There’s been a lot of discussion on various industry blogs and email loops about hiring “freelance editors” to review manuscritps before submitting them. I’ve always come down on the side of NOT hiring freelance editors, sometimes getting in huge debates with people who tell me that it’s the only way to get your manuscript looked at, and that I must be one of the “lucky few” who actually has an editor willing to edit my manuscript, and that I’m being naive to believe that this isn’t the way the industry works. Apparently, I’m blind, and everyone who gets a book published has it “professionally edited” before sending it out. (Actually, I’ve heard from more than one agent that the term “professionally edited” on a query letter is a big red flag reading “amateur.”)
Let me say this first, that I have nothing against people who run freelance editing companies, or having “critique services” or whatnot. I know a few of these people and I’m sure they give out fine advice, advice that may be very helpful, advice that I’m sure I would approve of if I were to hear about it.
Let’s leave those respectable, “good” critique services out for a moment and focus on the others. The crap services. The scams. The ones that have been written about time and time again as being wretched money pits willing to take authors for everything they are worth and return light proofreading or worse, ruin the book. Stories I’ve heard about nightmare editing scenarios usually contain one or more of the following elements:
1) Writer was charged enormous amount.
2) Writer received only basic grammar assistance in lieu of any substantive editing.
3) Writer received BAD grammar advice that made writer question editor’s knowledge of English language.
4) Writer received completely “written over” manuscript, such as final product was unrecognizable, and written to editor’s preferences rather than what writer was trying to say.
5) Writer made changes according to editorial suggestions, and got no further with submission process than had before.
Obviously, these are bad bad things. Run away from all scam artists. If you are even THINKING of hiring a book doctor, go here and read it, learn it, love it, before you make step one in the direction of paying anyone any money. I don’t advocate the use of these services at all, and only reluctantly suggest using the good ones in a last-resort situation.
With a “good” editing/critiquing service, you are likely to avoid a few of the above-mentioned problems, especially the one wherein the writer is getting bad grammar advice, etc., but nothing is going to help you with number 5. The best book doctor in the world can’t give you the “magic fix” for you manuscript, no matter how much you pay them.
I’m a tightwad, and so, when I spend money, I want results. Everyone who I’ve hired to do something for me in my writing career, I’ve hired because they can provide a service that either I can’t do myself or I can’t get for free or through trade. Furthermore, I don’t pay them until I’ve got a result. When I hired an agent, she didn’t get paid until she made me money. When I hired a web designer, he won’t get paid until we’re done with a website (which is looking so good, btw, y’all. I can’t wait until you see it!).
I can’t see a book doctor doing that. I could pay them for a critique, sure, but it’s not necessarily going to be something I could use. And I don’t like the idea of spending money on something I can’t use. For instance, if my agent procures for me a publishing offer, and I decide that it’s a bad contract and I don’t want to take it, the agent does not get paid. This is not the case with a freelance editor. You see how messy this can be?
Yes, indeed, a freelance editor is a pair of “fresh eyes” on my manuscript, but then again, so are my critique partners. So is Sailor Boy. So is my agent. So is the editor I sell the manuscript to. And if I choose not to listen to my CP’s suggestions, then I’m not out cash.
“But,” I hear you say, “I don’t have an editor or agent (or the ones I do don’t critique my manuscript). My partner isn’t interested in reading my books or just says, “Great, honey,” to everything I show him/her. And I can’t get good critique partners. All the good ones are paired up. I don’t have an option! I HAVE to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars to a freelance editor to get my stuff in shape.”
Do you? Do you really? I know plenty of published authors, and I don’t know a single one who has ever used a book doctor. If this is the industry standard, then I must be waaaaay out of the loop. Authors I know use first readers/beta readers/critique partners/etc. to help them hone their manuscripts.
And lest we forget, the opinion of a critique partner, or a lover, or a neighbor who is a librarian, or a freelance, editor, or even an agent, is not the be all or end-all of opinions. To paraphrase J. Steven York:
Ultimately the only opinions about a manuscript that count are yours and the person who can actually buy the manuscript. Your mother cannot buy the manuscript. Your workshop cannot buy the manuscript. Your agent cannot buy the manuscript.None of which means you can’t listen to these other people, but the responsibility to apply (or not apply) their opinions is ultimately yours.
Let me add that your freelance editor, no matter how much you pay them, cannot buy your manuscript. Which means that their opinion, learned and studied and experienced and intelligent and well-reasoned as it may be, might mean crap to the aquiring editor at the publishing house. And you’re still out the money.
And my final argument against using freelance editors, even good ones, is this: are you willing to make this a habit? You people, who think that aquiring editors don’t vet manuscripts… do you realize that by hiring a freelance editor instead of creating and maintaining a network of trusted CPs and beta-readers, you are condemning yourself to a lifetime of nickel-and-dime bills every time you have a story. If you’re a genre writer, and you’re writing a few books a year, do you really want to operate in that manner? It’s April now, and so far this year, I’ve critiqued more than 1500 pages of work from my critique partners. They’ve critiqued several hundred of my pages. We’ve also had beaucoup brainstorming sessions (I don’t know what hte going rate is for that) and lots of repeat business. Are you going to pay for each of those, every time, forever?
The argument I hear in response to this is often, “No, once they teach me how to do it/once I sell, I won’t have to go to them again.” This person believes one or more of the following:
1) Writing is like a light switch. Once it’s turned on, you can do it. all it takes is being shown what to do once.
2) Their work was unacceptable before paying to have it edited, but magically acceptable after paying to have it edited, and once they sell, they will magically be able to turn out saleable work without having it edited anymore. Their publisher either won’t notice the difference, or won’t care. After all, once you sell, everything is perfect!
Oh, if it were only true!
So for these reasons, I do not advocate hiring freelance editors, though I’m sure and positive there are many good ones out there. I’m also sure that this post will generate much discussion and testimonial from people who have used these editing services to wonderful results, or from people who run these editing services, and so on and so forth. Which is fine. More power to you guys.
However, I retain my opinion on this matter. Don’t spend money on an editing service. Keep looking for a good critique partner. And then, if you really really really in an emergency situation need a professional editor, look for another critique partner. And then, if you really really really in an emergency one-time situation need a professional editor and another critique partner won’t do, be very very careful whom you choose.
And don’t believe anyone who says that “this is how it’s done.”
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