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When should you hire a freelance editor? Part three

Read part two here

Have you read any writing books, gone to any workshops, taken any classes (whether in person or online)?

If the answer is no, then you are not ready to hire a freelance editor.

The reason is similar to my answer in part one. Writing craft books, workshops, and classes can take you from a beginning writer to a strong intermediate one.

You don’t want to waste your good money in hiring a freelance editor who will point out the basic writing mistakes in your manuscript when you could buy a $15 book and learn that for yourself.

What book do you start with? I have a nice list of Books on Writing and a few suggestions in my article, “I want to write a novel and I have no clue what to do!”

If you have a hard time learning from books, go to a class. A writer’s conference can be expensive, but the workshops there are usually worth the investment.

Auditory learners have lots of options--in addition to conference workshops/classes, there are MP3 classes you can listen to. Randy Ingermanson and Donna Fleisher both have audio MP3s that you can buy relatively cheaply that will teach you the basics.

Most writing conferences will also have the workshops available on MP3 to buy after the conference is over. RWA and ACFW both have all their workshops available as MP3s.

There are great online classes you can take through a writing organization. RWA and its chapters often have online classes, and ACFW offers free online classes to members every month.

If you take the time to learn the basics of writing, then when you do hire a freelance editor, she can focus on deeper issues to help you polish your manuscript and bump it up to that next level.

More next time.
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