Do you really need to hire an editor?

Okay, babies…

I need you to know that Agents often work on a cycle. When they’re new and eager, they take to Social Media to promote themselves as a business. This often includes inspirational posts, updates on their slush pile, and “Querying Tips.”

Querying tips are great… Until they’re not.

How to Query? Yes, post away. How to write a better query? Sure. Most agencies have resources on their websites too! All free and available resources for writers is great.

What’s not great is when an agent makes comments about the contents of their slush pile or when they suggest writers pony up the cash for editing.

So, here’s the thing. I’ve been there and done that. I’ve paid numerous editors over the years for everything from Developmental Editing, Line Editing, and Copy Editing. I absolutely do not regret it. I learned so much from so many amazing editors and I agree that good editing is worth it, however, hiring an editor is not the only route a writer can take to improve their craft.

I agree that good editing is worth it, however, hiring an editor is not the only route a writer can take to improve their craft.

Hiring an editor should not be you’re first inclination as a writer, and here’s why…

Giving and receiving feedback is a necessary skillset in itself. If you’re not ready to take constructive feedback, paying for it is a waste of resources. I can’t tell you how many writers I’ve agreed to Critique Partner (CP) for only to have them take general, run of the mill feedback as a personal attack on their dreams of authorship.

Using Dialogue tags is necessary and not an attack on your personal being, folks. It just makes it easier to know who’s talking in your story.

But, I digress… If you’re not at a stage in your writing career where feedback is received, DONT HIRE AN EDITOR.

Instead, try out Scribophile. It’s free with the ability to upgrade. You’ll learn how to interact with your fellow writers and get your writing to a solid level.

Now, let’s say you’ve joined some FREE local writing groups, done some feedback workshops (usually free or low cost), joined FREE conferences like WriteHive, watched FREE recorded videos on YouTube about craft. Joined some discord groups and had some CPs review your work and really put in the time and effort… What about then?

Sure! At ^ stage of your writing career, investing in a Developmental Edit might be beneficial for you. Still can’t afford it? No problem. There are tons of programs and mentorships such as RevPit, a contest that gives its winners a FREE developmental edit. There’s RoundTable Mentorship, WriteMentor, just to name a few programs that run yearly.

If you’re pursuing Traditional publishing, your agent may want to make changes to your manuscript and will help you edit. When your agent sends your manuscript to editors… Guess what? Yep, you guessed it. The editors will want to edit your story.

Do you want your manuscript to be it’s best version you can manage? Yes. Does that mean you need to hire an editor? No.

And if an agent suggests that you should, that’s not your agent.