Guides / Craft
Humans
How to hire an editor (and when not to)
Software will not catch a book that starts four times. A person will. Hire the smallest editor who solves the actual problem, after you can say the sentence of the book out loud.
Three jobs, three invoices
- Developmental — structure, promise, whether chapter eight is a different book. Hire this if beta readers get bored in the same place.
- Line / copy — sentences, continuity, the hyphen that makes you look amateur. Almost every debut needs this.
- Proof — after layout, because layout creates new errors.
A “publishing package” that bundles editing you never meet is how you pay for a PDF of hope. Use The Roster or Reedsy and hire a named human.
What to send
The sentence of the book, the outline with one job per chapter, three sample chapters, and a deadline. Ask for a two-page sample edit before you marry anyone.
About 1 minute.
Keep going
The next job is almost always smaller than the mood. Open a tool, or sit at the desk.