Where are the best places to hire good editors?

Question

The more I research places to hire an editor, the deeper the rabbit hole goes.I see that previous responses to this question are either, "Ask friends and family for a reference" (I'll pass),or "Search the internet" (thanks).So I've found professional editor associations, however searching through the bios on these sites is uninspiring and feels like a roll of the dice.There are also fancier freelance websites such as reedsy.com and bibliocruch.com, but I don't have any experience with these to know the difference or who is on the other side of these websites.Given these two options, what have been your experience? Is there a better third option?Thanks very much!

Answer 1

Hey there. Writer friends of mine have gone to their favorite book stores and asked the people who work there. Seriously. That might sound 'out there' in this day of e-search-everything, but it's a good way to find people who do it on the side or are working for smaller firms. I might not test this at a big box bookstore, but possibly a fringe bookstore--for example, one that sells great quarterlys--or possibly a niche used books bookstore. Someplace like that, in your area, that might have leads on editors who fly under the radar, but are vetted and great at what they do.