Hiring an editor
Hey everyone! Was hoping to crowd source some opinions.
So I am a self-pub indie dark romance author. My first book actually got a decent amount of interest and traction (for doing very minimal and last minute promotion and being a debut author). Readers definitely seemed interested in getting their hands on the next book in their reviews, which was super exciting, and I’m nearing the end of writing that book and need an editor for it.
For the first book I published, I had a friend edit it and then two close friends beta read it. They did great catching proofing errors, and gave some decent content edits (more line edits than anything else), but I think the first book could’ve been better if I had someone who really did some content editing as well (looking at pacing, character arcs, etc). Don’t get me wrong, virtually all of my reviews were 3-5 stars, with one or two who the book was just too dark for leaving unhappy reviews, but I think a professional editor could’ve pushed a lot those 3-4 reviews into the 4-5 range.
I also honestly just feel bad making my friend do that much work for no reward. Obviously, she’s happy to and mostly enjoys getting to be “part of the process”, but I think if I want to take it seriously, a good professional editor is the move.
So with all that backlore, I’m highly considering trying to hire an editor. I know the name of the game is trying to minimize costs where you can, but has anyone had luck finding good editors who are really interested in working with them as clients long term? Obviously with a series it’d be nice for someone to be consistent across the future books that I’m happy with. If you did hire an editor you liked, where’d you find them (particularly romance and dark romance authors)? Bonus points if anyone loves their editor and knows they’re looking for new clients.
Also, for those who hired an editor, what services did you pay for and how much did it end up costing you? (Content, line, proofing). Did you pay by word, hour, etc.? This is all know to be because baseline I am a fairly strong writer and I published the first book without really intending to do anything with it, so this side of the “business” is new territory.
Any and all info would be helpful. Thanks in advance!