Is it worth it to pay an editing service to 'edit' my manuscript before submitting it to publishers/agents?
Is it worth what?
I Googled editing service and got 89,000,000 hits. If we assume there are a million decent editors in the world, you have a 1 in 89 shot at finding one of them.
If your book sucks, you don't need an editor. An editor won't turn crap into a great book. She'll probably improve it, but not to the point where it sells. You need to set it aside, come back to it, work on it some more.
If you have a really good story, and you can convince a publisher of this, they will buy your book and edit it at no cost to you. If you're lucky, they won't make it worse than it was to begin with.
If you have a really good story, and you can't convince a publisher of this, and you can find a good editor, it might help you get your foot in the door.
I'm thinking for starters you're better off finding a local or online critique partner or group, and getting their input. Figure out who knows what they're talking about, and ask them what's wrong with your writing. Maybe it's something you can fix yourself, once you know what it is. Have you sent your opening 150 - 200 words to Evil Editor's Openings? The Minions like nothing better than telling authors what they're doing wrong.
Why you don't get published.
9 comments:
OK, where did I put that soapbox? Ah, there it is.
Now, do you write fiction or non-fiction? If non-fiction and you have a fantastic platform and a great book idea that will sell no matter what, but you can barely string two words together much less butt two concepts together, then, yeah, the return on investment might be worth it to pay an editor to overhaul your book (or at least your proposal and first chapters). However, if you're not an expert or a celebrity, then likely it's money wasted.
If you mean for fiction, then I agree with EE. Find a free critique group and work out your plotting and character problems there. If it's grammar you don't have a handle on, it's gonna be cheaper for you to take a course yourself -- at some point you'll have to learn the basics at least if you mean to have a career writing.
If you insist on having your book professionally edited (and by this I mean content editing -- looking for plot holes, inconsistencies, ways to lean down the writing -- not just proofreading for grammar errors) because you think it will help you sell, be very clear on a couple of points:
1) What experience does the editor have editing fiction?
2) Has any of their work seen publication?
Understand that editors don't offer guarantees. They may do a great job, but the book still doesn't get an agent or publisher. Or they may do a crap job and you might not even realize just how bad the book still is because all you see is that it's grammatically correct.
And here's the kicker: the book may sell, but between the editor and the agent fees, you may not realize ANY money off of it. An inexperienced editor you can maybe afford. An experienced editor for an 80,000-word novel will ask for more than the book's advance (do your research on average market advances!). And remember, you get what you pay for.
I happen to be an editor. I've been a freelance editor in the past, and when I retire early from my current corporate job, may go back to freelancing part-time. I charge $60-75 per hour for content editing (and I'll copyedit/proofread as I go along). If you write decently, I can go through a page every 5 minutes on average, which means you'll be paying me $1250 for a short, 200-page book. If you really need an editor, make that a page every 10-15 minutes (I'm pretty thorough), and my fee jumps to $2500-3750. And if you don't sell, you still owe me payment.
Now, I can command that kind of money for non-fiction (at least from fat corporations). For fiction? First off, I'm too ethical to take anybody's money for editing fiction. That's a dis-service to the author when there's so much more artistry that goes into writing fiction, and there are PLENTY of self-help and critique groups out there to share the grief. I simply do not recommend anyone hire an editor for fiction.
Besides, my track record in fiction is pretty thin. I've had a few short stories pub'd, but I haven't been able to sell a novel. And that should warn you right there that simply because something is well-edited doesn't mean that it will sell. It's premise and voice and market timing that gets you pub'd. Don't fall into the trap of thinking, "If I just polished this manuscript a little more, it'll be a shoe-in." No, nope, nyet.
Save your money. Invest the time to learn the craft (you can't by-pass the learning curve by hiring an editor). Find a critique group. In fact, you'll learn so much critiquing others' work that you'll soon have the confidence and skills to do a great job self-editing. And that's the best return on investment available!
Good luck!
Just bear in mind that critique groups tend to have a normative effect.
I would like to second what pheonix said about the importance of critiquing the works of others. I was wary of joining a critique group because of the time it would take away from writing, but even after a couple of months of critiquing the works of others, I feel much more capable in editing my own work.
Never say never.
Going back to the original question, "Is it worth it to pay an editing service to 'edit' my manuscript before submitting it to publishers/agents?" no, it is not worth it to pay an "editing service" if that's what it calls itself.
It is sometimes worth it to pay an editor, a real person, with a name and phone number, to do some editing on your manuscript.
Anonymous editing is worthless (I'm not talking about anonymous comments on Evil Editor's blog, which can be valuable). You don't know anything about where the so-called service is outsourcing the actual editing. Editing is a dialogue between writer and editor, and you need insight into each other's thinking and personality.
In any case, if you are going to try to get published through a mainstream house, rather than publishing independently under your own imprint, then the very most you should pay an editor to do is a final once-over on your submission package. Yes, if you're less than confident of your punctuation skills, pay someone to polish those first three chapters and maybe give your query letter a once-over. But after that, spend your money on postage and printing for queries and let the publisher who eventually buys your book pay for the editing.
Phoenix- it feels so comforting when you're around.
Buffy- I agree with your comment on the normative effect of critique groups. The last thing I would want to do is to sound like everyone else - there are enough people who have that already, in my opinion.
The 'place' we're writing back and forth on now is a very good compromise position- that's why I'm here.
As for editors, I'd have to trust in the editor's talent, (and find out for myself that it existed), before I listened. I can call myself a surgeon because I'm great at filleting fish- but that doesn't make me great at appendectomies. At least on humans.
Again - one of the excellent reasons to be pay attention here.
There were two women, sisters, from my writers group who hired multiple "book doctors" at a cost of several thousand dollars each!
Probably spent around 10k total.
Eventually, their book was in good enough shape (translation: no longer a mess), and they got Donald Maass himself to take them one as clients - BUT - they were related to Donald's (now ex) wife, so my guess it was more marital obligation that made him represent these gals.
Bottom line: he could not sell their book.
Shannon, you sound like the perfect example of someone whom, with a little help, was able to develop what Hemingway called "the built in sh*t-detector" - the ability to self - edit. Sounds like you're on the right path.
Phoenix, That was a very informative post. I learned something new today. Thank you!
By the way- what phoenix said -"when there's so much more artistry that goes into writing fiction" and what Dick Margulis
said "Editing is a dialogue between writer and editor, and you need insight into each other's thinking and personality" seem to me to go together, and to be right on the mark.
Having the right editor, someone who 'gets' you and what you are working to accomplish, would be amazing - having the wrong editor would be somewhere along the badness grid from useless to counter-productive to sheer unadulterated hell. Not to mention, confusing.
I tried editors three times. They do offer a discount for the first time. So I sent 2000 words to see what would happen.
The first made matters worse.
The second did a great copyedit adn had good comments but cost too much money. I'm cheap.
The third wobbled in and out of business. The editor was always under a deadline and always behind. That's a bad sign.
My advice, save your money.
A faithful minion
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