. It's not really his call if they keep me or not. Would it be weird to ask him to edit a novel that I would be looking to publish elsewhere?
theres no harm in asking - but just as writing a short story is different from writing a novel so it is with editing so a short story editor may not want to edit a novel. The other thing is whether he'd feel like its a conflict of interest as he also works for your employer... i'd ask and see what he says
You’d be essentially asking for a personal favor here. I think that you would be risking the job and the relationship.
I think it depends on whether you've signed a contract saying you're not allowed to take private business to one of the staff. If he accepts you as a private client, he could be in breach of his contract with his publisher. Having said that, I've never been one to follow rules. So long as the guy doesn't mind and nobody finds out, personally I think why not. However, I feel like you're asking about whether it's ok to basically not pay him? Or maybe I'm misinterpreting entirely. I think as long as you're going to pay him his asking rate, it's fine. You could always test the waters by just letting him know you've got a novel going and see his response.
I would pay him. I'm not sure how much he would charge and if I could afford him. But the fact that he knows my work and I know his editing could be a good thing. I'm not sure what kind of contract he in under with the publisher, but this is a publisher who wants me to succeed. That's part of why I've been given a chance with this place. I'm not saying it would work and I'm not ready for any of that right now, but this discussion has got me thinking about that. I've known this publisher for some time, way before I started working with him so I wouldn't really have a problem asking him what he thinks and if it would be allowed. Right now I've got half a novel and no money. We'll see how the rest of my trial period goes before I involve my novel into any of this. Thanks for the help and responses. Didn't mean to hijack the thread. Sorry.