I'm looking for an editor for my novel (140,000 words). I'm wondering if it's better if the potential editor is interested in, and sympathetic to, subject matter and style. If so, how do I go about finding the right one? Or doesn't it really matter?
I'm looking for an editor for my novel (140,000 words). I'm wondering if it's better if the potential editor is interested in, and sympathetic to, subject matter and style. If so, how do I go about finding the right one? Or doesn't it really matter?
While a professional editor should be able to manage any kind of written work in theory, if the work isn't to their taste, the tendency to nod off might get in the way of a good job!
140k is a long novel, and you really need someone who is interested enough to stick with it. That way you'll have a rapport with them, so if for instance you want to contest one of their decisions, you'll feel happy (and brave enough) to do so.
There are ads for editors in Writing Magazine and Writers Forum. W&A advertise editorial services too, up there in the red tabs.
You will have to pay an editor: it is hard slow work to trawl through someone's mss picking up all errors of grammar and spelling, while also keeping an eye on the plot and the characters to make sure they do what they are supposed to be doing. A degree of trust is therefore essential. I've read novels where the first page is a thank you to all and sundry, with special mention to 'my editor'; before I've got halfway through I've wanted to yell, 'Get a refund!'
Before you agree to let them loose on your work, discuss it with them. If your chosen editor likes bodice rippers and you've written science fiction, emphasis on the science, you may not be a match made in heaven. You'll enter into a contract (formal or otherwise, it's still a contract to provide a service) with your editor, so make sure that you understand each other.
Lorraine
I posted the above (below, by the time you read this) - not to waste my typing - shortly after realising that you might not have meant editor at a publishing house, but somebody to edit it for you BEFORE submission to an agent.
Much of the advice translates well, and I would certainly prefer someone "interested in, and sympathetic to, subject matter and style". Though perhaps not TOO enthusiastic, otherwise they might skip over typos or poor grammar because they're enthralled by the plot.
a) If you're an as-yet unpublished author, chances are that EDITORS aren't going to read anything you send them. MOST - not all - will only read mss sent to them by agents.
Your question then becomes "'Ow d'yer find the rite agent?"
b) To the left of the red banner above, there's an oblong marked "Advice". Click on it.
c) Either subscribe to the W&A Yearbook or research it at your local library. Short descriptions of agents (and publishers) are included in its listings. This is going to save you time and energy, and keep you from sending your novel to an agent who specialises in cookbooks.
d) Use the Yearbook to steer you towards agents who look interesting. GO TO THEIR websites and investigate them more in depth.
e) YES! Find one who is "interested in, and sympathetic to, subject matter and style". Don't waste your time (or theirs) sending a thriller to an agent only interested in romantic fiction.
f) Follow the INDIVIDUAL instructions of individual agents. Different strokes for different folks. Respect that or kiss your dreams of publication goodbye.
A lot of homework, but if you've already written 140,000 words, a little extra homework shouldn't scare you.