Writer Wednesday: When To Hire An Editor

Today's topic comes from Sheena-kay who wants to know at what stage of your writing/manuscript you should hire an editor.
It depends. Some of my clients want to focus on content and making sure that all the necessary plot elements are in place. They hire me for developmental edits. In this case, they've drafted and revised but don't consider the work ready for submission to agents and/or publishers yet. I help them fix any content issues before they revise and polish their work.
Other clients like to wait until they can't find anything else to fix and then have me do a developmental edit. These clients feel like their manuscripts are strong already but want an outside opinion to make sure the story is coming across as clearly on the page as it is in their heads.
The next group is looking for a content edit because they feel pretty confident in their stories but want another pair of eyes on it to catch glaring issues as well as SPAG errors. These individuals usually have critique partners and/or beta readers who have helped them work on the book before I see it.
And the last option I see is from people who have the content the way they want it after going through several critique partners and beta readers and are basically looking for me to proofread for errors.
So when should you hire an editor? It really depends on what you're looking for from your editor and how helpful your CPs and betas have been. The only time I would say you absolutely need to hire an editor is before you self-publish. While you need to revise your own work, you can't be the only one to work on it. You need an editor. (Even editors can't edit their own work.) And in the case of self-publishing, a proofreader is a must. You don't want to let grammar and typos ruin a great story. :)
*If you have a question you'd like me to answer from the other side of the editor's desk, feel free to leave it in the comments and I'll schedule it for a future post.