First Editing - Professional Editing Services

Super professional & 100% reliable company. They turn my manuscript into a book and then I got signed. To resume in 2 words: Highly Recommended. And for the rest, practice Morning Zen.
May 24th, 2023

I have worked with great editors who produced a great result.
Oct 21st, 2022

Oct 15th, 2022

UPDATE (See Original Review below) I am encouraged to report that the First Editing team reached out relatively quickly seeking to turn this situation around. A new editor (Jefferson) provided quality edits and feedback. His critiques were clear and actionable, and his proofreading, especially as it relates to American Standard style rules, was head and shoulders above my initial experience. Had they taken this action when first contacted, 4 stars. What this first-time novelist has learned: - Find out all you can about your editor before turning over your credit card. Not sure if that's possible with this type of service, but a sample edit just wasn't enough to make an informed decision. - Train yourself to root out word choice errors. Even after such an obviously thorough review, my new editor missed one: "fuzzy" vs. "fussy." - Don't stew in silence. Your feedback helps conscientious companies be better. ORIGINAL REVIEW Full disclosure: I'm a first-time novelist but 30+ year marketing copywriter/editor with a tendency to write and rewrite to perfection. I needed a strong editor to help me "say when." My plan was to only address suggested changes (or not), then submit my manuscript to publishers with confidence, no umteenth read of the entire work. I did my research, reviewing sample edits from three companies before settling on FirstEditing's Level 3 package. The good: friendly staff, specific, thoughtful initial feedback (which I now believe was a ploy to hook first-timers hungry for professional attention), responsive leadership team. The bad: Buggy online form, especially if you save and come back (I eventually had to send my manuscript via email); deceptive billing practices (apparently the company exists under several names, i.e., Professional Editing Services, each running different promotions of the same service with slightly different descriptions, at different prices. My credit card was initially charged 3 different amounts); abysmal proofreading (after noticing a couple of unmarked typos on the first page, I reached out to my contact to confirm I was reviewing the correct version. They assured me the mistakes were a fluke so I stayed on plan, fixed only their edits, and began submitting to publishers, only to later discover ~5 pages worth of additional typos, inconsistent word tenses, conflicting descriptions of the same character, etc. After withdrawing my submissions, I shared the list of issues with Kathy (you were warned :(, only to be told the "guarantee" plastered all over their marketing materials did not include a refund. Their only remedy is to re-edit for free, which made no sense to me--I had already done that. (My platinum credit card company eventually withdrew payment and secured a refund.) My hypothesis: Assuming their online reviews are legit, my guess is First Editing practices bait-and-switch: Seasoned writers get quality service, but when you check the "first-timer" box, you get short shrift. Your sample edit request is addressed by an experienced pro who lures you in with praise, gentle critique, and sound, actionable feedback then passes the full project to a lower paid, inexperienced staff person. To be fair, my editor Max did offer several helpful tips, but consistently missed the obvious, i.e., "ceased" vs. "seized." Buyer beware.
Sep 5th, 2020

Aug 13th, 2019