I shared this with someone who asked for my advice on finding someone to help them improve their writing. It’s brief, but I may add to it later.
I think you’ll want someone who:
* Writes in a way that you want to imitate. Some very skilled editors/​teachers can work in a variety of styles, but I expect that most will make your writing sound somewhat more like theirs when they provide feedback.
* Catches the kinds of things you wish you could catch in your writing. For example, if you want to try someone out, you could ask them to read over something you wrote a while back, then read over it yourself at the same time and see how their fixes compare to your own regrets.
* Has happy clients — ask for references. It’s easy for someone to be a good writer but a lousy editor in any number of ways (too harsh, too easygoing, bad at explaining their feedback, disorganized and bad at follow-up...).
Advice on looking for a writing coach
I shared this with someone who asked for my advice on finding someone to help them improve their writing. It’s brief, but I may add to it later.