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Choosing an Editor

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on January 13, 2022

A Look at Choosing an Editor

Choosing an editor can be tricky. Sometimes, you just end up with whoever is cheapest or whoever you know. But if you have a choice in the matter, consider it carefully. Taking some time early in the game will help you out later. A lot.

When Choosing an Editor, Keep in Mind That it’s a Business Relationship, Just Like Any Other

Do yourself a favor, and write a contract. This is a sample editing contract, and it is pretty good. Be sure to change the contract to indicate the laws of your state apply, and clarify it is editing you are contracting for, etc. Look over the contract thoroughly before you sign it or ask anyone else to.

Working With an Editor

Be your courteous and professional self. Editors are a more professional group than beta readers (what I mean is, this is a profession, whereas beta reading is for free and is not a paying gig) and are generally people you hire. They will do copy editing, where they check for typos, etc., although there should be a last pass by a proofreader before publishing, no matter what.

Editors, instead, have a different role.

Continuity

Editors can also check for continuity, but they will mainly read with the audience in mind. They are a good enhancement to the work of a beta reader, and are a good idea before you send your work out for querying.

Yes, a publisher will edit your work. But if your work is impossible to read, due to typos, improper punctuation, spelling errors, etc., then it’s highly likely the person(s) who passes along manuscripts from the slush pile for further consideration will just toss yours into the circular file.

Ouch.

Finding an Editor

The best way to get an editor is to do some research. Ask people you know who have been published, including your online friends. An editor no longer has to live in the same city or country as you do. However, you will be best served by someone who is a native speaker of the language your book is written in.

Work with the editor on a sample chapter. Do you get along? Are his or her suggestions reasonable? Are they slow? Does it seem to cost too much for what you are getting?

Choosing an Editor When You’re on a Budget

If you are absolutely, utterly stuck for funds, try a local college or university. You might be able to get an English major to help you, but be aware they probably won’t have experience and they may not be the best fit. But they may be all you’ve got.

If you go the collegiate route, don’t just put up flyers. Instead, talk to a professor! Ask who the best students are. The professor may have an idea of who (a) knows what they are talking about and (b) is looking to make some money.

As for what to pay them, again, talk to your writing buddies and make some comparisons. Of course, pay a student amateur a lot less than you would pay someone who does this for a living.

Helping the Editor

No matter how much you spend for editing services, be sure to recommend that person wherever they wish, whether it is on LinkedIn, Yelp, or elsewhere.

Be kind and helpful to this person, and you could start a lasting professional relationship that will benefit both of you for, potentially, years to come.

Takeaways on Choosing an Editor

Did you have a good experience with your editor? Or was it a learning experience? Don’t fret if it was the latter. Just do your best to learn from your mistakes and, just like with everything else is life, see if you can do better next time.

I bet you can.

And PS, if you are published, whether self or traditionally, give a copy of your book to your editor. Or you could always send swag. It’s an easy way to show your appreciation.

Editors are not all the same. Be comfortable with the one you’re choosing!

Click to buy Untrustworthy on Amazon

Want More on Beta Reading and Editing?

If you want more on beta reading and editing, then please be sure to check out the following blog posts:

Beta Reading:

† Beta Reading for Indie Writers
• Beta Reading, Part 2
† Working With a Beta Reader
• Beta Readers and Editors

Editing:

† Writing Needs Editing, Part 1
• Writing Needs Editing, Part 2
† How to Edit a Manuscript: 7 Stages to Success

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Quinnipiac Final Paper – ICM501 – Creative Obfuscation

Published by Janet Gershen-Siegel on November 27, 2014

Quinnipiac Final Paper – ICM501 – Creative Obfuscation

What is creative obfuscation?

Internet identity, reputation, and deception in the online dating world. Truth and little white lies on the Internet.

Introduction

Several weeks ago, when participating in class, I used the term creative obfuscation. The idea behind it was (and still is) that people of course bend the truth or cover it up, or they lie by omission. Some of these lies are more egregious than others.

For my final paper, I decided to look at what it all means with reference to internet dating. And boy, was there a lot of fodder! Here are some excerpts.

Identity

For many people[1] these days, social media is wrapped with identity, as identity is, in turn, intimately wrapped up with social media. It is often a daily[2] presence in our lives. As Julia Knight and Alexis Weedon discovered, online life and self are increasingly just as important as offline life and self.[3]

“In 2008, Vincent Miller’s article in Convergence recognized in our ubiquitous and pervasive media the essential role of phatic communication[4] which forms our connection to the here and now.

Social media has become a native habitus for many and is a place to perform our various roles in our multimodal lives, as a professional, a parent, an acquaintance, and a colleague. The current generation has grown up with social media and like the 10-year-old Facebook, Twitter too has become part of some people’s everyday here and now.”[5]

References

[1] About 39% of the world is online, according to Internet World Statistics. This includes just fewer than 85% of North America and over 2/3 of Europe and Oceania.

[2] According to Pew Research, in 2013, 63% of Facebook users visit the site daily. Just under half (46%) of Twitter users visit that site on a daily basis.

[3] Knight, Julia and Weedon, Alexis, Convergence, ISSN 1354-8565, 08/2014, Volume 20, Issue 3, pp. 257 – 258, Identity and social media

[4] Phatic communications are generally language for the purposes of social interaction rather than the conveying of information or the making of inquiries, e. g. ‘small talk’.

[5] Knight and Weedon, Ibid., Page 257.

Reputation and Creative Obfuscation

Unlike offline reputation, online reputation can be categorized and quantified. For sites attempting to preserve and promote civility, but which cannot or will not adopt a real-names policy like Facebook’s, reputation scores can sometimes alert other users to an individual’s tendency to be either helpful or abusive.

AS Crane Said…

As AS Crane noted in Promoting Civility in Online Discussions: A Study of the Intelligent Conversation Forum[6],

“Moderation in combination with reputation scores have been used successfully on the large technology site Slashdot, according to Lampe and Resnick (2004). Slashdot moderation duties are shared among a group of users, who can assign positive or negative reputation points to posts and to other members. Users who have earned a sufficient reputation rating are allowed to participate in moderation if they wish. Meta-moderators observe the moderators for abuse and can remove bad moderators, or reward good moderators by assigning a higher point value to their votes.” In Slashdot’s case, it would seem that good behavior not only is rewarding in and of itself, but it also provides a reward in the form of being granted the ability to police others’ behavior.

[6] AS Crane, 2012, Promoting Civility in Online Discussions: A Study of the Intelligent Conversation Forum, rave.ohiolink.edu, Page 17

Deception

For those who bend the truth on Facebook and other social media websites, some of the consequences are unexpected ones.

For example, a ten-year-old child claims to be thirteen. So, in five years, they’ll be considered eighteen on a social networking site. This will alter her privacy settings automatically. And lets everyone see images, including pedophiles.[7]

[7] Olsen, Tyler, 22 April 2013, Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire: An Explanation of Deception, Professor Combs English 1010-21

Creative Obfuscation: Conclusion

It is fairly easy to bend the truth when composing an online dating profile. But an in-person meeting will expose the lie to all. As a result, the liar will lose social capital and likely never make it to a second date. More problematic is when a person’s sincerely made identity does not jibe with their appearance or their birth characteristics.

Differences between online verbiage and offline appearance might not have an intentionally malicious origin. So, it is entirely possible for online daters to, through ambiguity or poor word choice, appear deceptive and untrustworthy. When they may be anything but.

But regardless of the reason for an untruth, online daters care about their reputations. And their online and offline appearances. What others think matters to them. Much of that directly relates to the object behind the use of an online dating site. So, the object is to meet. That is, the mission is the date.

Setting up the date for failure or the loss of face is not in online daters’ best interests. So, most act to assure success or at least prevent and minimize failure and the loss of social capital.

Personal Identity

Personal identity matters in the online world, and it is a heady brew of inborn traits, learned and attained characteristics, and identification, desire, and preference.

For the person presenting their identity and showing this admixture to all and sundry, what it means to be them, what they think of as the ‘self’, is they cobble together from potentially thousands of measurable and nonquantifiable data points in order to present a full picture of their personality.

For the recipients of these messages, the potential dating partners and perhaps even more permanent mates, the choice is whether to read or listen to these many messages. And accept all or some of them. Even if they conflict with or downright contradict the evidence that the recipient can observe or otherwise gather independently.

You are who you were at birth, who you have become, and who you claim to be, and who you think you are. But that does not mean that anyone has to believe you, accept you, or love you.

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