 During the past dozen years, I have started doing more freelance editing for query letters and books/novels. And during that time, I’ve definitely started to notice some tips that I think would help writers who are seeking to get their work edited by a professional. With that in mind, here are 6 pieces of advice for hiring a freelance editor as well as the answers to 4 frequently asked questions on the topic.
6 PIECES OF ADVICE 1. Get a test edit. Hiring a freelance book doctor costs money, and you don’t want to plunk down a large chunk of change before you’ve seen the kind of services an editor will provide. So ask for a test edit. A test edit basically means you pass along a few pages and get them reviewed to see what kind of notes and ideas the editor is making in terms of proofreading and content work. Test edits usually work one of two ways: 1) You pass on 1-2 pages and the editor reviews them for free; or 2) you pass on a more substantial number of pages (10-50) and simply pay the editor as normal for those pages. If you like what you see from the test edit, then you can move forward on a bigger deal. |