Finding a Good Editor

One of the most important things a novelist must do-especially if they self-publish is find a good editor. But how do you know where to find one and how do you know if they’re good?

When you begin looking for an editor, you need to know what sort of editing you need. Do you want someone to check your writing craft: point of view, character development, and story structure? Then you need either a developmental editor or a book coach — frequently one person will do both.

Or do you just need someone to do a lighter edit: make sure the story flows, there aren’t any glaring plot holes, and do a light check for grammatical mistakes? Then you need copy editing, or usually it’s just called editing.

If all you need is someone to check for grammatical, punctuation, and repetition, you need a proofreader. A lot of the time even after your book has been edited, it will still need to be proofread because while an editor is on the lookout for higher level problems, they may easily miss a punctuation or grammatical mistake.

Now that you know what sort of editing you need, how do you find the person to do this work for you?

The easiest way is to ask your writing friends. They all use an editor and probably know quite a few.