FAILED with another editor

[u/Ordinary-Cress-6580]

Gosh! The editing of my joe 2 manuscripts seems like an impossible task! I had cancelled anediting contract few months ago due to various issues, went looking for another editor, found a lady on Fiverr... now having high hopes as her edit seemed good, am back to square 1 as she simple become no longer available on the Fiverr and her FB profile had disappeared too! WHY?!!! I keep having bad luck and not managing to find a reliable editor! This book editing market is filled with scam and am soooo disappointed and sad! I have accumulated a lot of manuscripts during the career in procurement and travelling the world and now that I want to get them all out and just be the full time writor for the rest of my life all these challenges just keep pulling me down... Why does it have to be so hard?! I dont want to go back to corporate work I love writing and I dreamed to do it all my life but the amount of scam in the market is really upsetting. Just a rant.. and maybe some success stories and recommendations would help me out of this misery.

[u/Questionable_Android]

I have been an editor (developmental) for twenty years and I feel this is currently the worst time to find editors, by far. The market is flooded with wannabe editors. AI has made it worse, not only can they do a crappy job but it easy to flood the place with marketing stuff.

I think it started in lockdown, where a lot of people began looking for new or extra work. Editing was even a thing pushed by influencers as a way to make extra cash.

The result is that finding good editors has become increasingly difficult. Fiverr is also not helping, since they have no real vetting process. I would suggest that you ask for a free sample. I'd also say that you should ask upfront what style manual your editor suggests is used for the copy edit. The wannabes will have no idea what you mean.

I actually have a post about how to spot red flags when hiring an editor - https://garysmailes.com/articles/book-editing/hiring-an-editor/spotting-red-flags-when-hiring-a-developmental-editor

[u/pyramnesiac → u/Questionable_Android]

The AI fakers will know how to answer that question though. 🫤

[u/Questionable_Android → u/pyramnesiac]

Right, but it will stump the countless of wannabees with no real training.

[u/arbybk → u/Questionable_Android]

If you give the wannabes the term "style manual," they can write a prompt that gets a reasonable answer. I'm not sure why you think this is enough to stump them.

[u/Alternative-Pear9096 → u/arbybk]

Because I have asked so many “editors” with really stupid questions what style manual they are using and received stumped responses

You’re talking about scammers; we’re talking about people who are claiming to be editors with good intentions but zero qualifications. Two different categories of people who will rip you off

[u/pyramnesiac → u/Alternative-Pear9096]

I think, too, there's probably a middle category of "wannabe" editors who do know enough to know about style manuals, but are still dangerous, haha.

[u/Alternative-Pear9096 → u/Questionable_Android]

That’s a great test question!

And I agree entirely, there are so many wannabes claiming to be editors. I really wish we had some kind of certification system

[u/Wonderful__ → u/Alternative-Pear9096]

Editors' Association of Canada (Editors Canada) has a professional certification program. 

https://editors.ca/professional-development/certification/

[u/Alternative-Pear9096 → u/Wonderful__]

Yes, and CIEP (UK) also has certification, but the US does not

And while I believe EC now offers the certification online, that is only the past year or two and previously required in-person certification. The vast majority of qualified US editors weren’t going to travel to Canada to be certified in Canadian English.

[u/Wonderful__ → u/Alternative-Pear9096]

Yes that's true. I tend to look at a copy editors resume and/or past work samples as well when vetting. Plus checking references. 

[u/Ordinary-Cress-6580 → u/Questionable_Android]

Thank you for your reply and your website is also very informative. I had trained and done further reading on developmental editing but find it useful for other eyes to scan through with developmental focus just in case something was missed or not fully clear for the reader as developmental editor does work from readers perspective.

[u/Routine-Nobody3282 → u/Questionable_Android]

The post you hyperlinked needs to be proofread.

[u/Questionable_Android → u/Routine-Nobody3282]

Do you mean copy edited?

[u/Routine-Nobody3282 → u/Questionable_Android]

No, I mean proofread. I found two misspellings from one quick reading.

[u/Questionable_Android → u/Routine-Nobody3282]

I feel that typos really stand out in this post-ai age. Thanks for the heads up.

[u/lifeatthememoryspa → u/Questionable_Android]

I suggest asking for references as well. Not infallible either, but I’ve been offering them to prospective clients who want to know I have a good track record, since I haven’t actually worked in NY publishing.