Many writers nowadays fall for editing scams. Many people are pretending to be editors, claiming they will make your book the next bestseller. They make false promises claiming that they have “insider knowledge” and only their service or product will instantly provide you with bestseller status, thousands of sales and positive reviews.

The scammers often depend on the desperation, frustration and inexperience of writers who are exhausted by the writing process and are looking for shortcuts or don’t know how the publishing process works. The scammers usually send generic messages praising the writer’s manuscript and making guarantees about the success of their book.

Does it sound too good to be true? Because it is. No editor or publishing professional can ever guarantee that their editing service will make a writer’s book a bestseller with thousands of readers and sales. Editors can only promise that they will do their best work and help writers improve their manuscripts.

This blog article explains 9 steps that writers can take to help them avoid editing scams and find fiction editors they trust to help them improve their manuscripts and achieve their writing goals.

Portfolio
Education, fiction training and experience 
Memberships
Social media
Recommendations
Professional organizations
Sample edits
Communication with the editor
Terms and conditions

Portfolio
The first step to take to avoid editing scams is to check the editor’s website. Browse the editor’s website and pay particular attention to the writer testimonials. Editors usually include testimonials on various webpages, so make sure to visit at least 2-3 webpages and carefully read them.

Also, make sure to check the “Portfolio” webpage or the webpage where the editor lists their previous editing projects to see if they have experience in editing projects similar to yours.

Education, fiction training and experience 
Another step to take to find trusted editors is to look at the “About” webpage of the editor’s website. Most editors have a dedicated “About” webpage where they include relevant information about their education, fiction training and experience and explain the services they offer and the genres they edit. Read carefully the editor’s “About” webpage to make sure you find a trusted editor for your fiction story.

Memberships
Another step to take to avoid editing scams is to check if the editor is a member to professional organizations. Is the editor you are considering a member of a professional organization like the EFA, CIEP, ALLi or ClubEdfreelancers? Most editors include in their “About” page their memberships to these organizations and have badges that demonstrate their membership at the footer of their website.

ALLi’s editing and publishing professionals are vetted and verified before becoming ALLi partner members, so if you come across an editor who is an ALLi partner member,  you can most likely trust that they are a real person.

Social media
Another step to take to find a trusted editor is to check the editor’s social media profiles. Most editors include links to their social media accounts on their websites so you can easily check their social media account profiles.

Check when their account was created and see how many followers they have, what kind of posts they publish and generally their interactions online. Real editors interact with writers and other editors over time and publish their own original posts. 

Recommendations
Another step to take to avoid editing scams is to ask other writers for editor recommendations. Do you belong to a writer’s group, a writer’s organization or have writer friends who have already professionally edited their manuscripts? Ask them for accommodations. If you and your writer friends write books in similar genres, you might be able to hire the same editor.

Alternatively, you can ask writer groups on Facebook for editor recommendations, but be careful when you take into consideration recommendations from people you don’t know. 

Professional organizations
Another step to take to find trusted fiction editors is through professional organizations like the EFA (Editorial Freelancers Association) and ALLi  (Alliance of Independent Authors).

The EFA includes the Member Directory, where writers can find the editorial freelancer they want by checking off the categories that apply to them and contacting the editor of their choice.

The EFA also includes a Job List where writers can post editing jobs. When posting for an editing job, make sure to include the kind of editing service you need, the genre and word count of your story, your estimated budget and your desired deadline to find the right editor for your story.

Also, if you are an Alli member, you can search the Approved Services Search to find vetted and trusted partner members (editorial professionals) to help you edit and publish your manuscript.

Sample edits
Another step to take to avoid editing scams is to request sample edits. Most editors provide free sample edits of about 1000-2000 words to assess the writer’s style, identify the strengths and weaknesses of the manuscript, and ensure that their style of feedback aligns with the author’s expectations.

Editors will happily provide you with a sample edit (free or paid), so make sure to ask them for one before booking an editing service with them.

Communication with the editor
Another step to take to find trusted editors is to communicate with them. Do not pay for a service or product without communicating with the editor first and ensuring that a real person is behind it. Communication can be achieved by email or video chat.

You can ask questions about a particular service you are interested in ( scope of work, deliverables, fees, deadlines). You can also provide more information about your manuscript, your timeline and estimated budget. You can also ask editors more questions about their education, fiction training, experience and how they helped writers in the past.

Editors are always happy to answer questions about themselves or their services to help writers determine if they are the right fit for their story.

Terms and conditions
A final step to ensure you avoid editing scams is to consider the editor’s terms and conditions. Trusted editors are transparent about their editing services.

Check the editor’s services’ pages and their Terms and Conditions page and carefully read how they handle editing projects, sample edits, quotations and fees, cancellations, confidentiality and copyright issues. Read their Privacy Policy page to see how they collect, use and store your personal information.

Also, a legitimate editor always offers a clear contract that outlines the editing project’s scope of work, deliverables, deadlines and fees. Most editors ask for a booking fee or a deposit upfront to book a spot in their schedule, which is standard practice. Just make sure not to pay the whole amount for an editing project upfront, especially to editors that you don’t know and trust yet. Always use secure platforms when making a payment to protect yourself from scams.

Conclusion
Writers often fall for editing scams from people who pretend to be editors and promise them that their service or product will turn their manuscript into an instant bestseller and make them rich.

​Writers should be extremely cautious and always make research (portfolio, education and training, memberships, social media), ask for recommendations from other writers and sample edits before trusting an editor and hiring them.

And remember... if a service or a product is too good to be true...it probably is. No editor can guarantee success and fame. They can only promise to deliver their best work and help you improve your manuscript.

Additional resources
How to find the right editor for your fiction story
9 important questions editors ask authors before working with them
What are the different types of editing services

Fiction writers often don’t know the difference between the different types of editing services and cannot recognise what type of editing service their manuscript really needs. 

In this blog article, we will go through the different types of editing services (beta reading, developmental editing, manuscript critique, line editing, copyediting, proofreading) to help writers distinguish them and make informed decisions about the type of editing service their story really needs at a particular stage of the writing process.
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Beta reading 
Developmental editing
Manuscript critique
Line editing
Copyediting
Proofreading
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Beta reading 
Beta reading is a reader’s reaction to the story. Writers should seek beta readers after self-editing their manuscript but before giving it to professional editors. Beta readers are avid readers and are familiar with the rules and tropes of a particular genre, and they tell writers how a future reader might understand their story. 

They provide honest and constructive feedback from the perspective of the intended reader about the potential big-picture storytelling elements of a manuscript, such as character development, plot and structure, point of view, pacing, and genre conventions, in a reader’s report.

(Although beta reading is strictly not an editing service, it is included here because it is  a part of the editing process and helps writers improve their stories.)

Developmental editing
Developmental editing is the first type of editing authors should look for after they have self-edited their story. The developmental editor addresses the manuscript’s strengths and weaknesses and provides constructive feedback on the following big-picture storytelling elements:

• theme
• story structure
• character development
• point of view
• pacing
• setting 
• genre conventions
•  scene vs narrative summary (show vs tell) 
• dialogue

Most editors (especially line editors, copy editors and proofreaders) offer free sample edits. However, it is difficult for developmental editors to offer free sample edits because the big-picture issues of a manuscript can cover several pages or chapters. 

Some developmental editors provide free sample edits to assess the author’s writing style, identify potential big-picture storytelling issues and ensure that their editing style aligns with what the author is looking for.

Developmental editors provide a marked-up manuscript with margin suggestions (comments) and an editorial report full of constructive and honest feedback to further guide the author.

Manuscript critique
Manuscript critique (also known as manuscript evaluation) is a less intensive version of the developmental editing service. The developmental editor reads the manuscript and provides constructive and honest feedback on the same big-picture storytelling elements as the developmental editing service. 

The main difference between the two services is that in the manuscript critique service, the developmental editor provides feedback only in an editorial report.

Line editing
While developmental editing focuses on the big-picture storytelling elements of a manuscript,  line editing focuses on the sentence-level errors.

Line editors carefully read the manuscript and go through it line-by-line to ensure that the language remains sharp and clear throughout the story. Line editors provide a marked-up manuscript with margin suggestions.

A line editor is concerned about the:

• logical flow of scenes and the sentences
•  tone/mood of the manuscript
• overall pacing of the story
• word choice
• redundancies and repetitions
• inconsistencies and continuity errors
• fact-checking
• point of view
• head-hopping
• dialogue

Copyediting
While line editing focuses on sentence-level errors, copy editing focuses more on individual words rather than whole sentences or paragraphs.

Copy editors provide a marked-up manuscript and a style guide to ensure consistency within the manuscript e.g the names of characters and locations are spelt consistently.

A copy editor is concerned about:

• grammar
• punctuation
• spelling
• capitalization
• headings
• fact-checking
• consistency
•  readability
• repeated words
• continuity errors

Proofreading
Proofreading comes after the other rounds of editing (beta reading, developmental editing, line editing, copyediting) and typesetting and is the final step of the editing process. 

Proofreaders analyse the manuscript and catch any errors that slipped through the previous editing rounds to ensure that the manuscript is error-free and looks professional. Proofreaders provide a marked-up manuscript with margin suggestions. 

A proofreader is concerned about:

• grammar
•  spelling
• punctuation
• syntax
• formatting
• consistency
• readability

Conclusion
Editors help writers improve their manuscripts and achieve their writing goals through the various types of editing services: beta reading, developmental editing, manuscript critique, line editing, copy editing and proofreading.

Professional editing services are necessary for writers who wish to publish their stories. Writers should be familiar with the different types of editing services and be able to recognise the right type of editing service their manuscript needs at a particular stage of the writing process.

Additional resources
What is the beta reading service?
What is the developmental editing service?
What is the manuscript critique service?
Why do you need a developmental editor for your fiction story
How to find the right editor for your story
9 questions editors ask authors before working with them