𝗧𝗟;𝗗𝗥. 𝗗𝗼 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗵𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗼𝗿. 𝗕𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗮𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗲𝘀.
🆕 I got a new fridge yesterday and it made me think. Not all edits are created equal… (Bear with me.)
Because. Here’s the thing. My new fridge, from the outside, looks a lot like my old fridge.
It has the same outward appearance.
It’s exactly the same size and fits under the counter just as well as the old one.
A fridge is a fridge is a fridge?
🍊 Inside, it’s similar. But, crucially, it’s not the same. For one, there’s an extra shelf. Game-changer. The door storage is way better too. More depth for my horseradish and such. And it looks like my milk and juice are going to live a lot more securely in their new home.
Did this cost me more than my old fridge? Well, disregard the fact the old fridge was a hand-me-down, but yeah, this fridge cost a bit more than the model we’d had previously. But its energy efficiency is an A so that’ll work out better in the long run.
❔How is this like an edit?
A fridge isn’t a fridge isn’t a fridge. And an edit isn’t an edit isn’t an edit.
You might be lucky enough to find the editorial equivalent of my new fridge. You might find someone whose services add that extra depth. They may make you feel more secure. They may pack more in and be more thorough. They may cost more, but they’ll save you more in the long run.
How you go about getting the best fridge is the same as how you go about getting the best edit.
🔎 It’s all about the research.
Not all editors offer the same thing. A recent client of mine was wary in our initial communications as she’s been burnt by someone who hadn’t even read her manuscript. It seems they’d put it through ProWritingAid and had sent it back to her for payment. That is going to miss so much context and nuance and potentially add in lots of new errors. But if that’s what they advertised openly and honestly as their service, fair enough, perhaps. If…
The same client received her edit back from me and told me she was ‘beaming with joy’. What she wanted from an edit was what I delivered. (And, of course, I read it word-for-word. It shocks me that some people wouldn’t.)
A thread on a writing group developed after someone said, ‘My sister is good at grammar and she’ll edit your books for only X.’ It was a pittance. But there was a lot of interest. I know not all indies have much of a budget. And the sister might be amazing. But she also might not…
❗Be wary of false economies.
TL;DR:
Authors: do your research.
✅ Ask your author pals for recommendations.
✅ Look up editors online. Their website. LinkedIn page. Social media presence.
✅ Go through their services and understand their parameters.
✅ Check whether they’ve received industry-recognised training.
✅ Read their reviews.
✅ Check your contract carefully.
✅ Want something clarifying? Ask them.
⌚ And do all this in advance of when you actually need the edit. Hire in haste. Repent at leisure.
If you’ve done your due diligence on me and you feel that I might be the editor for your book, let’s go ahead to the next step to make doubly sure. I offer a 1000-word free sample to check we are the right fit.
📅 I have one more space for February 2023, otherwise I am booking for March 2023 or thereafter.
📩 Contact me today to get the ball rolling.
CherryEdits 