Breaking into freelance editing work?

[cyberpunkdreams]

I've been thinking a lot recently (a lot) about trying to get into doing editing work for self-publishing SF authors. I think I have something genuine to offer (although of course I'm willing to admit I could be wrong!) and from my research I believe that there is a market out there.

I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on breaking into this field? It wouldn't be my primary source of income (alas), so I'd be able to pitch prices to make my services affordable for authors who perhaps wouldn't be able to benefit from a professional editor.

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Um... I would need recommendations to convince me. Or, at least, some idea of what you offer. There are loads of editors out there with a variety of prices but I wouldn't touch anyone without something to convince me it would deliver what's needed.

Also, what sort of editing? Line by line, developmental, copy editing? If copy editng which style guide is being used?

But the big worry for me is that you're saying you're not a professional editor? So why would I pay anything when I have excellent beta readers who can probably cover my light editing needs?

Sorry, all very negative. But I've been around the block now a few times and know how much time and angst someone getting it wrong with your manuscript can cost and I also believe trusting your editor's judgement is vital and to do that, I'd need convincing.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

It depends on what credentials you have. There are a lot of people who offer editing services, so even though there isn't much money in it there's a lot of competition.

 

[cyberpunkdreams]

Well, as for credentials, I can offer examples of my own writing, at least until I've got some gigs under my belt. And of course, I'm not trying to convince anyone on here to hire me, not by a long chalk! I'm just looking for thoughts on the industry. One idea I had was to offer to edit a few pages initially free of charge. Quite apart from any worries about quality, I know that words are very personal, so there has to be a good fit and rapport between writer and editor.

In terms of the specific editorial services, I wasn't thinking developmental. More a hybrid between copy and line editing, with some sanity and factual checking thrown in (I have a degree in physics and pretty board general knowledge, which helps).

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

Since you wouldn't be showing people how to write like you, but how to write like themselves only better, your experience doing critiques would be of more importance than how good your own writing is. Have you had a lot of experience doing critiques -- writers groups, workshops, beta reading, etc.? If you do, that's the kind of experience you would want to emphasize, since you have no professional experience as an editor.

As for copy editing, it requires a very specific skill set.

 

[Denise Tanaka]

As an alternative to offering yourself as an individual to freelance for self-pubb'ing authors, what about exploring in the field of companies who offer editing services? Look at their classified advertisements and see what they're requiring for the various types of editing roles. See if your existing skill set is a match. Perhaps try working for one of those service providers on a contract basis and build up your resume? As Jo said, the field is getting very competitive.

 

[Brian G Turner]

I was wondering if anyone has any thoughts on breaking into this field?

IMO, providing at least some limited feedback in our Critiques section would be a good place to start in showing what you could do.

 

[cyberpunkdreams]

Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it. I've not got much to show yet as I've only just started thinking about this really. Becoming involved in the Critiques section is a great idea.

I should probably point out that I do have copy editing skills though, just in a totally different area. I own and run a digital marketing agency, and work alongside our editing team for that (I wrote our internal style guide too). But that type of work is so different I don't feel like I could use it as a reference.

 

[Teresa Edgerton]

and work alongside our editing team for that (I wrote our internal style guide too). But that type of work is so different I don't feel like I could use it as a reference.

But that's the kind of thing you could use as a reference if you want to do copy editing. Although taking a course in copy editing would be even better.

With line editing, the goal is to demonstrate what they should be doing themselves, so that for the future they can use what they have learned and incorporate it into their own writing style. (Not that everyone does learn, but it's the goal.) That's where the critiquing comes in, so that you can learn to help without turning them into clones. With the technical stuff, a certain amount of uniformity is desirable. With fiction, no.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

One idea I had was to offer to edit a few pages initially free of charge.

Often it's one or two chapters at start* (depending on chapter size and indeed if there even are chapters).

Good and/or recommended editors seem to be busy. The money asked seems a lot to a SP author, but for the time involved seems to me very cheap for the Editor, so while it might be easier to make money at it than writing (if you are not successfully published), it doesn't seem like very much money. Unless the day job is flipping burgers or packing shelves.

Createspace (Amazon) is about 1c a word.

I'd be happy to send you a couple of chapters, but I'd like about 50K words edited a month, and most Editors are part time, busy etc and seem to want about 3 to 4 months for that amount of text. So how fast can you do it and still be accurate and give quality? If OTOH you are "slow" then 1c a word is very little income for the time.

[* I think getting each of 22 chapters edited by 22 editors as free samples is a ploy likely to end badly ]

 

[cyberpunkdreams]

50k words per month should be fine, although I'd have to test the waters! From my own research, I know that 1-2c per word is the norm, and without experience I'd obviously be at the bottom end of that! On the other hand, I was planning on offering a hybrid of copy editing, line editing and fact/sanity checking (based on the idea that most SP authors wouldn't be able to afford to have those done separately), which as I understand it would be worth a little more. That said, whichever way you cut it, I know the money isn't great, but I'm not really interested in doing it for the money.

On that note as well, the reason why I was thinking just a page or two initially was to test the chemistry. There'd be no point committing to editing 50k words if the chemistry wasn't there from both sides.

 

[Ray McCarthy]

There'd be no point committing to editing 50k words if the chemistry wasn't there from both sides.

That's why even established editors usually do roughly a free chapter.

1-2c per word is the norm

I'd have thought 1.5c about the highest end. Createspace isn't cheap.

Also SP Authors would have to have to sell a lot of copies of a 120K word novel to recover US$1,200 (1c per word). Additionally often the strategy is to offer the first book of a series very cheap in hope of "hooking" readers on to the sequels. I see Amazon and Kobo doing this now with eBook versions of "traditionally" published authors at 99p or on Kobo even free, though generally Kobo is more expensive than Amazon. That means in reality the sale of the 2nd book has to cover cost of editing two books.

So to start with you'd need to offer more and cost less to get regular custom. Also possibly only take on to edit material that has some hope of selling so that there would be a repeat sale to that author. There is also an argument that if a Mss isn't redeemable, you'd decline to edit even the free sample (after reading two chapters you'd know) and suggest to author they start again, and maybe re-write it from scratch some day if there really is a story in it.

 

[cyberpunkdreams]

Oh yes, I absolutely agree about having to start out cheap, and I understand that for an SP author the financial situation can be borderline at best.

I'd also thought that it would only be a good idea to work on pieces of a certain quality. I wouldn't want to take someone's money otherwise, and I wouldn't enjoy the process either. The way I see the self-publishing world, there's a certain middle ground of work that's decent but that could be improved a lot through solid editing. That's why I started thinking along these lines in the first place.

 

[Kerrybuchanan]

The way I see the self-publishing world, there's a certain middle ground of work that's decent but that could be improved a lot through solid editing.

I think you're right, but editing that kind of work is seriously tiring and time-consuming. Even the critiquing I do for friends takes enormous chunks out of my own writing time and is draining (I'm not even counting my wonderful writing group in this, because they give far more than they ever receive from me). You will find yourself up against dodgy grammar and/or punctuation, loads of unnecessary info-dump, thin characters, inconsistent plotting, etc, etc. Even if you only choose to take on one or two aspects of editing, the rest will distract you and your fingers will itch to correct it!

In addition, you will have grumpy writers who, at the back of their minds, really expected you to just pat them on the back and tell them it was already perfect. Some will argue that you're wrong, some will be slow to pay, or quibble your bill, and you'll have to be absolutely certain your own writing is up to scratch, too, or you will have no credibility. Also, writers have big egos. We can sometimes be a leeettle temperamental...

Okay, maybe I'm painting a blacker picture than you'll actually find in reality, but what I'm trying to say is that it won't be an easy living, ask any editor! If and when I manage to afford an editor for my novel (I'm still hoping for @Teresa Edgerton, but want it to be as good as I can make it before she has to put up with reading it), I might have to scrimp and save, but I know she will have earned every single cent I pay her, possibly several times over.

Whatever you decide, good luck in your venture,

K x

 

[cyberpunkdreams]

Thanks for the advice! I imagine that there's an art to ignoring the parts which you're not meant to intervene and just doing what you can. In my ideal world, I'd like to work with a small group of authors on a regular basis (i.e. where the trust has had a chance to build), but I know that real life would almost certainly have other things to say.