How do I find the right Editor?

Does anyone have any advice on how to find the right editor? I've written my first story, and I'd like to find an editor, but the volunteer editor system seems unusable. When I try to limit the selection to just the category, format and language I'm writing in, I get 1000 result in alphabetical order that only goes through the Fs.

It appears that I am seeing fewer than a quarter the available editors, but I can't figure out how to see the rest. Am I missing somethng?

Even trying to pick from the list that is shown with just the dozen or so words of description is inefficient. I spent two hours clicking one one editor after the other to read their full descriptions.

Is there a better way? Can Author's on this forum recommend good editors? Can I post a request in the Editor's Forum or would that be bad form?

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks.

Post a request in the "Editor's Forum" (mention how long your story is, and what the main themes are), and/or contact editors that posted in the "Available to edit" sticky-thread.

Thanks Hylas. I'll do that.

Edit: Wow! It looks like most of the posts in the Editor's Forum are by author's looking for editors.

^ yeah, that's what that forum's for.
Just because a thread has few or no replies doesn't mean that the author didn't find an editor. Most editors reply by PM. Make sure to have your PM's turned on.

You can also get lucky by using the Volunteer editor list. Browse the ones who has updated their profile recently and see if the category you have selected is listed as things they will edit. In my experience, around one in five will respond, so I only give them a day or so to respond before I approach another editor. This has given me a few very good editor contacts.

I got lucky

I got lucky, when I posted my first story. I had written and submitted it in like an hour, and somehow it made it through the filters, and posted. There were a lot of mistakes. An Editor (Terry) sent me a message, and I started working with him..

for me it was all luck..

Unfortunately, the volunteer editor list only shows only about the first 1000 editors, so those beyond the middle of the alphabet don't show up.

Second, I don't think the volunteer editor list has been purged recently, and many of them have left LIT, so they probably won't respond to your request.

Third, while many volunteer editors attempt to be helpful, their grammar, spelling, or editing skills may be limited. That is, volunteer editors merely have to sign up to become one--LIT doesn't have any skill requirements.

So when I attempt to find an editor, I search for another author who's posted stories on LIT. If their stories pass my personal test for spelling, grammar, use of the English language, and so on, I'll contact them. Thus far, it has worked out very well for me. Good luck.

The Volunteer Editor program is completely dysfunctional and has been for years. The Editor's Forum is better, in that you can find people willing to edit. But you still have the problem of finding one of them you can actually work with. I gave up on that. They either wanted to show me how to write in their style or insisted I needed more graphic sex in my stories. One said he wanted to "feel it, smell it, taste it". I wanted more help with the story structure, but I couldn't seem to communicate that to potential editors.

I recently found what I have been looking for in a most indirect way. A reader who has critiqued several of my LW stories has consistently pointed out specific strengths and weaknesses in the Comments section. Story elements I can fix. Things I can learn. Insights about characters I was not aware of. We started corresponding via feedback and I asked him to read my next story before publication. His response to that story was exactly what I have been looking for all these years. He's not a writer by his own admission. He's a critical reader who is obviously educated, well-read and articulate.

Keep an eye on your readers' comments. Just maybe what you want is a beta reader or two instead of an editor.

rj