can anyone hook me up with a great book editor?

Answer 1

Hi there. I am an editor, proofreader and ghostwriter by trade. I'm also a published author. And I spent ten years as a consultant to America Online judging writing contests for their Writers Club. So, I guess I'm qualified to answer your question.

"Hooking up" with a good editor costs money, but I can tell you from experience, it's WORTH it, provided you find an editor who is qualified. That's not always easy. Some editors try to rewrite your work and put their personal 'touch' to the material. That's just flat wrong, in my opinion. An editor should never change another writer's voice. Proofread, find errors, make suggestions and insure that the material is structurally and grammatically sound--that's what you want your editor to do. And do it quickly, too.

As to cost, that depends a LOT on the condition and format of your material. For example, I no longer work with printed material. It's too cumbersome and time consuming. I ask for a Word 2000 file or a pdf file from my clients. Why? Because Word has a terrific "track changes" function that allows you to see every letter or word that I correct in your original material without cluttering up the final version with a bunch of red marks. Turn on TC and you see the fixes. Turn off TC and you have a submission ready manuscript.

Pricing varies with the quality of the work you submit. If it's sound structurally and your grammar is good, a simple edit can be as little as $2 per page (250 words is a standard manuscript page). If your book is a 100 pages, that's $200 for a basic edit. Advanced editing can run up to $5 per page or more, again, depending on the quality of the work. Advanced edits include detailed notes, suggestions on how the story might be enhanced, weekly email discussions and my personal effort to help you find a publisher when you're ready to start the submission process. Trust me, I earn every penny of that.

I hope this helps put things in perspective. Editing DOES matter. A friend at the library will NOT give you quality, professional editing, nor will a retired school teacher unless they are IN the book business. And you cannot depend solely on a spell checker. Those will not catch misuses of your and you're, it's and its or effect and affect.

If you'd like to discuss this further, email me at [e-mail]. I'll be happy to supply the names of satisfied clients for your reference. Good luck, whatever you decide.

Jon F. Baxley (Author, Editor, Ghostwriter and Proofreader)

THE SCYTHIAN STONE (eBook only)
THE BLACKGLOOM BOUNTY (eBook and hard cover)
THE REGENTS OF RHUM (coming fall '07)

(For a FREE copy of The Scythian Stone or a full color, four chapter illustrated demo of The Blackgloom Bounty, email me at [e-mail]).

My author blog: http://the-blackgloom-bounty.blogspot.com/

Answer 2

Is it in your best interests to use an editor (besides yourself, I mean)? The option I used because I didn't want my book to be what someone else thought it should say was self-publishing. AuthorHouse, the largest self-publisher in the world, offers a variety of editing, publication, and promotional services that are well worth the investment of time and money you're no doubt putting in yourself. And the book doesn't go to print until you decide to!

Answer 3

Book editor? Yes! Download Adobe InDesign from adobe.com. You can get a free 30-day trial. This is the software professionals use when publishing.

Answer 4

I doubt that people with the ability to "hook [you] up" with a great book editor are hanging out on Yahoo! Answers. I believe that the "who's who" of the publishing business are on myspace.com and youtube.com mostly.

Answer 5

What sort of editing do you need done?

-j.

Answer 6

me if you are a girl

Answer 7

http://www.mediamagic.com.au/index.html

You'll never go wrong with this one.