I am in need! Any suggestions and referrals would be greatly appreciated.
Read some stories. If you like the grammar and punctuation, contact the author for a referral to their editor(s).
Ive talked to a few, but most of them are busy with the authors they are currently working with or their own projects.
Fanlon
Have you read through SoL's Volunteer Editor list? That's how I got started (before publishing anything, so my first couple of editors joined up sight unseen).
Write a nice note explaining your story and how it relates to the things they say they like (and that it doesn't do the things they say that dislike) and cross your fingers.
If you've tried that, I'm out of ideas, sadly. It's a very long list, though, so - hopefully?
I tried that when I released my first story The Windy Pines. Definitely a hit and miss tactic. I was kind of hoping someone would recognize me or the story title and want to help based off of that. lol
I have been given a few suggestions via email that I am vetting currently to see what they do with the first chapter of book 4.
My last editor just went blind, alas. He swears it was not my writing that did him in, but the aging process. As I try the hit-n-miss protocol, I am finding that many on the volunteer list do not bother to reply. This is the first time over the years I've had no responses to queries instead of "I'm sorry, no."
I actually believe I became a better editor after going blind. Being forced to use text-to-speech you are unable to miss lots of things eyes just skip over (there are certainly mistakes that are much harder to catch, the wrong homophone for example).
This is particularly true for self-edit. Eyes will very often see what you expect to be there, regardless of what is actually on the page.
I am finding that many on the volunteer list do not bother to reply.
That's disappointing. Didn't I read on here that volunteer editors and proofreaders have to confirm their availability once a month?
AJ
Per the volunteer editor list, it's every two weeks.
I used the list back in late 2020 and had several no-responses. Fortunately, I had several positive responses, too.
I am finding that many on the volunteer list do not bother to reply
Send the names to the site admin. If they don't have the decency to reply with a simple "Sorry, not able to because of..." Then they shouldn't be on the list.
I thought that, but if non-responsive editors were struck off, the list would tend towards becoming as sparse as the list of active reviewers :-(
AJ
One option if you have trouble finding someone is to buy a copy of The Copyeditor's Handbook by Amy Einsohn. The 3rd edition (2011) is under $25 on Amazon.
While it doesn't completely replace the need for an editor, it's the text most commonly used for copy editing classes. Editing your own text is a bit tricky, but by getting your text as clean as possible before submitting it to an editor you make their job easier (thus quicker) making it easier to get editors.