[gabador]

Does everyone here has editors? I mean what is the job of an editor? And are they really useful? And where can I get one :D j/k
But seriously. Everyone here is talking about their editors. Who, or what are they? And how much have they helped you?
(if this has been asked befor, please excuse me)

[Erebus]

Well, I don't actually have an editor per se, but everytime you submit something with the hope of publication, it is read by an editor working for that publisher etc.

There are also editing services which will edit your MS (for a hefty fee usually), and others that will actually assess your manuscript's worth or publishing suitability. Many larger publishers will not accept non-represented authors (those without agents) unless their MS has been assessed and edited by an industry assessment agency.

I use neither at this point in time...however, if there's any agents out there interested in representing me... ;)

I have a few friends who are writers and I usually let them edit (proof read) my work, which usually only costs me a meal or a few drinks!;) It is certainly helpful though, as a fresh set of eyes will always find something that you have missed yourself.

Publisher's editors invariably like to suggest amendments etc., but as I have not had much experience with them personally, perhaps some of our other members here may be able to share their experiences?

In an ironic tale of editors, one of the first who looked at my novel, Reflections, suggested it was too long. I subsequently edited 10,000 words or so; the editor still rejected it, and when it was finally published, the first official review I had for it made mention that perhaps the novel was a little short! I guess sometimes you just can't win! :)

[Holbrook]

Well, I have mentioned "my editor" This is a gent who is first and foremost a good friend, who has a command of grammar well beyond me.

I admit my education was basic, though it was more than for most of the working class of my generation. (Most of my friends left school at 15, I did another year to do the then GSE's)

Higher education was a thing for "better-offs"

Try as I might I just cannot get it right, or I am unsure(that I think is the big killer, not being sure) Move, alter, rewrite again and again.

So we came to a deal. I would just write it as it comes. Check it then send it to him. He then reads it, altering the grammar if needed, making suggestions etc, then back to me. Then I work on it a bit more then back to him and so forth. He helps me think, his ideas about structure and advice about such are very welcome.

I don't know it all and admit it.

It is working very well, hopefully we have a future publication on our hands......

[Gary Wassner]

My assistant is my editor. She reads everything that I write and first makes the obvious typo corrections. She never edits text herself, but she brings it to me to reread if it does not flow as I intended it to. There are times when I can read and reread a chapter over an over again and still miss the same errors, mainly because I know so intimately what I am trying to say. Editors are a necessity. Your words do not always sound in another's mind the way they do in your own. Agents are the ones who we could all do without!
I prefer to edit the content myself. I love writing so much and I have this belief that sentences have a symmetry of their own. I work so hard to find it, and I just don't think that an editor would have the same interest in this as I do.