Best way to get ebook edited

[robs132]

Hey guys,

just wondering the best way to get my ebook formatted and edited. It is about formula race car drivers and performance techniques. Any suggestions on good editors for ebooks?

[Beaker]

There's a site called Edit Fast that has hundreds of editors available. You can either pick one from their list or they can assign one to you.

[FitJerk]

Give it to your mom!... thats what i do.
moms are amazing.

lol.. but in all seriousness... before you give your book to a PRO editor, find someone you know who has exceptional english skills. I said my mom because she majored in English so why not right?

[jwessa1]

Hi Robs132,

No matter where you go, do the following:

Average cost is $25.00(expect it) an hour minimum for someone with more than 5 years of actual on the job experience, it goes up from there. No matter who you go to or where you go, ask them to prove their experience before wasting your money. VERIFY IT! Call some of their clients or ask them for copies of their work or references. If they are not willing to give it, find someone else! NEVER hire someone blind!
Ask for a resume of work and editing experience, check the background because you are hiring an employee to work for you!

Beware of any professional editor that is willing to work for a flat fee, it can be really dangerous to even trust those that offer this type of service.

An hourly writer/editor is able to contact you, ask questions about what kind of feel you want in the publication, where is it going to be sold or put up for people to use or see. All of this will make a difference to your results.

Are you using any type of art or photos? Have them ready and in place. If you can, include them in the folder when you send them the work to edit.

Do you want them to lay out the pages to be pretty or just edit text? If you want pagination you better be ready to pay minimum of $50.00 flat just for that! If you want page layout it will cost more because each page with art or photos will have to be done separately.(Unless they are already locked in place.)

What type of format is the final product going to be in - PDF?, entered as story pages on the internet?, an MS Word eBooklet? Sales brochure? Press kit(really expensive done right!). Event program? It all makes a difference so ALWAYS be specific in your needs. It will cost you less in the long run.

Be picky and pay the editor that is best qualified to do the work. Not the least expensive. In this field you get what you pay for in no uncertain terms.

Another route you might consider is to pay a copywriter to write, layout and edit the whole thing for you. Sometimes its cheaper. But no matter what kind of employee you are hiring, ask the same kind of questions before you do.

(Yes even free lancers are employees, when you are paying them they are working for you. Listen to advice they give you very carefully) Sometimes you can find decent editors at services like that mentioned above but I've never been all that impressed with some of the quality. Then again I have been in the publishing business since I was about 15 years old. I'm now 51 so I probably don't even know what I'm talking about right? LOL

Or like MetalSlug says you can always give it to your mom! I do, since she was a professional newspaper and magazine editor for 30 years. Now Retired! (I grew up there summers and after school for the most part. I was sizing pictures at age 8! (I published my first story at age 15.) I worked with and remember cold type if you even know what that is, most people do not anymore. Think lots and lots of LEAD. A fullsized newspaper page of all lead, ouch huh?)

That was cool MetalSlug! I'll bet your mom was excited to help out.

I have Been in the Desktop publishing business since 1987. I really need to add stuff to my profile badly I just noticed that! Bad ME!

This is just basic advise for hiring anyone in these fields. I've seen good and bad come through the door (most are half good). I never work for entrepreneurs any more because I got tired of explaining the correct way to do things. It cost too much time I couldn't charge for.

Hope this helps some how!

I would always check the Warriors for Hire section HERE FIRST! Support your local Warrior thats why we are all here right?

P.S.By the way Monster.com has a freelance section now too and they are looking for professional jobs in the field, so you might check there too. They usually have excellent provable references. They will also usually cost more.

[Beaker]

Originally Posted by metalslug

Give it to your mom!... thats what i do.
moms are amazing.

lol.. but in all seriousness... before you give your book to a PRO editor, find someone you know who has exceptional english skills. I said my mom because she majored in English so why not right?

That's not necessarily a good idea. Just because someone has good English skills doesn't mean that they can edit. They may have absolutely no experience with the kind of style you are using and may make things a heck of a lot worse.

I recently had a client who got a relative of his to "edit" some of my work. She came back with a list of things that she thought were wrong, none of which were. It turned out that she had an English degree and didn't know anything except MLA. With my items written in AP style, she had no business trying to edit them. If you want professional editing, hire a professional editor. Otherwise all you will get is some vague proofreading that might not even be correct.

[jwessa1]

Beaker is completely correct!

He is right, not all English majors or degrees have the right stuff. Academic and daily or slang English is completely different. They should be used differently and for different reasons.
You should always use the style for your audience, not for you or your editor.
Knowing that is half the battle for copywriters and editors too.
Age group is also a huge factor, do your marketing research for this, it will pay off big most of the time. Know your audience First!

That is why we hire and interview different types of Copywriters to write sales copy when we need it for our business. We are not copywriters and have no experience in that particular field so we hire people that do.
Thus the reason questions about feel and styles in my previous post are important. Every nuance and turn of phrase can make a big difference in the way it is perceived and received by your audience.

Good thread so far.

[jwessa1]

I forgot to add

A lot of your marketing statistics can be found free and easy at various US Bureaus of Statistics for free (if your a US resident sometimes even if your not). Check the demographics section and others depending on the category or type of info you are seeking. See if your data of interest is available to aid in the research your audience.

Remember Information is your best tool for this business. You will have to add http://www. to the beginning of the next link to get it to work. I'm not allowed to post the whole link yet. Sorry!

library.vanderbilt.edu/romans/fdtf/statistics.html

Also a lot of this information is usable for articles and you can even include them in your own reports and studies for sale using the US.gov as a reference. That alone is almost always impressive to your audience.

I can't believe I just told everyone here that for free! There are people out there selling that information itself, believe it or not. Most of this is public domain and usable but not all of it, always check first.

There is a phone number at the bottom of the page if you need help with this area too.

[jwessa1]

I forgot to add

A lot of your marketing statistics can be found free and easy at various US Bureaus of Statistics for free (if your a US resident sometimes even if your not). Check the demographics section and others depending on the category or type of info you are seeking. See if your data of interest is available to aid in the research your audience.

Remember Information is your best tool for this business. You will have to add http://www. to the beginning of the next link to get it to work. I'm not allowed to post the whole link yet. Sorry!

library.vanderbilt.edu/romans/fdtf/statistics.html

Also a lot of this information is usable for articles and you can even include them in your own reports and studies for sale using the US.gov as a reference. That alone is almost always impressive to your audience.

I can't believe I just told everyone here that for free! There are people out there selling that information itself, believe it or not. Most of this is public domain and usable but not all of it, always check first.

There is a phone number at the bottom of the page if you need help with this area too.