How to Find a Book Editor and Publisher
There is only one way for each, and the good news is that both are easy and free!
- The way to find a book editor is to get a sample edit.
- The way to find a publisher is to look at their track record.
Finding a Book Editor
To find the best price and quality, get a sample edit from potential editors. The trick is to provide the same page to multiple editors to compare apples to apples. Not all editors provide the same service, even if they call it the same type of editing. Styles come into play, and you will find that edits can be vastly different between them.
The other factors you want to look for in finding a book editor is experience and reliability. Editors who have experience working with publishers know what industry standards are and can help get your book looking the part. They can give advice or point out developmental issues in your book you may have missed.
How to Find a Book Editor with Unlimited Revisions
Not all editors will provide revisions, let alone unlimited revisions. A good editor will leave notes and have questions in your document if or when they find something outside the scope of the type of edit they are providing. You want to find an editor that will communicate concerns and listen to your feedback.
An editor that cares about your book as much as you do is important. An indicator of that type of editor is how many revisions they provide.
Finding the Right Editor (How to Find a Book Editor and Publisher)
The most common types of editing ordered are proofreading and copy editing. These are sentence-level edits. Things like flow, clarity and structure are all sentence level.
These types of editors will often leave developmental notes (content level) for things they catch outside a sentence level edit, which is where unlimited revisions help.
How to Find a Book Editor and Publisher Quickly
Publishing is a long process, especially if you plan to go the traditional route. Start early for both. Gather names and contact information from at least five editors/editing companies and publishers as you near the end of writing your book. A sample edit can take anywhere from a day to a week, depending on the editor or agency.
The Way to Find a Publisher
Publishers big and small publish under their name. A publisher’s name is considered metadata on Amazon, and you can search for it. Go for it and look at the first page of the results. Are the books selling? Look at their covers, their reviews, their prices, and, most importantly, their seller rank.
You should be able to quickly tell if the publisher just picks up any old book and doesn’t offer support or if they handpick their book lineup and then offer marketing and support.
You want a publisher that will back you and push your book forward instead of letting it fall after they get your business.
Finding a Publisher that Supports (How to Find a Book Editor and Publisher)
It’s common for publishers, even large ones, vanity or not, to put the marketing on the author. For new authors, the process of publishing can be overwhelming. But the main reason (with some arguing the only reason) you want a publisher is for the marketing they provide.
Marketing costs money and a publisher supporting your book means they believe in it and have a vested interest in it doing well. All things equal, it’s better to self-publish if you need to do your own marketing. Many retailers like Amazon offer marketing services like KDP Select to help you generate awareness about your book.
How to Find a Book Editor and Publisher
These are the two biggest questions for new authors and rightly so. Book Editing is the most expensive service you will likely get for your new book. Making the right choice for your hard work is important. The good news is that all legit and professional editors will give a free sample edit.
When it comes to publishers being good or bad for their authors, the proof is in the pudding. Don’t look at their website or what they say about themselves. Don’t look at their top five best performing books front and center on their website. Look at the performance of their books as far as seller rank goes. You might be surprised at the real-world performance.
How to Find a Book Editor and Publisher
How to Find a Book Editor and Publisher