Writers Summit - Patti Thorne - How to hire an editor

How to hire an editor was an extremely interesting topic for me.  I had never thought of it, but I'm not really an aspiring professional writer.  It was obvious that by looking around in the crowd that several of these other people hadn't either.  I guess that why we have a Writers Summit.

She started off with a quote, I believe it was Adalai Stevenson (s.p) look I need an editor for my post.  "An editor is someone who seperates the wheat from the chaff and then prints the chaff."  This got a lot of laughs."  It reminded me of the relationship between mortgage bankers and real estate agents. 

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She pointed out that an editor editor is like a person who helps you navigate around in a foreign land.  You kind of know what you're doing and kind of know where you are going, but it really helps if you have a guide.  Patti Thorne also pointed out that it is very hard to judge your work.  Your friends and family will tell you it's great even if it isin't.  She obviously has never met my friends or family.

In pointing out how to find an editor she had a few suggestions.  The best one to have is to talk with other authors.  The other way is through the Internet or websites. In Colorado the suggested the Colorado Indendent Publishers Association.

She had some great advice on what to look for in an editor

1. Is the editor local? Local is better if you want to be able to sit down with somebody face to face.
2. How much editing experience do they have?  Patti Thorne was the books section for the Rocky Mountain News for several years.  It was a very long time, it's not in my notes.
3. Are they a good writer?
4. Do you feel comfortable with them.

How much does it cost to hire an editor?

It was all over the map; some charge per word, per page, or per project.

It was a great speech and all the audience seemed engaged and asked a lot of questions at the end.

I really enjoyed her talk and went down to her booth to talk with her.  I asked her if she was exhausted from talking with people all day.  She said that she really enjoyed it with the social interation with people all day.  Real estate agents can relate who work out of their home office.  I'm certain that we still get more interaction with the public. 

I got to ask her about the challenges of finding a specific editor.  The book that I have gone the farthest with of my own is Low-limit Omaha - The Chasers Game.  I talked about the unique challenges of editing a poker book, especially Omaha.  She agreed and said she wouldn't take a project like that.  I talked about how an editor isin't really needed for my little real estate books that I want to publish.  Again I don't think I need an editor for these smaller e-books.

I finally got the guts to tell her about my secret book project.  The only other person who knows about it is Rebecca.  I outlined it for her and she was very intrigued by the idea.  I'd even go as far as to say fascinated by the subject.  It would be a weighty book at a couple of hundred pages to say what really needs to be said.  She suggested I could even write it as fiction as opposed to a non-fiction work.  If I was a real writer that might be a great idea, the story could be told that way.  I'm not creative enough to do that though.  I offered her the idea that she could write the fictional version however she wanted if I could get a discount on the editing :)

The one thing I will say is that if I was going to hire and editor Patti Thorne would definitely be the one I'd hire.  Now to finish up these blogs, enter contacts into my database, plan my week, and if there is time get started on that book.

The Rocky Mountain writers summit - Why was a real estate agent there

Jonathan Manske - Author and Life Coach

Patti Thorn - Editor

EJ Thornton - Author and Publisher

Joe Sabah - World Renowned Author and Speaker

Thubten Comerford - Social Media Expert

The officail web site of the writers conference