"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe!" Making the right choice!

??I hope I was able to catch your attention successfully!??

I decided to share a couple of thoughts concerning choosing an editor.??

When you have decided to pick an editor to review your work, the next step to take is choosing the right editor. Not all editors are created equal. Editing is a mixture of knowledge, skill, and intuition. Your work is very personal and you want to find an editorial partner who values not only your project, but your individual and style as well. This means that you need to choose the right editor. Now, how do you choose an editor?

There are many places to find editors- search engines, publishing directories, referrals from other writers, blog posts, etc. However you do it, make a list of editors and editorial companies along with their contact information, then visit each editor’s and company’s website.

Look out for their contact information and either put a call through to them or visit their office to get answers to the following questions and take notes:

1. What services do they offer and what are their rates?
2. What are the payment plans available?
3. What is the estimated time for services rendered?
4. What experiences have they garnered over the years?
5. What other projects have they worked on?
6. What are other clients saying about them?

Do your best to gather as much information as you can from them, then go back to your list and compare your options.

What did you learn from your research? Are some of the companies on your list just absolutely out of your price range or don’t offer services you need? Do any of the editors seem to have inadequate experience?

You can also request for a sample edit. When finding an editor that will suit you, you are entrusting your work, your creative prowess, to another person, you want to be confident about your choice before you move ahead. One great way to do that is to get a sample edit. Most editors will offer a free sample edit or consultation on a few paragraphs. Take advantage of this opportunity, and it is free. The more samples you get, the more empowered you will be to choose the right person for the job.

Also, evaluate the quality of each sample you have gathered. Check if the editor did a thorough job marking errors in punctuation, grammar, syntax and word choice. Were there edits addressing issues of style and formatting, that is, titles, margins, spacing, hyphens, numerals versus spelled-out numbers, treatment of dates or times, etc.? A skillful editor must have mastery of the style guide, so make sure they have given proper attention to those elements in your manuscript.

Find out how the editor’s tone was. Did his or her comments seem constructive or condescending? Did the editor respect your personal voice and style? If there were extensive changes made, do you still feel they represent your original work? The two main things you want to discern from a sample edit are quality and compatibility. You want a skillful editor who takes your manuscript and your creative prowess seriously. But you also want someone you can have a partnership with.

You must have learnt something while evaluating the sample edits. There are bound to be similarities and differences when you compare the final product from several professionals. Did you find an editor from your list who gave you what you wanted, who respected your unique voice, who was enthusiastic about your work and seems like they make a collaborative partner for your project? If so, choose that editor!

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