Everyone knows that a book editor is paramount. A good editor can transform a rough manuscript into a polished masterpiece, but a bad one can leave you hanging. I’ve heard some horror stories from authors about editors who took their money and ran. Scammers bring down the entire industry. That’s why it's crucial to know what to look for to ensure you find the right fit for your project.

Here’s a comprehensive guide to help you choose someone who meets your needs.

One of the most crucial yet often overlooked skills is knowing how to give and receive constructive feedback. Theoretically, we all learn it in school. But, a surprising number of people never learn it, which can make any interaction uncomfortable, especially when it comes to authors and their editors.

Receiving With Grace
I get it; no one wants to hear that they’re doing something wrong. An author puts their heart and soul into a manuscript, hands it over to a stranger, and suddenly is faced with a massive amount of corrections. It’s easy to say, ‘thanks,’ and move forward when we’re talking about using a comma versus a semicolon, but hearing that your favorite scene doesn’t make sense is enough to make anyone defensive.

When someone gives you constructive criticism, you have to remember: they’re trying to help you.

It’s time to talk about the elephant in the writer’s room: AI. As an editor, I’ll admit that the growing trend of relying on AI for creative endeavors like writing (and editing) scares the hell out of me. But probably not for the reasons you think.

Okay, sure, there’s a nagging worry about AI driving editing prices down to unsustainable levels or completely taking jobs away from editors. Surprisingly, though, that’s not my biggest fear.

One of the ways that book coaches and developmental editors can help authors is through audience analysis. That means identifying and understanding the target audience, as well as helping the author tailor their writing voice to meet readers’ expectations.

This is a key part of making your writing successful. Trying to get a bunch of die-hard horror fans to read your quirky YA slice-of-life novel is a waste of time and money for everyone. When you know who you’re writing for, you’ll know what they’re focusing on and what they want to read.

So, how does audience analysis work?

When it comes to editing, especially in fiction, every story needs a slightly different approach. This can get downright confusing if you’re doing multiple rounds of editing or working with multiple editors. That’s not as unusual as you might think. You may have an editor make a first pass and then hire a proofreader later on to recheck the text (and save some money).

Anyone who works with a publishing house will likely see their text go through a few different editors, although many authors prefer to have their own editor in addition to the people provided by the publisher. Even if you have a single editor throughout, you may engage someone else as a typesetter or formatter; a style sheet helps them too.

When you go to hire an editor, it’s important to remember that there are different levels of editing. You don’t want to accidentally hire a proofreader and expect them to be a book coach! That kind of mismatch in expectations will just lead to frustration on both sides.
 
Below, I break down the various levels of editing and the typical cost per hour in 2024, as calculated by the Editorial Freelancers Association. Keep in mind that the range mainly accounts for the type of writing. Editing for academic, business, medical, and legal texts will usually be more expensive because it requires specific technical knowledge.

We've all been there. An essay for school is due the next day, and you'd swear you'd read over the darn thing at least a hundred times. There can't possibly be any errors. A few weeks later, you get it back, covered in red ink. Clearly, the teacher just has it out for you, right?

Maybe not.

Even the most talented writers know better than to rely solely on self-editing their work. It's why publishing houses provide editors to their authors, and large companies have teams of editors dedicated to reviewing marketing materials and press releases. You can be an expert wordsmith and still miss plenty of errors.