What to look for in a book editor (and what to walk away from).

A good editor changes the trajectory of your book. A bad one wastes months and leaves you exactly where you started — but tireder.

Five signs you've found one

1. They ask about your reader, not just your manuscript.

2. They send a sample edit on a real chapter before they ask for money.

3. They distinguish clearly between developmental edit, copyedit, and proofread.

4. They give you a timeline with a hard end date.

5. They tell you what they will NOT do — what is out of scope.

Three signs to walk away

• "We'll handle everything" — vague scope, predictable disappointment.

• "We can't share samples — confidentiality" — references and anonymized samples should always be possible.

• "Pay 100% upfront" — milestone-based payment protects both sides.

If you want a real sample edit on your manuscript, send us a chapter. We'll return it with tracked changes inside one business week.