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Hey, I hope this finds you well. I recently finished edits on the manuscript of my current novella, and would like to move forward to the next step, that of soliciting the services of an editor – preferably one who specializes in editing speculative fiction – to help me tighten the story further.
My one hesitation comes from not knowing all of what to include in said solicitation; unfortunately a somewhat lengthy google search only yielded a few examples of query letters to agents and publishers, amongst other things. I found nothing tailored to contacting an editor specifically.
Perhaps I’m over thinking this bit, but I would appreciate some guidance with writing up such a communication, proper examples thereof, exactly what to include and so on, so as not to botch it right out the gate. Thanks very much in advance. It’s appreciated, you taking the time to respond.
For a start, you could try Jericho Writers, which is what the Writers’ Workshop, sponsors of the old Word Cloud, morphed into a few years back.
Sorry, I can’t make the kink go live without the entire post vanishing. You’ll have to copy and paste.
Hi Knicks – what sort of editorial review are you looking for. There is the pretty standard book doctor report, a deeper developmental edit that I’ve heard of offered by Jericho, or mentoring.
I’ve recently gone down the mentoring path, because I wanted the opportunity for some personal back and forth with an editor, rather than just a book doctor kind of report.
I didn’t write a letter, but did a fair amount of research and then approached the person I wanted through Jericho and then WriteMentor (a service for writers of children’s books as my MS is young adult).
I don’t know if this will be of any help to you, but this is how I went about it.
I got a list of the editors/mentors available from Jericho and WM. Used the information on the individuals on the websites to help whittle my list down. Also checked likely candidates out online where they had a presence. When I had a list of possibilities, I then read their books. It was the third or forth book I read that I immediately thought ‘this is the one for me’. I liked they’re style from the start and they were really the only major contender.
Jericho and WM used different sorts of mentoring styles, and I thought Jericho’s looked preferable. So I dutifully filled in the online form to apply for my chosen mentor. This is where things went south with Jericho.
I quickly got an email back saying Congratulations, you’ve been matched with (a completely different person from the one I’d requested). Another email then popped up from the mentor suggesting we arrange a zoom meeting. Yikes!
To be fair to Jericho, they were friendly and helpful when I contacted them to ask what was going on, and explained the person I wanted no longer worked with them. Why they didn’t bother to tell me this is an annoying mystery. They asked if I was interested in their suggested mentor, so I said I would check them out.
First up, the website said the person was there plot doctor. I’d specifically said on the form I completed that I thought my plot was OK. Secondly, the editor wrote across different genre, and though they had written YA, it wasn’t a speciality. Next I looked at their books on Amazon. They didn’t have many reviews, but one of them said there were so many plot holes it was unbelievable – for someone who is meant to be Jericho’s plot doctor!
It felt as if I’d just been matched up with first available person who had a bit of experience in YA. I might as well not have given them any details of where I was and what I wanted on the form. I declined the offer.
Jericho is very business driven, which is fair enough, they’re in this to make money. They are a good resource, but I would just say, know what/who you want before contacting them, and don’t be fobbed off with just anybody. I think that applies to all the editing services.
I was lucky to be able to get the mentor I wanted through Write Mentor. It’s worked out well with them looking at 10k words a month. I get very specific thoughts on the section, plus ideas I can carry out into the rest of the story. It’s been very useful in focusing my editing.
Cost is £132 per month, which adds up over an 80k word MS, but it’s more manageable than a one off payment and I can stop it at any time.
Based on the amount of work the editor puts in every month, it has struck me as sad that they get so little. A lawyer or accountant would probably expect £1k for that amount of work. It shows the sad income condition of creative workers.
If you’re struggling to find a suitable editor, maybe think about asking for suggestions on Twitter. There’s a big writing community of there.
Hope some of that is helpful. Good luck in your search.
I think maybe you are over-thinking this a bit. You may not even need to write a letter as such.
You could try here, for a start. Jericho Writers, which is what the old Writers’ Workshop, sponsors of the Word Cloud, morphed into a few years back.
https://jerichowriters.com/our-services/jericho-editors-room/
Thank you both, @richardb and @katemachon; Kate, the info on your process, experience and end results was especially illuminating. Thanks so much! ✨
Admittedly the last edit I had done was via someone I have known for a while. But still, you are commissioning a job so it is up to you to tell them/ask them what you think is necessary.
I’d write along the lines of
Hey, Editor. Sort out this pile of horror for me, there’s a good fellow.
OK, OK. More along the lines of
Dear Editor
I got your details from xyz and think you’d be able to help me with my MS because xyz.
My MS is [details of genre, word count, maybe give the elevator pitch as if you were subbing to an agent]
The problems I think I may have are:
The theme/point I am trying to make is:
My ultimate aim with the MS is [getting an agent/publisher/self-publishing]
Do you have availability to help? How long will it take? How much will it cost? Do you need to see a sample (how long?) of the MS?
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