seeking an editor on school grounds?

Louis Spector

Louis Spector

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Been thinking of getting an editor but because money is tight, was wondering if it’s a good idea to seek one out at a university. I’m thinking, they need to get there feet wet and I need an editor, sounds like a good idea. Am I wrong in thinking that.
 
cornflake

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Louis Spector said:
Been thinking of getting an editor but because money is tight, was wondering if it’s a good idea to seek one out at a university. I’m thinking, they need to get there feet wet and I need an editor, sounds like a good idea. Am I wrong in thinking that.
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I don't understand exactly what you mean.

Who needs to get their feet wet? There's no degree in editing I know of; it's a skill one hones over a period of time, with specific guidance and on-the-job training. You're not even specifying what type of editing you're talking about.
 
Louis Spector

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cornflake said:
I don't understand exactly what you mean.

Who needs to get their feet wet? There's no degree in editing I know of; it's a skill one hones over a period of time, with specific guidance and on-the-job training. You're not even specifying what type of editing you're talking about.
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In general, I was wondering if it’s a good idea to hire an editor new to the field. Someone fresh out of school who just wants there first project. Maybe what I’m looking for doesn’t exist, at lest that’s what I’m gathering from you but I assumed there would be students in school learning to write and edit and maybe, perhaps, would like a job. I’m just thinking that in the early stage of being an editor, it’s better to get your name out there then it is about the money. Oh, and the kind of editor I would be looking for would be one to go over spelling, grammar and to let me know my book is interesting enough and makes since. Because of a learning disability I have, I can’t spell common words and often use the wrong words. I just need to hire someone to make sure I spell words like "harmony" instead of "hormone" or "gentle" instead of "genital" and trust me, I’ve done that a few times. So, am I going about this all wrong.
 
cornflake

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Louis Spector said:
In general, I was wondering if it’s a good idea to hire an editor new to the field. Someone fresh out of school who just wants there first project. Maybe what I’m looking for doesn’t exist, at lest that’s what I’m gathering from you but I assumed there would be students in school learning to write and edit and maybe, perhaps, would like a job. I’m just thinking that in the early stage of being an editor, it’s better to get your name out there then it is about the money. Oh, and the kind of editor I would be looking for would be one to go over spelling, grammar and to let me know my book is interesting enough and makes since. Because of a learning disability I have, I can’t spell common words and often use the wrong words. I just need to hire someone to make sure I spell words like "harmony" instead of "hormone" or "gentle" instead of "genital" and trust me, I’ve done that a few times. So, am I going about this all wrong.
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People don't really go to college to learn to freelance edit, which seems to be what you're saying. Also, the idea that someone even if they did, could 'get their name out there' by editing a ms by an unknown writer that may or may not be published at some unknown time in the future on some unknown platform seems sort of odd.

Given this is a particular issue you have you may be able to find a beta reader willing to look for word choices when reading but there are different kinds of editors who do different jobs and they're not the kind of jobs one trains for in college.
 
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Editors get paid what they do because what they do is not easy. I understand what you're saying, you would like to save some money and give someone experience at the same time, right?

Unfortunately unless you have a willing beta reader who is also a writer that's not going to happen. Teachers may be wonderful at the mechanics but unless they're ensconced in the industry they probably don't know how to edit for an agent.

My advice would be to edit it yourself, find a willing beta who might have a go, edit it again and then again. But if you aren't confident in your ability and still want a professional to edit it, you would need to hire one who has learned over years how to do it.
 
Susan Coffin

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Louis,

I also understand where you are coming from, but you might need to hire and editor to help you learn how to edit. As for your learning disability and using the wrong words and spelling incorrectly, you probably just need to have some helpful sources close by when you write and take the extra time to look up word usage. There is not a thing wrong with that.

Here's one I love: http://public.wsu.edu/~brians/errors/errors.html. This is an awesome website.

Also, if you keep some grammar books close by they will help. I actually have some excellent grammar manuals written by a local author who is a teacher. They even have online grammar lesson archives, etc.
 
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Just as it's inappropriate to expect anyone to write a book for free, it's also inappropriate to expect anyone to edit your book for free.

There are several people with dyslexia or dyslexic tendencies in my family, including me. Despite that, we've all learned to work around our problems with literacy, and you might be able to do that too.

Paying someone to edit your work for you now will only fix this one book: learning how to revise your own work will help you with everything you write, whether it's a book or not.
 
Louis Spector

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Thanks so much for opening my eyes. Kind of new with all this. I’ll try out the Beta thing. I just find it discouraging that I can’t afford an editor at this time and I’m kind of scared to be taken advantage of. I once did have an editor, they charged me 300 just for five pages and all they did was use a red marker to fix my spelling but offered no advice. Can’t afford to waste money like that again. I guess I’m just desperate but I should at lest respect the vocation of an editor enough to pay them for a job well done. Again, thanks for enlightening me.
 
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Louis Spector said:
Thanks so much for opening my eyes. Kind of new with all this. I’ll try out the Beta thing. I just find it discouraging that I can’t afford an editor at this time and I’m kind of scared to be taken advantage of. I once did have an editor, they charged me 300 just for five pages and all they did was use a red marker to fix my spelling but offered no advice. Can’t afford to waste money like that again. I guess I’m just desperate but I should at lest respect the vocation of an editor enough to pay them for a job well done. Again, thanks for enlightening me.
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My bold.

Editors don't fix things. They highlight problems and suggest ways the writer can improve them. The heavy lifting is always done by the writer.

If you work with an editor who seems to want to rewrite your work for you, you're working with a bad editor.

Copy editors, however, do look for spelling, grammar, and continuity problems, and will suggest corrections. But they should only be employed after you've already worked with an editor, and have your ms as tight as you can make it.
 
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Louis Spector said:
Thanks so much for opening my eyes. Kind of new with all this. I’ll try out the Beta thing. I just find it discouraging that I can’t afford an editor at this time and I’m kind of scared to be taken advantage of. I once did have an editor, they charged me 300 just for five pages and all they did was use a red marker to fix my spelling but offered no advice. Can’t afford to waste money like that again. I guess I’m just desperate but I should at lest respect the vocation of an editor enough to pay them for a job well done. Again, thanks for enlightening me.
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Wow, that sucks to get ripped off that way. I'm often approached very suspiciously by writers because of unscrupulous people like that. Good editors can be pricey, but some, especially if they are not as experienced, may be able to work with you; after all, everyone has to start somewhere, and even the best editors once had no credits to their name. Get rates in advance, and if an editor has no credits, it's not too much to ask that they edit a sample piece to be sure you like their style. I often do samples, editing a very limited number of pages and asking that the client pay only if they're happy with my work. (So far they've always paid. ;) )
 
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At the risk of sounding negative (I don't mean to), I think you might be better off at this point just working on learning to self-edit. If you're still having problems with grammar and spelling and those sorts of things, it would be best to keep working on that (buy some good books) and save your money for later.

Those are basics writers need. If you don't have those, the book itself is going to have a lot of work that needs to be done, and there is a good chance you would just be wasting your money to get an edit on a book that isn't (and won't be) up to par.

I'd suggest putting some small chapters here in SYW, getting some grammar books, and using the critiques to learn how to improve in general. Getting good at writing can take a long time.
 
DennisB

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Gee, what you're suggesting sounds a lot like an unpaid internship (or low-paid, anyway). It might be feasible. But remember, you usually get what you pay for.
 
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Yeah, trust me. You don't want anyone in college to be your editor, unless perhaps you're looking at a faculty or adjunct faculty member and they never do anything for free. I teach college and it's hard enough to get them to proofread their work, nevermind edit it. You might get lucky and get a "star" who works on the school newspaper or blog, but even still...you don't want their edits. You need someone more experienced with a good eye for whatever it is you're writing.

It sounds like a good idea in theory to get a student because a lot of people go to art schools for student art work for things like logos and the like, but for editing a novel? Not so much.

Best of luck in the search for a beta with a good eye. You'll find the right person eventually. But there's other good advice in this thread too. Those books on grammar and even MS Word's grammar checker can be really helpful if that's your main concern.
 
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