Why Should I Work With A Freelance Fiction Editor? Fiction Writers, why work with a freelance editor for your novel? It depends on what your needs are. The decision to hire an editor is a very personal one. In this article, we’ll look at the following considerations: What level of writing should I be at in order to get the most out of professional editing services? The Benefits and Drawbacks to a Critique Group What a freelance editor can do for a published novelist or pre-published fiction writer (and what they can’t) Why a freelancer editor may NOT be right for you It seems that I run into two main mindsets when it comes to discussions about editing. Some people are so desperate to be published that they run around from conference to conference, are active in about sixteen different critique groups, and forty different online writers discussion groups. They have an entire library full of writing books, and they agonize at least twenty times a day about the contradicting advice given. If someone they considered important were to suggest a freelance editor to them, they wouldn’t sleep until they found an editor. They are Desperate. Others respond to talk about getting an editor with a “ho-hum” roll of the eyes and a slight curl to their lip. “Editors,” they opine, “are a waste of time and money. If you really MUST get feedback on your work, join a critique group. At least there, the bad advice you get will be free.” They are Cynical. Neither of these extremes is healthy. The Desperate-To-Be-Published Writer needs to take a chill pill and calm down and think things through. The Cynic might need to consider that we ALL need feedback on our work, and that sometimes a professional eye is just the extra push someone needs to reach their artistic goals. If you are trying to make the decision about hiring a freelance fiction editor, here are some things you’ll need to consider: Level of Writing Frankly, if you are a beginning writer and still struggling with the craft of writing fiction, professional editing can be an overly expensive way to learn. The best time to look at a professional fiction editor for your novel is when you know the basics. But if you have the money and would prefer to work with an editor on your beginning manuscript, I would highly recommend my friend, Camy Tang, who is also a published author and does manuscript and proposal critiques. Her service, The Story Sensei, caters to writers still learning the basics of the craft of fiction writing. Beginning fiction writers may also want to consider the FFS Writing Coaching service. This will help you target craft areas to work on using a fun, conversational, low-pressure approach. For example, do you understand the following: plot structure elements like pacing, conflicts, tension, climax, and resolution? Do you know how to identify which point of view you are writing from? Do you know the difference between a dialogue tag and a beat? In characterization, can you explain what a “goal,” “motivation,” or “conflict” is? Do you know what back story and flashbacks are? If these are unfamiliar terms to you, then you need to get yourself some good books on how to write fiction, and you need to learn the craft of fiction writing. You don’t need an editor yet. There are some good resources about the craft of fiction writing in the Resource section. If these concepts are still relatively new to you and you are still experimenting with how to use them, then you should probably hold off on getting an editor and instead work with a critique group or attend some writers’ workshops and conferences. However, if you have completed a novel or two, or are well on your way toward completing one, and you are starting to feel like you’ve outgrown your critique group, or you’ve started getting some positive attention from editors and agents, then it might be time to consider bringing in a professional. Critique Groups Vs. Professional Editing Critique groups can be a valuable way to get practical experience not only in your own writing, but also in your editing skills and in how to graciously receive criticism and feedback on your work. I am a strong advocate for critique groups because I have benefited so much from them. In fact, I still belong to a critique group (of which I participate far less frequently than I’d wish). Without my critique group experiences, I would not be the writer or editor I am today. Critiquing other people’s work strengthens your own skills even more than receiving the feedback does. And critique groups can become valuable support groups as you go along your writing journey. However, there are some drawbacks to critique groups. Time Commitment: There’s this little thing called Etiquette that demands that if your group critiques your work, you need to reciprocate with some critiquing of your own. It’s hard to keep up with it on a regular basis. Low Quality Feedback: The feedback you get may or may not be good advice. Ideally, critique groups would be comprised of both published and non-published writers, experienced authors and newbies, who all are interested in and knowledgeable about the genres of manuscripts being critiqued. If you happen to be a member of that sort of critique nirvana, I hope you know how very fortunate you are. Inexperienced Critiquers: Most critique groups are made up of newer writers or moderately experienced unpublished writers. (The reason is that once you get published, suddenly you have deadlines, marketing, and a whole host of other responsibilities that make it difficult to find time to brush your teeth, much less keep up with a critique group.) The lack of experience means that a lot of times your feedback will consist of little rules that the other group members have gleaned from their writers groups or books and applied over-zealously without really understanding the concept behind it. The problem with this is that no one in the group is able to develop a greater skill in their craft or even break into the realm of art because their writing is confined within these “rules” that they don’t really even understand. Sometimes, the feedback might be just plain wrong. Or you might get four critiques with four different viewpoints. It can be confusing and frustrating. -- continued Outgrowing the Group: It’s not being prideful to say that you’ve grown in your craft to the point where the group is either unable to provide feedback (thus the “Oh, it’s terrific! You always write so well!” sort of comments) or the feedback is very superficial and doesn’t get at the deeper issues you know you need to address in order to improve. Of course, if there are still a lot of feedback you consider superficial, it may point to some areas in which you still need to improve. But overall, you may be ready to move on. Can’t critique full manuscript: Critique groups are also usually unable to provide in-depth feedback on your entire manuscript. If they attempt it, it may take months to work through an average fiction manuscript. They also may lack interest in your particular genre or not understand the market for which you are writing. On the other hand, a professional fiction editor does have the ability to work on an entire manuscript. Freelance editors may be able to give feedback based on more industry experience as well as more highly developed writing skills. They are truthful, without being nasty, and will take the time to give you the feedback on the deeper level that you need in order to truly improve your writing. This higher level of personal attention and professional expertise usually far outweighs the drawback of the cost involved. What a Fiction Editor Can Do (and What We Can’t) Can Do A good fiction editor can take a manuscript that has potential and help it reach that potential. This may include different types of editing and can often take as much as forty hours of work for a detailed, substantive edit of an average manuscript. At the Fiction Fix-It Shop, I tend to work much more quickly than that, but I’m the exception and not the rule. When you get your manuscript back from a freelance editor, you can expect a lot of comments and feedback, some suggestions for changes, and maybe even a few simple corrections to grammar or punctuation. It will be your job to go through and apply this feedback in the way that you feel is best for your writing. That’s why you need to already be at least somewhat experienced before you hire a professional editor. If you don’t understand the feedback you are given, then it really will be a waste of time and money. For published authors, a freelance editor can provide an additional level of refinement to your manuscript. Some freelance editors will claim that “publishers are so busy now that you can’t expect your in-house editor to provide the quality of editing that your book needs to really stand out.” That is, in many cases, a bunch of nonsense. The in-house editors I’ve had have been fantastic to work with, and I’ve become a better writer because of them. But there have been many times as I’m writing my first draft that I wish I had someone to give me feedback and advice without waiting until my in-house editor gets the finished work. That’s where a freelance editor comes in. As a freelance fiction editor, I can look at your manuscript before you send it to your editor, and help you catch problems early on. That means less rewriting for you to do when your revision letter comes back with a deadline of only a few weeks! No Can Do Most freelance editors, especially fiction editors, can not rewrite your manuscript for you. For that, you need to hire a ghost writer. Or better yet, learn how to write for yourself. We can’t guarantee your manuscript will be published, or that your in-house editor will love your work. We can’t help you find a publisher or literary agent or “put in a good word for you” with our own publisher or agent. We can’t work miracles. I will give you as much feedback as I can on what improvements need to be made, but if the manuscript is badly broken to begin with, I don’t have any magical cures. And the finished product will only be as good as your implementations of my suggestions. You should NOT hire a freelance editor if… You are a beginning writer You are content with and challenged by your current critique group You do not want to hear the truth about your work You are prone to arguing with or getting angry at people who give you feedback on your work You want someone to teach you how to write fiction You want someone to write your novel for you You don’t have a novel written You don’t want to, or can’t, put forth the financial commitment You are only looking into it because someone said you “have” to in order to get published You have a friend who is an editor and will help you for free (don’t we all wish!) For writers who decide a freelance fiction editor is not right for them, there are lots of other options. Conferences, writers’ groups, online discussion groups, critiques groups, and books are all extremely important ways to improve your writing craft. A freelance fiction editor is just one tool in your toolbox—but it’s an awfully useful tool to have around.