How many experienced Lit writers use editors here?

[lovecraft68]

I'm not trying to scare anyone, but I always feel this is worth mentioning.

There was an VE here named Evelyn Turner who edited for a lot of authors for years. I then found out that she was taking the material people sent her to edit and publishing them on amazon as her own, she also outright lifted a lot of stories from here, at one point she had over 300 before a concerted effort by people here, and Laurel got them removed.

So be wary of who you're sending your work too.

 

[ChloeTzang]

I have a couple of volunteer editors who are doing a really good job of catching my mistakes and every now and then they point out a flaw or gap in my story. It’s been really helpful.

 

[SisterJezabel]

I have been in talks with another author and we have agreed to read through each other's work.

Volunteer editing can be challenging. One of the first pieces I was sent was so poorly constructed with different tenses, perspectives and poor spelling and grammar it was really a chore. Then the author decided not to publish it. I now ask for a lot of detail from a writer and can often tell from their email responses the type of writer I am working with. I have also found there are authors out there who want an editor to re-write their story for them- I'm happy to suggest things that might add to the flow, but I'm not in the game to write stories for other people.

 

[tomlitilia]

I usually have someone else read the story before I post it. Usually, there aren't that many mistakes, at least nowadays, but, no matter how many times I read my text, some fuck-ups remain in my blind spot. English isn't my first language, which I think makes it easier for mistakes to slip through the cracks, even if I'm perfectly aware that they are mistakes. I have used erotica writing as a way to improve my written language, and I think it has helped to have someone point out patterns.

 

[Kumquatqueen]

I've had a couple of my stories pre-read by other authors here, to tell me if there were phrases that would be incomprehensible to the average American (still the odd complaint from below-average Americans, but there we are), and to point out any glaring continuity errors (character takes socks off twice, this para introducing X should go earlier, how long are X and Y spending in this place that they can fit that many fucks in, maybe make clear that more.time is passing than you might think)

It was much appreciated, though other stories I've just edited repeatedly myself. I'd have loved someone fluent in Northern Irish English to look over the dialogue in one series of mine, but didn't have anyone I could really ask.

People seem to use editor and beta reader fairly interchangably so I'm not too sure what is expected of them.

 

[jehoram]

I'm very lucky in that I have a friend who is not only a professional editor but an author of erotica in her own right. We've known each other for forty years or so. I edit for her, too, but I think she'd done more of the heavy lifting in the relationship.

FWIW, I've written an essay on the writer/editor relationship, and what value I've personally taken from the one I have with my editor. I'm mentioning it because it can be a factor in a prospective author's search for an collaborator, whether a volunteer editor, a paid editor, or simply a beta reader. The essay is here: https://www.literotica.com/s/the-right-editor

 

[Emirus]

Is finding a good editor just a matter of luck?

I’ve looked at the length of your two published stories and at 9 pages/28k words they are much longer than the most popular 2 to 4 page length. It may be the editors you contacted don’t like the content, or won’t edit stories of that length, and haven’t had the decency to tell you. Some people advise putting a request for an editor at the beginning or end of a story. Whether it works or not I’ve no idea as it’s not something I’ve ever done myself.

I have two writers who have edited most of my stories but I’ve also published eight without the help of an editor and all have been well received with the magic red. Both writers initially approached me which was very flattering because they are both better writers than myself and their friendship and advice has been a definite plus for me. I hope I’ve been some help to them. If you can somehow find the same relationship with another writer you will be very lucky.

One thing you shouldn’t do, if you consider your work could be improved with the assistance of an editor, is to stop looking for an editor.

 

[DrHappy]

Thanks again everyone for your input! Yesterday, I finally found someone from the Volunteer Editor program who responded and offered to proofread, so I’m thrilled about that. I’m eager to see how this works out. Out of 5 contact attempts with the Volunteer Editor program, the first 3 ghosted me, 1 apologetically declined because it was too long, and 1 offered to proofread. I posted a request in the Editor’s forum, but there were no responses. I don't know whether they quit editing, or they just blow off authors if they don't want to get involved with their stories. I wish that they would disable their VE accounts if they are no longer editing.

Since my stories tend to be long, I wonder if I would be more responses if said that I was looking for a proofreader or a beta reader, rather than an editor. It sounds like some authors expect their editors to do a lot of the story work for them. Maybe stating that I already used Grammarly would help, too.

SimonDoom, thank you for taking the time to read through the first page of Untrusted and commenting on my mechanics and style. I REALLY appreciate that. Also thanks for pointing out the specific error that you found. I’ll add it to the list of errors that I’ve found since it has been published. I’m planning to fix all of these errors and resubmit it with error corrections someday.

Gunhilltrain & Javahead, thanks for letting me know about Grammarly. It sounds like it may be a good idea to use regardless of whether or not I have an editor. It may reduce the workload for correcting grammatical mistakes. I’d really prefer to spend my time trying to improve my writing styles and techniques, and improving storylines.

KeithD, thanks for the link to your essay on self-review!

Lovecraft68, thanks for letting me know about E Turner. What a scumbag.

Emerus, thank you for taking the time to check out the length of my stories.

With my current story, I LOVE the premise, and I LOVE the adventure ideas that go along with the premise. I don’t want to sabotage this great setup with a mediocre execution. Has anyone else felt this way about one of your story ideas?

 

[gordo12]

For my stories, the reader-advice to get an editor stopped after I started using Grammarly. Now, the only complaints are about the story content.

Ditto!

 

[XerXesXu]

Text to Speech.

Sometimes.

The truth is, a really good editor (whether it be for big rewrites, contributions, or improving word/sentence choices) are difficult to find. And it's difficult to get their services regularly.

It's like a quote I read a while back, that no one cares more about your work than you do.

I’ve taken to using text to speech programs as a proxy beta reader and editor. Your ears lend you fresh eyes and enable you to do a lot of what an editor would do – pick up grammatical infelicities, clumsy sentences. You hear your writing as a reader may hear it in his/her head. Worth doing, even after you’ve run whatever writing software you use over it.

 

[DrHappy]

I gave Grammarly at try this week and was truly impressed at what it found that humans did not find. It would object to my use of the word "truly" in the previous senstence as a redundant word, though. It doesn't seem to like any extra words that are used for emphasis. It does require some scrutiny as not all suggestions make sense, but the benefits greatly outweigh the time and effort spent using it.

I eventually got an editor to take a look at my story. He did make some valuable suggestions with word choice in places which is not something that Grammarly would have caught. For instance, I used a certain word too often in previous paragraphs, and he choose another word in later instances. Both choices were grammatically correctly, but his make it more pleasant for the reader.

I hope to submit a final version within the next week if I can find the time to wrap it up.

Moving forward, I'll definitely be using Grammarly in the future which will make it easier to focus more on the content and flow of the story line. It would still be nice to have at least someone proofread to comment critically things related to the story.

 

[DrHappy]

Do all of the Grammarly users use the free version? Has anyone tried the paid version? I've only tried the free version.