Editing & Editors

Book Editing Associates editor, Ann Howard Creel, is the best-selling and multiple-award-winning author.

Why would you consider hiring a "cheap editor" over a professional and proven book editor? • You’re tempted by an inexpensive quote • You imagine your book is so close to perfect it barely needs editing • Your hopes and dreams are realized---so few changes! That’s...

Finding a professional book editor How long should you wait? What's reasonable? There comes a time in every good editor's life when they build up a backlog that's weeks or months deep, with customers waiting patiently (or not) for their services to become available. I...

Manuscript critique services The three primary reasons you want to hire a book editor for a manuscript critique and evaluation: You want to know: 1) Is it salable? 2) Is it good enough to offer to a literary agent or publisher? 3) Should you go through the expense of...

Even for those people who’ve established themselves with successful careers outside the publishing world, editing is a brand new and unfamiliar experience. For this reason, it’s important to find an editor whose experience closely matches your needs.

The #1 question we get is: “How much will it cost to edit my book?” Here's why book editors can't give you a blind price quote: The Writer Is English your first language? Did you ace every English class you took? Do you write in dialect or “proper English?” Are you a...

I took 5,000 words of an unedited novel and uploaded it to Grammarly. I edited those same 5,000 words employing eyes, brain, fingers, and 48 years of professional experience.

Online Proofreading Services I have lost count of how many times I’ve been the cleanup crew for another company purporting to be professional proofreaders or editors. Authors find me for help after their book is out in the world, serviced by subpar editors. They share...

When I copy edit a manuscript, I make at least hundreds—and usually thousands—of changes to adhere to the rules of grammar, Merriam-Webster, and Chicago Manual of Style (the “bible” of the book publishing industry). By adhering to the 33 tips below, you can do a...

Self-Editing Fiction Many published authors will tell you they spend twice as much time self-editing and revising than they did writing the first draft. As an author of historical fiction, I feel that self-editing is the most creative and important part of writing a...

You need an editor—of that much you are certain. But how can you avoid falling prey to incompetent, untrained, or inexperienced pretenders who may insert more errors than they correct? (Yes, it happens alarmingly often.) And how can you avoid falling prey to the scammers?

Who are you trying to please? I'm one of those editors who say that you should never change your book based on what an agent or book-buying editor says would be "a good idea," or "just the thing your story needs" . . . unless that agent or editor says he will...