HOW DO YOU CHOOSE AN EDITOR?

Which one? Which one? Which one?

I know of old that a good editor can make your book so much  better than you can imagine.  The problem is that when you read your own work you see what was in your head and it all makes perfect sense.   A good editor sees what’s actually on the page but they can also see your intent.   They can see how moving that paragraph , expanding that description,  deleting that unnecessary information will best serve your work.

So off I went to that great sage Dr. Google to ask his advice.   Holy Guacamole, there were editors falling out of the woodwork.  I refined my search to editors recommended by the Alliance of Independant Authors (And by the way, if you’re an independant writer JOIN NOW http://allianceindependentauthors.org/). 

I contacted them all.   They replied almost instantly.   I asked for quotations.   Copy editing the nitty-gritty of punctuation, format etc. is the  expensive part.  Well I can’t blame them, there’s nothing I’d hate more to do.   The final cost depends on how long your manuscript is and how much work needs to be done. 

I went back to Prof. Google again to check them out.   They all seemed brilliant. Sooo… decisions decisions…eeeeeeeeeeeeeekkkkk!     I made my final decision based on gut feeling, availability and the fact that we can meet face to face.    

I know, I know.   The internet is a wonderful thing and it makes it possible to work  with anyone from anywhere but…. when it comes to my pet novel, my honeybun, my darling…  I want to be able to look my editor in the eye when she makes suggestions and I ask her questions.  

We’ll see how it goes.