Finding an Editor

Greetings and salutations, friends!

Today I want to talk about editors.

I began my journey as anyone else: on the internet. I used Tik Tok primarily, because it's the social platform I happened to be addicted to at the time, and because there seems to be a huge culture for this type of thing. I cycled through a few options for some months, wavering back and forth on cost, editing type, etc.

Ultimately, I had resigned myself to the fact I would likely be editing this monster myself, and hoping for the best. I was praying that two or three proof-readers would catch the worst of my mistakes, and that everything else could be forgiven. (This is my first book, after all!)

And then I saw Dorlisa's Tik Tok.

Immediately I was drawn in by her charisma, but more importantly it was the content she was producing. She was bold, funny, and honest, and bringing to light some of the lesser-known hangups of indie publishing. She made a point to offer tips and tricks on navigating the process, what red flags--and green flags!--to look for when picking an editor. She discussed her commitment to compassionate work, and was always transparent about her own struggles with procrastination and staying on task.

With every video I saw, I grew more fond of her.

When the time finally came I knew I wanted her to be the one to edit my book. I spent all of five minutes scanning her website and requested a sample edit almost immediately. Her tact and grace on the first chunk of garbage I sent her was exactly what I was looking for; someone who could be honest, but still lent a bit of humor to her process. (I would be lying if I told you her love for my MMC's name was a plus!)

I began the process of hiring her as soon as I read over the sample edit. I looked at my finances, told myself "we will figure it out, boo," and booked a virtual meetup with her for the following week.

I am an awkward person by nature, and as soon as we took one look at each other I felt 100% comfortable with her. We laughed, we talked far longer than the time we had booked, and discussed strategy and timeline.

Four days later we signed a contract and I sent her the deposit.

Now, it is July.

I have received the manuscript, lovingly edited, and begun the arduous task of sifting through each and every one to approve or reject, and answer any comments D has left for me.

I have learned two things these last two days:

1. Dorlisa is funny as fuck. I'm having SO MUCH FUN dropping memes and snarky comebacks to all her little quips. It feels like I'm working with a friend. She is kind, considerate, and most importantly honest. I am relieved.

2. I could not have done this without an editor.

The fact is this: no matter how confident I was (it wasn't very) or how many times I looked over the manuscript (it felt like a thousand but was probably closer to seven) there is no way I could have edited this myself. I've only made it to page fifteen and learned at least four new techniques and discovered no less than two of my own crutches I had been previously unaware of.

Dorlisa has done her job--very well, mind you. And she has earned every penny I paid her. It was hard. I struggled a lot. She was worth it. I realize now that I could not have produced a book anywhere near the quality I expect from myself without an editor.

So this is my recommendation: hire a professional editor.

If you can't afford it, pace yourself. Save your money. Start a GoFundMe or Kickstarter. Push back the deadline if you can. But please please please. You owe it to yourself. You worked hard to create this. An Editor is invaluable, because they are capable of taking your work to the next level.

And you may even make a friend in the process. 💖

Anyway, I hope she likes all of the unhinged shit I will be sending her in the coming weeks.

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• If you're looking for an editor, might I recommend Dorlisa Frank?

• She can be found here, and is active on both Instagram and Tik Tok.