I’ve been an editor since 2011. I kicked off my career with nonfiction, especially academic essays and reports, before transitioning into fiction editing. I’ve also been taking my creative writing seriously since about 2018, when I started submitting short stories and poetry. As an agented author out on submission with two books as of August 2025, I’m now on the other end of things, seeking editors for my own work.
In short, I’ve been on both sides. I know what it’s like to be an editor seeking good-fit clients. And I know what it’s like to be a writer hunting for editors who I can trust with my precious work-in-progress.
Finding an editor is easy.
When writer friends ask where to find an editor, I can answer quickly:
- The Editors Freelance Association (EFA). I’m a member! Look, you can’t insta-trust just anybody in this organization; ultimately, members just pay a fee to join. However, because of the fee, members tend to be taking their careers seriously, and because of their membership, they’re exposed to way more education and networking.
- The EFA offers a survey-based rate calculator, so you can get a sense of how much to expect to spend. The calculator even adjusts for editors’ level of experience.
- The EFA also has the awesome option to post your job request only to its members. You can literally let possible available editors come to you.
- The Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP). CIEP is absolutely on par with the EFA, albeit UK-based. It has a heavy emphasis on training and professional development, which makes their directory particularly impressive to navigate.
- ACES: The Society for Editing. ACES is a solid organization for editors, but it’s a little more affordable to join, and I don’t find its directory to be quite as easily searchable.
- Reedsy. I’ve never used Reedsy myself, but I’ve heard very good things.
- Plenty of other good guilds, organizations, collectives, and agencies are also out there: Editors Canada, Editors of Color by Conscious Style Guide, Northwest Editors Guild, Editcera, San Diego Professional Editors Network.
Based on my own experience, I can recommend the following folks:
- Via RevPit, I worked with Carly Hayward for a query and first pages critique. She was no-nonsense and cut straight to the issues.
- Via the EFA, I did a manuscript critique with Kris Kobe, a new graduate of Jennie Nash’s developmental editing course. He had an excellent eye for world-building logic and macro-level plot issues.
Personally, I’d avoid Fiverr and Upwork. Many talented folks are on there, but these platforms take hefty cuts of users’ earnings. In general, I’m shy of big companies with a stock of (often faceless) freelance editors. Pay for those freelancers tends to be lower, and while the company may faithfully assign your manuscript to their “best-fit editor,” that effort will be limited to their pool of whoever is immediately available.
The real challenge is deciding what service you want from your editor.
Before starting, get loosely familiar with all the options on the editing menu: book coaching, alpha reading, beta reading, manuscript evaluation/critique (editorial assessment), developmental (sometimes called substantive) editing, line editing, copy editing, and proofreading.
Next, accept the frustrating fact that many editors define these terms differently.
My “beta read report” is akin to what many would call a “manuscript evaluation/critique.” Partly because I cut my editing teeth on second-language writers’ work, my “proofreading” is also more in line with what many would call “copy editing.” Many editors don’t distinguish much between “line editing” and “copy editing,” but plenty of others do; if you want rich line-level feedback and get strict-definition “copy editing,” you’ll be disappointed.
Once you’ve got a sense of the terms at work, take a hard look at your manuscript.
Decide what stage you’re at: revising or polishing.
Try to be honest with yourself. Is your plot rock solid? Are your character arcs clear? Have you had eyes other than your own on your manuscript? Eyes that belong to readers of your genre, folks who gave you macro-level feedback? Have you given this manuscript at least one “rest” period (at least two weeks where you don’t touch or ideally even think about it), so you can return with fresh eyes? If you answer “no” to any of the above, you’re likely still in the revisions stage.
Often, writers are keen to skip revising—a stage that relates to alpha reading, beta reading, manuscript evaluation/critique, and developmental editing. To be fair, revising sucks. It involves wrestling with the big picture of your story, tackling weaknesses that require off-page brainstorming. But skipping revision is a big mistake. As somebody who has definitely made this mistake, lemme tell yah: do NOT skip revising.
Need an editor for revisions?
If you’re in the revisions stage, and you’re debating among alpha/beta reading, manuscript evaluation/critique, and developmental editing, budget and time are the deal breakers. “Free” is the best price for alpha and beta readers, but that’s not always going to yield the level of feedback you need, and you may not have time to barter—that is, to offer a beta read in return (check out How to Find Beta Readers (and Whether to Pay)).
As a writer with a tight budget, I’ve found a single manuscript critique (or very thorough paid beta read report) to be the best balance. I felt the one manuscript critique I got from Kris Kobe, for example, was worth three average beta reads.
Developmental editing, in comparison, is the heftiest option of revision-stage editing. If you’re utterly burned out, and you want somebody to just take the wheel for you, to tackle the haul of producing your next draft, this is the service. I’ve done a good deal of developmental editing. On the editor’s side, it’s intense. For a full manuscript (~80,000 words), expect four weeks and $2.5K at the very bare minimum. I would raise an eyebrow at somebody estimating less than that.
Need an editor for polishing?
If your completed manuscript is locked in plot-wise, you’ll be looking at line editing, copy editing, and proofreading. How’s your sentence-level craft? How’s your grasp on grammar? Don’t be ashamed of shaky grammar. Loads of phenomenal storytellers wouldn’t notice upside-down semicolons. But when you’re approaching editors, be aware of how important sentence structure and word choice are to the reading experience . . . and how much work and skill it takes to iron those details out while respecting an author’s voice.
I’ve done a lot of line editing. With my background in poetry, I’d say that’s my specialty. In contrast, it’s very rare that I’ll agree to do proofreading. That’s how different the two are.
If you’re seeking polishing-stage editing, the fastest way to make sure you and your editor are aligned on what service you need is to ask for a sample edit. For big projects, most editors offer either a free or low-cost sample edit option. In some cases, if a client is totally new to me, I won’t accept a project until after that client has reviewed a 500-word sample, because I want to be damn sure I’ll have a happy client some 75,500 words later.
And for the record, note that a line edit or copy edit does not typically constitute a proofread; in an ideal world, you’ll have a separate proofreader bringing a set of fresh eyes. For a proofread of 80,000 words, I’d raise an eyebrow at a fee less than $950, though time-wise, I acknowledge some proofreaders are speed demons.
Once you know what service you need, you can focus on finding an editor who is a good fit.
Finding a good editor is one thing. A good editor will know what they don’t edit. They’ll have some editing experience under their belt—an English degree is great, but it does not count as editing experience. They’ll be crystal clear about terms: return time, fee, payment schedule, service definition. They’ll want more from you than just your money: expect questions about your manuscript, your goals, and your progress in your writing and publishing journey.
Often, and this is certainly the case with me, good editors will even encourage you to shop around. They’ll be happy to share resources and point you forward.
But the unicorn, the rainbow, the absolute high you should always be chasing in your editing experience . . . is finding an editor who is not only good, but also a good fit.
It’s worth the search.
Writing a manuscript is a lot of work. Deciding what kind of editing service you need is another undertaking. After all that, adding on the labor of finding a good-fit editor can feel daunting. It’ll be tempting to hire the first qualified professional you find—and honestly, that may work out just fine. But over the course of your creative life, granting yourself the time and patience to explore options is worth it.
A good-fit editor won’t just be somebody offering the service you need. They won’t just read in your general genre. They’ll be familiar with the same books that would sit next to yours on bookshelves. They’ll vibe with you. They’ll be dizzy with excitement about the potential of your manuscript to succeed. They’ll either have a clear vision for your manuscript or grasp the vision you have. They’ll be somebody who leaves you energized and keen to tackle revisions.
You may not find this person in your first editor encounters. That is okay. But I encourage writers to keep trying, keep building relationships with editors, because finding that “good fit” is a kind of collaborative magic worth seeking.
Other Resources for Your Editor Search
- What are the different types of novel editing? by Louise Harnby
Want to Follow My Journey?
My newsletter is a great way to catch my latest content and get inspiration for your own creative work. Subscribe here or just pop your email into the box below.
