Why is it so difficult to find an editor??

It seems that going through the volunteer editor page on the site doesnt really help. I send out dozens of emails. Chances are that if you send out 10 emails maybe JUST MAYBE 1 will reply.

I have even gone through the Editor forum and placed a post, still no takers. Why is it so difficult to find an editor.

They are doing it for free and it can take a lot of effort and time to edit something. I certainly wouldn't take on something that's 20,000 words long (I edit for pay and that would earn me $200 to edit) and/or was a series with no known end to it. I'm not sure that a lot of writers understand the work they're asking someone to do for free. Nor do I think that most of the folks who say they are willing to do it have either the training or experience to do it and are completely overwhelmed when they try to do it.

I understand what you're saying here. I have had editors help in the past one such editor was pretty good too. But never heard from her again. I understand people have lives to live and can't do a fast job. But then I am not asking for a quick turn around. I usually write a story that has illustrations and that is about 2 lit pages long. So technically a lot of the space is occupied by a few pictures. That shouldn't be too hard to edit. Like I said I know people have lives and I don't want an edit in 24 hours. Go ahead. Take a week. But if people are signing up for this free program then atleast Someone should reply. I have sent out 10 emails out of which only one person replied and even he's not sure he can help. It's just extremely discouraging to see a story you want to finish and have it out for readers just hang like that.

I'm not sure what you mean by "someone is signing up for this free program." There's no formal program here. There's the VE (Volunteer Editor) system, but it's not really a program and it's been horribly broken for years. From the get-go, though, it's just been a hook-up system. The "editors" aren't vetted in any way (and I doubt that more than a handful of them have any more editing training than you have), there's no program to "give" an editor to an author here. It's entirely up to the author to try to find someone to help them, with no responsibility for anyone to do so--and nothing being maintained by the Web site in the way of an actual program for the Web site to provide editors.

Two Lit. pages is still 10,000 words or more, which in the marketplace would take a standard 5 hours to edit at a cost of $100--and that would be for a professional writer's work, not the amateur writing mostly going on here.

If you're getting the impression that the Web site is trying to create the picture of offering more editorial help than it actually does, I think you're on the right track.

Volunteer editing is a colossal waste of time, as is beta reading. Editors learn this soon enough and use their time wisely.

I've come across this myself, occasionally it's very helpful to have someone else reading though your story, either for gremlins, grammar or punctuation. Even though I'm on the volunteer editor list myself I only ever got requests for a couple of months after put myself on the VE list. My feeling is that many sign up to be editors then leave literotica for pastures new, or get tied up in the rest of life, etc etc, but don't quit the editors list. I think it would be helpful if the Lit staff combed thru the VE list every now and then and flushed inactives out.

grumpyg said:

I've come across this myself, occasionally it's very helpful to have someone else reading though your story, either for gremlins, grammar or punctuation. Even though I'm on the volunteer editor list myself I only ever got requests for a couple of months after put myself on the VE list. My feeling is that many sign up to be editors then leave literotica for pastures new, or get tied up in the rest of life, etc etc, but don't quit the editors list. I think it would be helpful if the Lit staff combed thru the VE list every now and then and flushed inactives out.

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It would be helpful even if the results list was sortable by date joined or updated so you can weed out the inactive folks. But supposedly there is a report function you can use to report a volunteer editor who has not responded (either said yes or declined) so they can check to see if they are still an active user.

There's probably quite a straightforward way of checking whether an editor is active or inactive, but this requires intervention of the site management team who seem to have little time to perform maintenance on the site.

sr71plt said:

They are doing it for free and it can take a lot of effort and time to edit something. I certainly wouldn't take on something that's 20,000 words long (I edit for pay and that would earn me $200 to edit) and/or was a series with no known end to it. I'm not sure that a lot of writers understand the work they're asking someone to do for free. Nor do I think that most of the folks who say they are willing to do it have either the training or experience to do it and are completely overwhelmed when they try to do it.

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SR is pretty much on point. I too do some real world editing. The stuff you get paid for, and as a published author, pay an editor when when I need to if I am attempting to publish something in the "real world." --- So that option always exists folks...

As for saying no thanks to a potential author, Well: I have been approached by authors looking for an editor that admits they want their masterpiece edited for publication away from here. Or are trying to self-publish, and simply take advantage of a free thing here. No one offering free services for here, wants to deal with that. Here you are posting a story, out there you are publishing. Huge difference. That means a huge difference in the editing you should be searching for as well.

Same for the never ending stories, or the 20-30K stories. I don't have the time or desire to tinker with that... Yet, that seems to be the norm anymore. Occasionally an author will even 'suggest' I go back and read their other work to 'make sure I know what they are trying to portray with the new story.'

There's no reason for that: editing stands alone, unless it is that ever-ending story...

NO, NOT everyone fits into those boxes, but I also have a list of things I wont edit, like incest, just not for me, and I've had authors tell me there is no incest in a story and two pages into it, that's all it is...

So yeah, the system could use a tweak, however I suspect it remains as is for a variety of reasons, those listed above being some of them...

Good luck with all of your writings, everyone, for any purpose...