The Consultation

You sit alone in a room, a bare bulb illuminating four cinderblock walls painted a garish shade of beige. It’s so ordinary, it’s disgusting.
A folder lies on the desk in front of you. Your name is written on the tab.
The door opens. A man walks in and sits on the other side of the desk. He reaches for the folder, then opens it.
“You wrote this?” he asks, looking at you over the top of the folder.
You nod. “Yes, sir.”
“And you can pay my fee?”
You nod again.
He looks down at the folder, then back at you, before opening a drawer and taking out a red pen. “Very well. I’ll take a look at it…”


While my pilot for The Noir Editor probably won’t be picked up by any major networks (which disappoints me), engaging the services of an editor is not nearly as bad as I’ve portrayed here. In fact, my own rates can be found at—

(Edited by Rebecca, whose rates can be found at—)

[Edited by D.L.—]

*Both parties scolded by Cyan.*

Before we devolved into petty bickering, I had a point I was trying to make. Engaging the services of an editor may seem redundant, especially for something you’re planning to submit to anthologies and magazines that have their own editors. But, if you’re looking to grow as a writer, having an editor take a look at your work can be one of the most educational things you can do (outside of reading the Undertaker Books Blog).

When you hire an editor, they are going to look at your piece without prejudice and tell you where you can improve. Depending on the type of edit you request (Developmental, Line, or Proofread), the advice will be tailored to different parts of your writing, and let you see where you can grow.

“But D.L.,” you say, “Editors are expensive!”

They are. But I’m not here to argue that you should have all your stories professionally edited before you submit them.

I’m here to argue that paying for an edit is one of the best ways you can grow as a writer.

Someone said to learn from the mistakes of others, because you won’t live long enough to make them all yourself. That is true. Hiring an editor is a way to benefit from someone who has experienced the mistakes of themselves and others and can show you where your own mistakes are occurring.

 It’s a fair bet that you make the same mistakes in multiple pieces. By having an editor look at one or two pieces, you can identify them and search them out yourself in your other pieces.

Do you have to hire an editor every time? No.

Should you hire an editor on occasion? Absolutely.

It will make your writing better. Maybe if I hire an editor, I’ll be able to get The Noir Editor on a screen near you!