Hiring a professional editor for my third novel

After finishing the initial revisions on my third novel I gave it to a beta-reader for feedback. It was very helpful and fixed some of the problems with one of the character's story arcs. It also bumped the total word count to over 104k, which puts it in line with my previous two books. Reading through it once more, I finally decided to do what so many other writers are choosing, which is to hire an editor. Why do it now on my third book when I didn't for the previous two? I think the big reason is that I am starting to take novel writing a bit more seriously and want to get better at it. I can certainly read craft books (and I have) or sign-up for workshops or master classes, but I like the immediacy of working with an editor because I already have a product (the first drafts of a manuscript) to work with. For me, drafting is the hard work, but I like the revision process because it is (usually) a refinement of what already exists. Beta-readers have been very helpful to me, but they aren't professionals who think about story structure, character arcs, or world building like an editor. To become a better story teller I need someone who thinks about those elements deeply and knows what mechanistically works and what doesn't. Also, I think the professional (and transactional) relationship between a writer and hired editor provides some space where the tough critiques can happen without too much emotional stress.

After reading several blog posts on how to find and work with an editor from the usual sources you can find for SFF writers, I finally dug into the database provided by the Editorial Freelancers Association. They have a very nice search page and I was able to find around 100 potential editors that specialized in SFF. A couple of evenings researching them (websites, education, etc.) I narrowed it down to four that I thought be be the best fit and emailed them. All of them asked for information about my project that included, genre, sub-genre, word count, and requested turn-around time. After that, one editor turned me down, saying I wasn't a good fit for them, while a second said that they couldn't work with my timeline. The two others suggested that I have a discovery call to learn more about the project. These calls were on Zoom and ranged form 30min to 1 hr. I found them very helpful to get a sense of their experience, area of specialization, and previous projects. After considering what I wanted and what each editor could provide, I made my choice. After that it was an series of email exchanges to talk about contract terms (I wanted an extra clause added to ensure that no AI would be used in the editing process) and payment schedules. I signed the revised contract and made the down payment last week. The editor then sent me a detailed questionnaire about the project, specifically aspects of world building and character motivations. This was actually really fun for me to complete because it made me think more deeply about aspects of the stories that just "felt right" to me, but I had not justified them more than a gut check. I was pleasantly surprised to find that I explain internal and external character arcs without too much trouble, and most of my world building appeared internally consistent and logical. After completing the questionnaire, I returned it and sent my complete novel manuscript to the editor. Now the long wait (5 weeks) to get feedback. If I have a positive experience working with this editor, I'll share more details in a future update.

While novel writing has wound down, I have ramped up my marketing and promotion work, and I am happy to share that I will be recording an interview with TBR Trio in early August. What is unique about this author interview is that it will be in person at a local bookstore and not a recorded Zoom call. In next month's update I will have all the details about this experience.

I'm still taking a writing break for the time being and enjoying some of the books I bought but haven't read yet. I just started Lies of Locke Lamora. I've been told it's amazing, so I have high hopes.

Thanks for stopping by.