Choosing Your Freelance
Editor
Joyce Engelson
Even
if you are an amateur author looking for
editorial advice on your first book,
professional help is available. Lists of
experienced editors can be found on the
Internet (try freelance editors, book
doctors, independent editors, or perhaps,
collaborators). You should be able to
come up with a dozen names that seem to fit
your needs: a nonfiction editor with a
specialty in American history, for instance,
if that’s your project, or a romance novel
expert, or maybe there’s simply something
about a particular resume that appeals to
you: the writing, the tone, experience,
education. Now what? Try to hone your first
list to five or six names so you don’t get
confused or overwhelmed.
The most
significant move you want to make next is to
arrange a telephone conversation with
prospective editors. True, some
editors prefer to be contacted first by
e-mail, fax or letter. Even so, you will
want to arrange a phone date soon (at their
convenience and your expense)! Why? Because
there is nothing more revealing and helpful
(except for a personal one-on-one meeting if
you happen to live on the same block!) The
immediacy and personal touch allows you to
pick up on each other’s chemistry much more
easily than any back and forth on the
computer screen or FAX. And you’ll save
time!
Does the editor’s response to your topic seem
enthusiastic, interested or cursory? Is
your subject matter familiar to the editor?
Or might it seem overly familiar? You want
the editor’s expertise, you don’t want to be
overwhelmed by personal opinions, unless
germane. Does the discussion of price and
scheduling seem comfortable as well as
appropriate for your needs?
It shouldn’t need saying but graciousness always helps:
if the two of you don’t seem a good match,
you can more comfortably ask for a referral.
The editor has access to many more suitable
professionals. But do ask for the
credentials of the referral.
Remember: you don’t need to make an immediate decision.
Ask for time to think it over but do get
back one way or another by the date
agreed on. Editors have to schedule their
time with care.
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