How to find the best freelance book editor for you, and what it’s like working with one

Whether you’re pursuing traditional publishing or self-publishing, it’s crucial to enter the process with the best novel or proposal you can possibly write.

Here’s how to find the best book editor for you, and what to do once you’ve found one. In this post I’m going to cover:

• What is a book editor?
• The difference between editing and ghostwriting
• Do you need a book editor?
• When is the best time to work with a book editor?
• How to find a book editor
• How to respond to an editorial letter

What is a book editor?

The book editing landscape can be a bit confusing for beginning writers because there are several different types of editors out there.

Here’s how to tell them apart:

• Book editor at a traditional publishing house – Once you have a book deal, you’ll work with a book editor at a publishing house. The editor will manage your book throughout the publishing process, including editing your work. But before you find a literary agent or submit to publishers directly, this isn’t the editor you need to be looking for.

• Freelance book editor – This is someone you pay to work with you on your manuscript before you pursue traditional or self-publishing to improve the structure and content of your novel or book proposal. Freelance book editors’ credentials vary widely, but many of them are past publishing professionals who have gone freelance.

• Copyeditor – This is a magical grammar nerd who will help you spot typos and inconsistencies. You should definitely engage a copyeditor or proofreader before you self-publish, but if you are pursuing traditional publishing you do not need one. It’s totally fine to submit to literary agents and publishers with some typos in your manuscript (within reason).

There are many different ways of working with a freelance book editor, everything from general coaching and brainstorming to comprehensive book editing.

Book edits largely fall into two broad categories (terminology varies throughout the business).

• Manuscript critique – An editor will read the manuscript and write you a 3-7 page (or more) editorial letter with their thoughts on areas for improvement. This is a more high level edit and is useful if you want to gut check your book.

• Comprehensive edit – In addition to an editorial letter, a comprehensive edit will also include line edits and margin notes, so you’ll get feedback on both a macro and micro level. This is useful if you want a very thorough edit and/or to improve your craft.

Because they take significantly more time to complete, a comprehensive edit will cost more than a critique.

Once a freelance editor completes your edit, they will often hop on a call to discuss the feedback and answer your questions.

The difference between editing, ghostwriting, and book doctoring

Book editors will take what you’ve written and help you make it better, but they won’t write for you. So if, say, you’re looking for someone to take your ideas and completely rewrite scenes or flesh out a novel based on an outline, you’re not looking for an editor, you’re looking for a ghostwriter.

Ghostwriters write the book for you, in whole or part.

Terminology varies, but “book doctors” are a bit in between editors and ghostwriters. Depending on the state of the manuscript, a book doctor may get into the nitty gritty of rewriting some scenes, but the focus is typically still on helping writers make their book better rather than completely writing it for them.

Make sure you’re very clear on what you’re looking for and that you’re searching for someone with the right skillset and services.

For instance, I perform book edits, but I don’t ghostwrite or do book doctoring, as I’d rather help authors figure out how to get better on their own rather than fully fixing their books for them.

Do you need a book editor?

If you are pursuing either traditional publishing or self-publishing, it is absolutely crucial to get feedback on your work.

While some literary agents will work with authors on revisions prior to submission, your book must be as good as possible to even reach that stage. You can’t rely on an agent seeing the diamond in the rough. You need good feedback to revise your book to make it as good as possible before you submit.

This doesn’t necessarily have to be a paid editor.

Good feedback can come from many sources, whether that’s a friend, a fellow writer, or a critique group. Not only that, your beta readers can be a support system as you move through the process.

That said, there are some definite advantages to working with a paid editor.

These include:

• A paid editor is more likely to give your book a thorough read – When someone is reading your book for free, they may have a tendency to skim or not give you a full-fledged edit. Assuming you’ve chosen an editor well, you’ll get what you pay for.

• It’s helpful to have a pro’s view – Particularly if your editor has past publishing industry experience, they will be able to see things that can only come with that kind of experience. It’s extremely helpful to have a sense of how a literary agent or book editor will view your work.

• The feedback is more likely to be objective – No matter how well-intentioned your friends and family may be, their view will inevitably be shaded by the fact that they know you and may want to spare your feelings. A professional editor will have some helpful distance for more objective feedback.

Still on the fence? Here’s a complete post on what to consider when you’re contemplating paying for editing. But for me? I’ve paid for editing (or bartered for it) for every single one of my books.

When is the best time to work with an editor?

Although it’s tempting to seek feedback when you’re in the messy middle of writing a book or when you’ve just finished a hot mess of a first draft, those aren’t the optimal times to seek feedback.

The ideal time to work with an editor is when you have a fully polished draft or book proposal and have gotten as far as you can on your own.

Why? If you know there are issues with your book, an editor is going to spend half their energy telling you what you already know. If, however, you think you have a perfect draft, the editor will focus entirely on the things you can’t see, or else you would have fixed them already.

That’s far more helpful and where real growth comes from.

How to find a book editor

There are tons and tons of editors out there and many of them, frankly, don’t know what they’re doing. Here’s how to find a good book editor.

The most important thing to do as you’re searching should be obvious: do your research.

Check an editor’s credentials and vet them thoroughly. There are many wonderful freelance editors out there who have worked for major publishing houses/literary agencies and have a wealth of experience.

Here are some places I do and don’t recommend searching for editors:

• Reach out to me! – I’m a former literary agent and a published author, I’ve edited bestselling authors, and I really love helping writers improve their work. I’m happy to help edit your work or point you in the right direction. Don’t take my word for it: “Nathan Bransford is amazing to work with and provides incredibly detailed insights. I highly recommend reaching out to him if you’re serious about your work.” – Raadhika Madala

• New York Book Editors – This is a service run by a friend of mine that connects authors with editors who have a minimum level of previous publishing experience at major publishers and/or literary agencies. You will definitely find someone reputable, and they care about quality control.

• Reedsy – DO NOT RECOMMEND. This is a database of freelance professionals. I no longer recommend this site as I don’t believe their policies are in the best interests of authors as well as the freelance professionals on their platform.
  
• Independent Book Editors List – A Google Doc full of wonderful editors with previous traditional publishing experience.

• SCBWI – If you’re a children’s book author, the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators is a great organization to subscribe to, and they have a list of reputable freelance editors in their Essential Guide to Publishing for Children.

An important consideration as you’re searching is cost. As with everything in life, you will largely get what you pay for. Depending on the length of your manuscript, expect an edit for a full novel to cost at least $1,500. For very experienced and in-demand editors, fees can easily reach five figures on a comprehensive edit for a long novel, so be prepared.

Some editors offer free sample edits, but many (including me) do not. You’re welcome to ask, but just because someone doesn’t offer a sample edit doesn’t mean they’re disreputable.

Don’t spend any money you can’t afford to lose, because working with a paid editor is no guarantee by any means of finding publication, but also don’t just look for a bargain basement edit. Try to strike a balance between an editor’s cost and experience level that you are comfortable with.

How to work with an editor

Before you start working with a freelance book editor, here’s a checklist to make sure you’re ready:

• Get in touch with your goals – Do you plan to publish traditionally or self-publish? Are you hoping to gut check your novel or are you looking to improve your craft? Get in touch with what you want and need from an edit and make sure to communicate these to your editor.

• Make sure your manuscript is formatted properly – An editor is going to want to receive your manuscript in the industry standard format. Format your work properly (and while you’re at it, get in the habit of writing that way so you don’t have to spend hours re-formatting when you’re done).

• Self-edit as much as you can before the edit – You’ll get the most out of your edit if you have already self-edited to make your book as good as you can possibly make it before you engage with an editor. They will see things you never saw coming and will help you make your book even better.

• Be prepared to do the work – No matter how much you want your editor to shout, “Your book is PERFECT don’t change a THING!” this is a) not going to happen and b) not remotely helpful. You are going to have work to do after you work with an editor, and it may be extensive. That’s why you’re paying them. Mentally prepare.

Depending on the length of your project, expect an edit to take anywhere from a week to several months, and make sure the editor is clear on the timeline before you move forward.

Most reputable freelance editors also have contracts and payment structures, so be prepared to read through an agreement. These agreements typically give editors sufficient rights to engage with your work to perform the edit, but make sure you’re retaining all other rights.

How to utilize line edits, margin notes, and an editorial letter

Depending on the type of edit you sign up for, you may receive your manuscript back with margin notes and/or line edits, as well as an editorial letter that synthesizes the feedback. This means that you need to be conversant enough with Microsoft Word to engage with documents with tracked changes.

Line edits can be overwhelming to engage with because a full edit may result in thousands upon thousands of changes. How I recommend authors engage with line edits is to first create a “clean” version of the manuscript with all of the changes accepted, and just read it through a few times to see how it flows.

From there, you can go back and accept or reject individual changes, but keep the clean version of the manuscript handy for reference.

If you have a good freelance editor, the feedback you receive may not be the most pleasant to hear, but it will be useful.

Receiving feedback can be a bit overwhelming and it’s hard to know where to even start when you’re confronted with that multi-page editorial letter and those thousands of line edits.

Here’s an approach that can help:

• How to respond to a manuscript critique

Once you’ve incorporated all of the feedback from your edit, I’d highly recommend seeking another round of feedback and then incorporating those changes. That can either be another round with a paid editor if you can swing it financially, or a critique partner.

But before you move forward to query agents or toward self-publication, it’s crucial to gut check your work to make sure you’re really finished. It pays to be as polished as possible prior to seeking publication. Don’t count on an agent to polish your diamond in the rough.

So that’s how to find a book editor. Do you have any tips or tricks? Anything I missed? Take to the comments!

Need help with your book? I’m available for manuscript edits, query critiques, and coaching!

For my best advice, check out my online classes, my guide to writing a novel, and my guide to publishing a book.

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Art: The Parable of the Rich Fool by Rembrandt