As most any book writing coach should tell you, after you finish writing a book the hardest thing to do next is find an editor. It is not always a matter of sending the manuscript to many different publishers and praying one will get in contact with you.
Much the same is also true for on line services. You may self publish your book, but without using an experienced editor it is likely not get much attention.
In short an editor makes a manuscript better it already is. This is far beyond grammar and spelling checking it. They routinely fact check any possible citation referenced. They read through the heading and chapter layouts making sure they are accurate. Most importantly though, they give ideas. Having read several books they have several ideas which can make a manuscript a number best seller.
Begin by figuring out the kind of book editing services you will be needing. Many manuscripts will still need developmental editing. Simple copy editing will be going over the manuscript while trying to improve it. Most hard editing will be going through it using a careful eye seeking any mistakes or misspelled words that could make it appear awkward while in print form.
Check out their credentials. This is your work of art you are going to be handing to someone, never be afraid to ask as many questions as you need to be comfortable. Make sure they have a sound knowledge of what they are doing and understand the genre you are trying to break into. This knowledge and experience can be the difference between success and failing.
All editors like to tout their successes. There is no shame in this and is to be expected. Check out their website to see their list of successful publications. Keep in mind though that it is likely 80 percent or more of these are self published. Check how many of these titles were actually sold to traditional clearing houses. Doing your homework here can save you time and money later on.
Good editors always ask for testimonials from people they have done work for. Just like anyone else you hire to work for you take the time to read through them and try to contact a few to get any further information you may need. Check out various web-sites to see if they have any information and what they thought of the actual books that were not self published.
See if they have written any manuscripts themselves. This will go far to show that they can easily point out different problems and have the working knowledge to fix them too. You would be very surprised how many editors write as a side job under various pseudonyms.
This is an important decision that will carry over the life of your career. Finding your book writing coach or editor is a crucial decision. Being patient and taking the time to perform this correctly is vital. Possibly in a few years or more you too could share your new success stories with other new writers.
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