Professional Editors

This is the last installment of a three part series on where to get editing help.

Professional editors are people who, umm . . . edit as their profession. These guys and gals are the experts. They can help take your novel to the next level. Professional editors know the business. They understand the market. With their help, your novel can become ready to be queried or to be self-published.

The downside: Finding the right professional editor can be difficult. There are a lot of professional editors out there, but you want one that will work best with you and your project. They should be familiar with your genre and be someone you are comfortable receiving feedback from. (For the upside of the downside, most editors allow you to send a piece of your story to see if they make a good fit and they have connections to others who might be able to help you). Another difficulty with professional editors, is since this is their job, they take money. The results are worth it, but having a critiqued book doesn’t necessarily put kibble in the kitty dish.

Tips for getting editing help from professional editors:

1.      Plan ahead. A really awesome editor will probably have a waiting list for their services. Don’t expect to send them an e-mail and see your manuscript edited within the next week. Sometimes, their waiting list can be as long as 6-8 months.

2.      Make sure your book is as ready as it can be. I’d advise using the other editing methods first so that your book is as polished as you can get it before seeking their help. Getting feedback on stuff that could have been caught and fixed by your critique group will do you no good whatsoever.

Critique Groups

Critique groups are a very simple and fun way to get feedback on your manuscript. They can be in-person groups where you meet face to face, or on-line groups where you send e-mails back-and-forth. For the most part, critique groups will be people that you’ve met (either on-line or in-person). They are people with whom you will probably exchange several chapters or even manuscripts over the years.

If you stick with one critique group for long enough, they become like a family. They see you and your novel at its worst. They know you. When your book is published and you are writing your page of thanks yous, these are the people that get all the inside jokes and secret codes. (For my group, there will be a mention of bananas and possibly chickens and an extra thanks for keeping me safe from the alien-ninjas.)

The downside to critique groups is that if it isn’t the right fit for you or your story, you’ll be miserable and your story will not be helped. It is tricky finding the right balance of people and the right meshing of personalities. Don’t be afraid to leave a group if it isn’t helping you.

Finding the right critique group is like finding the perfect pair of shoes—only better because shoes don’t help make your novel awesome and make you laugh.

The best advice for a critique group:

1.      Help the others in your group. In critiquing their works, you’ll learn how to make yours better—guarantee. And as a group, you’ll grow together.

2.      Get to know the others in your group. As you exchange stories, you’ll be able to understand their feedback as you get to know the people giving it. You’ll grow comfortable with their critiquing style and ways of phrasing things. Everyone is different and in order to get the most from your critiques, knowing the critiquer is important.
Tune in  on Friday for tips on using writing websites for an editing source.

Cat Editing

My cat helped me with my novel a few weeks ago. This was the line he fixed: Worry tightened inside him. What if it wa/////////////////////////       sdddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddy7uuuuuu776ts his house?

Can you imagine how horrendous that line was before he edited it?

In order to make your book the best it can possibly be, you’ll need someone to help. Not that you aren’t awesome and can’t improve it on your own, but sometimes editing requires an extra pair of eyes and an extra brain. (I never would have thought to use a t between the 6 and s—my cat is a genius).

Where can you get good feedback?

(Sorry guys, my cat isn’t starting an editing service anytime soon).

Help can be found in critique groups. Or in writing websites. Or professional editors. There are pros and cons to each area. I’ll dedicate a blog entry to each of them. I’ll talk about how to find them, what to look out for, and how to have the best experience.

So stay tuned for more.

Happy Writing