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Can't Contact An Editor

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BigPin76

Virgin
Joined
Jun 30, 2016
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21
I've been trying to contact a few different editors the past week and I'm not having any luck. I don't think my messages are going through because I check the box to have a copy sent to me and I don't receive one.

Has anyone else had this problem and more importantly, does anyone know a solution?
Thanks
 
BigPin76 said:
I've been trying to contact a few different editors the past week and I'm not having any luck. I don't think my messages are going through because I check the box to have a copy sent to me and I don't receive one.

Has anyone else had this problem and more importantly, does anyone know a solution?
Thanks
Click to expand...

The Volunteer Editor program doesn't work properly and never has. Your best option is to look through the 'sticky' post at the top of this forum to see who is available and PM them, or post here with details of Genre, word count and a short paragraph regarding the content of your story and hope someone will volunteer.
 
It's not really that the VE program doesn't work. It's more that most VE's don't have the time to volunteer edit for a lot of reasons. The most important thing a writer can do when looking for a VE or beta reader is state the word count, provide the story premise, and for God's sake state the sex themes. After a while, VE's get fed up with asking for this info.
 
If VEs are on the list but don't respond to e-mails, the system isn't working.
 
It does work.

VE's do respond on that list, but not all of them. Or if some of them do respond, some of them don't complete the edits or things like that-- which is fine, it's a free service.

Basically, if you're on the VE list, you get bombarded with requests. A VE can't be expected to do all of them.

The one thing that's broken though is that the VE, in the initial email, gets a link to the author's profile. It used to work. Now it's broken, meaning the VE gets a broken link to the author's profile, so the VE would have to look up the author's profile manually.
 
The consistent complaint by authors to this forum is that the VE editors aren't even answering their queries. The VE system is NOT working. Most of those VE editors are long gone. (Truth be told most of them have no editorial training either.) The best bet to get a second pair of eyes for your story is by asking for help on this forum.
 
I have my VE profile disabled because I received too many requests by authors who don't understand, or care, that I don't edit for all categories or themes. And then, for free, a VE has to put up with too much bullshit from authors.

The bottom line is that the majority of the time, it is not worth editing for many Lit authors. It's like asking to get beat up, when I'm not into S&M. I have worked with some great Lit authors who know how to clearly communicate their editing or beta reading needs, along with providing realistic info about their story, and who understand a VE has a life. Unfortunately, they're in the minority.
 
You might argue "why" any number of ways, but the bottom line is that the VE system has not worked for many of the people who tried to use it. I've seen very few people say that it worked, and many people who said that it didn't. That doesn't even count the number of people who got frustrated and quit trying to use the VE system without posting here about the problem.
 
On top of all the problems mentioned above, there are other issues with the VE program. I tried finding an editor through the program, attempting to find one who accepted the category I'd chosen. After about 1000 editors passed by, I couldn't go any further, even though alphabetically, I was only at the letter 'K.' Apparently there's a limit on how many editors the system will show, and if the editor's name is at the back end of the alphabet, you can't find them.

I sent a feedback message suggesting a purge of the database by contacting every VE requesting if they wanted to continue being listed. Also, I suggested eliminating the limit on seeing potential editors. Didn't receive a response, and the system is the same as it was several years ago. Perhaps with the new system, something will be done.

As a previous response suggested, contact an editor on this forum who indicates they are available.
 
Privates1stClass said:
I sent a feedback message suggesting a purge of the database by contacting every VE requesting if they wanted to continue being listed. Also, I suggested eliminating the limit on seeing potential editors. Didn't receive a response, and the system is the same as it was several years ago. Perhaps with the new system, something will be done.
Click to expand...

I understand that it will be looked at and revised as part of the site 'upgrade'. It is low on the list of priorities and therefore likely to be a long time before they get to it.

Until then, yes this forum is the best place to ask.
 
There apparently is no incentive perceived by the site owners for change on this, even though pretending to have such a functioning system is more destructive than not having it at all.
 
I reached out to something like 20 editors, never heard a single word of response from any of them. I tried to pick ones with recent activity, it didn't matter. I've given up.
 
ImmanuelMal said:
I reached out to something like 20 editors, never heard a single word of response from any of them. I tried to pick ones with recent activity, it didn't matter. I've given up.
Click to expand...

Did you try listing your need by wordage and category here on this forum? This functionally is where the help is generated now.
 
Yeah, I put up a thread about it. Not sure if I mentioned the word count, but I did have the first five or six parts up on the site here, so those could have been looked at to give a rough idea.

I guess I was a little specific in that I was looking for a woman to work with me, so that reduces the market down considerably.

It's not a big deal, it's just that you look at the site, and you think that you'll be finding an editor fairly easily, but that's not the case at all.
 
I just got an editor through the editor volunteer program this week, so the system definitely works.

The thing about it though, is that only 10% of people you contact there will reply to you. What I do, is contact several editors at once and wait for a day. If none replied, then I will contact the next batch, and if a few replied I will choose one and apologize to everyone else (but that type of thing happened only once). Also sometimes the editor will contact you several WEEKS after you contacted him in the VE program. Just saying that it can happen, but chances are you have already found someone and edited your thing by then =). I had this happen to me once, and it was pretty funny. And the guy even got upset that I didn't wait for him to have free time for me.;)
Also when you do find an editor you should try and ask him/her if they are willing to edit your further stories. Then you can just e-mail them when you have your next one and ask if they are available.

Also when I do my search I try to mostly contact editors who got active in 2016. If the profile is dormant since 2012, chances are that this person will not be available.
 
Last edited:
With the volunteer editors you have to be patient. Real life can get in the way of their editing tasks. The editor I'm dealing with seems nice and friendly and I have to be patient, editing a 50,000+ word story takes time.
 
editing

This on-going conversation is always interesting. Mine is turned on- and I never get any emails. However, if I post in the monthly up top of this thread- then I get one or two, not dozens. - I'd say the system at best doesn't work as it should and I also think some of the authors searching don't always do their due diligence either.
 
I've had this problem too. I won't complain that the VE program doesn't work. Because as pointed earlier by a couple of people, if you contact a bunch of people atleast one or two of them will get back to you. I had contacted a very wonderful editor who helped me quite a bit. She helped me edit 3 of my stories and was working on the final one. Now its been over a month and she hasn't gotten back to me.

I understand that VE's are people too and have a life. But atleast some kind of communication letting the author know that they can't continue further due to any reason should also be done. In my case I dont know what happened and my final chapter is left in limbo.

I always make it a point to check a VE's profile to see if they accept the kind of documents I work with or if they will work with the particular category of story I have written. Another problem for me is that I write in the niche category of Transgenders and Crossdressers and not a lot of people take up those stories for editing.

So there are lots of pluses and minuses to this program.
 
My previous editor has vanished into the void too. She was always very fast to answer and agreed to edit my story, but after I sent it to her... silence. I asked if she was okay and got no response, so I was forced to get another editor after that. It's been more than a month and still silence, so I'm kinda worried if something may have happened to her.
But there's no way of knowing. Maybe she just got sick of editing and called it quits.:confused:

p.s. hi hfernandez1983, are you editing still or just writing now?
 
Nezhul said:
My previous editor has vanished into the void too. She was always very fast to answer and agreed to edit my story, but after I sent it to her... silence. I asked if she was okay and got no response, so I was forced to get another editor after that. It's been more than a month and still silence, so I'm kinda worried if something may have happened to her.
But there's no way of knowing. Maybe she just got sick of editing and called it quits.:confused:

p.s. hi hfernandez1983, are you editing still or just writing now?
Click to expand...

Hey Nezhul,

You were one of the first people I helped with editing. I haven't tried after that. I always find that providing some editing help to others is way easier than doing it for my own work. But no, I am not editing at the moment. I need to get my last story from my current series edited and done with. But I have started another story thats hopefully turning into a series.

As for the editors vanishing into the void, I havent heart from my last editor either. Don't know if she is ok or not. Sent her a couple of emails asking if she is ok, but nada. And now I'm having no luck finding anyone. :/
 
hi

i can help in editing. pl send yr story in word format as mail attachment.
 
I spent two or three weeks reading through 1,000 editor profiles and selected 211 to email. So far, I've contacted 134 and heard back from 11, with 2 saying they couldn't do it.

I'd say the VE program works, but just barely.

Finally, there was no association between a recently edited profile, and whether or not they replied.
 
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