Resources for Authors: Contacting Editors

Kate Elliott asked recently on her Twitter account (@KateElliotSFF) for resources for new authors who weren’t connected in with an agent or publishing house.   Her question resonates; how can you make contact with a group when you don’t have contact with a group?  She wrote:

But how do people who aren’t on twitter find reputable freelance editors to work with on their novel? Are there reputable places where people get listed/can list themselves? I don’t know.

And, the answers are very useful:

Travis Bach (@TravBach ) replied:

http://Reedsy.com

Tons of great professionals on there and it handles the entire process of employing them.

When questioned as to how good the supply is, Travis responded: 

I’m not entirely sure but I’ve never had a bad experience and when I look to hire the list is always full of people with “20 years of industry experience here are all the covers of the NYT books I’ve worked on.”

Kate also notes they have some free courses for beginners, but looking at them, there’s courses for all levels, ranging from “How to Write” and “How to Self-Publish” to “Turning up the Steam in your Romance” and “How to create an Author’s Blog”.   https://blog.reedsy.com/learning/courses/

Mahesh Raj Mohan (@maheshrmohan) suggests:

The Editorial Freelancers Association is a great resource

@EFAFreelancers

These look like two excellent resources to get started, if you don’t already have a circle of writer friends.   Thank you Kate for looking out for newcomers!  And thanks for the great responses!

John

2 thoughts on “Resources for Authors: Contacting Editors

  1. J Warner says:

    If you really like an author, check out their home pages. Many of them can be paid to review your stories, and some even offer professional editing services.

    Read carefully what they offer, and reach out to talk about your project. Be respectful. They are not your staff. Do not become a Twitter thread. 🙂

  2. John Schmidt says:

    Excellent point! Another one, for listeners of this podcast, is that we ask all of our guests if they would accept emails–many will. Listen to a podcast, perhaps send an email to an author you like via us! (Not all authors do accept emails, and all authors are busy.)

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