The volunteer editor section.

[markelly]

In my search for an editor I seemed to have developed a radar for the waste of time ones. I know Lit tries it’s best for us authors by supplying volunteer editors and some actually are very good.

I was tempted to highlight the word some by the way. The volunteer editor section is sadly starting to look like a waste of time for any editor to go to now. Don’t get me wrong some editors in the scheme are actually very good. However it’s the dross that have pulled the scheme down now and these people are so transparently easy to find and avoid simply by looking at their membership start date.

Most have been members for less than a month. Now that should raise a red flag straight away, then you go to there profile and find that they couldn’t even be bothered to fill anything in but the basics required from them. So we now have two red flags.

After all if they can’t be bothered to at least fill out some of their profile how much effort are these people going to put into editing anything sent to them and would you really want someone editing your work if they have been members for all of five minutes. Now I agree they could have been around Lit for months if not years after all membership isn’t a requirement to read the stories on here, but it still begs the question, if they cant be bothered with something free like membership of Lit then what’s the point of sending them work that to some has taken weeks if not months to write.

Ok rant over.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

They worship homos. Its the only qualification that matters at LIT.

 

[TxRad]

They worship homos. Its the only qualification that matters at LIT.

That explains why you are here but how about the rest of us. idiot.

Finding an editor is hard. Finding an editor that has the same style as the writer is almost impossible. Keep trying, is all I can suggest.

As for their start date, being short might be a clue but the best editor I've ever had joined so she could edit for me.

 

[markelly]

New membership so they can edit I can understand.

But I'm starting to think most are on the list so they can have 'editor' of there verbal CV.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

LIT is a hive of wannabee writers and editors. Mostly queen wannabees.

 

[sr71plt]

Yep, with volunteer "editors" here, it's often the "blinder" leading the "blind." For Lit. a fresh pair of eyes is usually good enough. I suggest you look for what you think are well-written stories like the ones you write or want to write and ask the authors of these directly if they will check over yours--maybe for a trade in checking over theirs as well.

 

[JAMESBJOHNSON]

Every kid grows up with a huge fund of fairy tales tween his ears, so the basic template for a story already exists...start with an ugly crippled sympathetic character, burden them with a wicked stepmother, pop them in the oven, and send a cowardly lion to save them.

Just add a dash of grammar, a sprinkle of punctuation, and litely season with adjectives. Check for spelling.

 

[Boxlicker101]

In my search for an editor I seemed to have developed a radar for the waste of time ones. I know Lit tries it’s best for us authors by supplying volunteer editors and some actually are very good.

I was tempted to highlight the word some by the way. The volunteer editor section is sadly starting to look like a waste of time for any editor to go to now. Don’t get me wrong some editors in the scheme are actually very good. However it’s the dross that have pulled the scheme down now and these people are so transparently easy to find and avoid simply by looking at their membership start date.

Most have been members for less than a month. Now that should raise a red flag straight away, then you go to there profile and find that they couldn’t even be bothered to fill anything in but the basics required from them. So we now have two red flags.

After all if they can’t be bothered to at least fill out some of their profile how much effort are these people going to put into editing anything sent to them and would you really want someone editing your work if they have been members for all of five minutes. Now I agree they could have been around Lit for months if not years after all membership isn’t a requirement to read the stories on here, but it still begs the question, if they cant be bothered with something free like membership of Lit then what’s the point of sending them work that to some has taken weeks if not months to write.

Ok rant over.

I can see how somebody being new here would make you wonder at that person's qualifications, but the person in question might have extensive experience editing elsewhere. Doubtful yes, but you can't really tell until you see that person's work.

What difference does it make if somebody doesn't want to give out a lot of personal info? I know we are mostly anonymous, but some want to stay more anonymous than others.

If you have something you want somebody to look at, you can send it to me, but I won';t even read it until after April 15.. Although I'm not listed as a volunteer editor, I do some now and then.

 

[PennLady]

I think you'd be better to go to the Editor's Forum and look at the monthly sticky, where editors post their availability for the month. It's still a gamble, and you may have to go through a couple, but I think you're more assured of at least a response there, since those are the people that usually want to edit.

 

[estragon]

LIT is a hive of wannabee writers and editors. Mostly queen wannabees.

And then there are those that don't even try to write, and who couldn't write a shopping list if they did try. Expeliarmus! *waves wand at boggart troll*

 

[LettersFromTatyana]

And then there are those that don't even try to write, and who couldn't write a shopping list if they did try. Expeliarmus! *waves wand at boggart troll*

Psst, Riddikulus is the boggart banishing spell. Expelliarmus is for disarming.

I can't believe I just typed that. I've been holding back on correcting this (it reveals my absurdly deep knowledge of all things Harry Potter, after all), but I figured I should in a thread on editing.