WRITING

Every Writer Needs a Good Editor

But What If You Can’t Afford One?

I am a writer, but I’m also an editor.

For decades, I’ve worked with writers to improve and publish their prose. (I’ve also edited over a dozen anthologies, for a number of different publishers.)

I’ve worked with beginning writers and accomplished writers, and every kind of writer in between, on projects ranging from 500-word humor pieces to 500 page novels.

Here’s what I’ve learned — every writer needs a good editor. Whether you’re a beginner or a pro, your work can always be improved if you run it by a good editor.

But what if you can’t afford one?

I charge $60/hour. That’s a reasonable price. But what if that just isn’t in your budget?

Your editor doesn’t have to be a pro.

If you can’t afford to work with an editor, find a reader who can give you honest, insightful feedback and criticism.

That person could be a fellow writer.

But it doesn’t have to be.

When I was starting out, I ran everything I wrote by a good friend who was a crap writer — but a gifted editor.

I met her in a writing workshop. What my fellow workshop writers had to say about my writing was useful — but what Jill had to say was genius.

Jill could take any story and locate — and then help you fix — every flaw. She could tell you what worked and what didn’t — and why. She always knew exactly what to keep, what to delete and what to upgrade. And she always delivered her criticism in a caring and supportive way.

Why was she so bad at writing herself but so good at helping other writers?

I have no idea.

She’s now a successful literary agent.

Later on, I ran everything by my then boyfriend — also a crap writer but a terrific natural editor. (He was an English professor).

Mark wasn’t just an insightful reader. He also had a great sense of humor and could punch up my funny lines! After I discovered he’d been cheating on me for over a decade and threw him out, I missed his companionship desperately — and missed his editorial counsel almost as much.

To work with a friend or fellow writer on your work, you need to be self aware enough to be able to handle criticism and take advice. But, of course, you need those qualities to work with a professional editor too.

The first person you share your work with may not be that useful. And maybe the second or third won’t be either. But keep trying. You’ll find the right person.

And you’ll learn something about your work every time you seek reader feedback, even if that feedback is inept. If nothing else, you’ll begin to learn when to trust your gut about what you’ve said and the way you’ve said it.

So if you are a writer who is frustrated because you just can’t seem to get your work to the next level? Don’t despair.

Find an editor.

Writing Coach and editor-for-hire Roz Warren, who writes for everyone from the Funny Times to the New York Times, can help you improve and publish your work. Drop her a line at [email protected]. (That’s Ros with an “s,” not a “z.”)