Learn about the EFA
There’s no better place to find the right editor, right away!
EFA Members
EFA members are editors, writers, indexers, proofreaders, researchers, desktop publishers, translators, and others who offer a broad range of skills and specialties.
As a publisher or indie author, you want qualified professionals to work on your manuscript or project. There’s no better place to find the right editor, right away!
The EFA is the largest and oldest professional organization of editorial freelancers in the US and has grown to serve members from all over the world. As a freelancer, you owe it to yourself to be a part of our organization, which is dedicated to supporting your professional development and freelance career. Independent careers thrive in community!
EFA Provides
EFA provides resources for both freelancers and clients, including an editorial rates chart, which is updated annually.
Clients can find the best editorial professional for their project through our free Member Directory and Job List service.
EFA members get a 20% discount on all EFA editing and entrepreneurship classes as well as discounts to professional tools and services, opportunities to network with members around the world, and access to jobs through the Member Directory and the Job List. Learn more about the benefits of being a member of the EFA community.
History of the EFA
A pioneer in organizing freelancers.
A pioneer in organizing freelancers into a network for mutual support and advancement, the EFA is now recognized throughout the publishing industry as the source for professional editorial assistance. And as editorial freelancing—indeed, freelancing in many fields of endeavor—becomes more prevalent, the association can look forward to an even brighter future.
The EFA traces its origins to 1970 when editors at Grove Press went on strike in an effort to make the publishing industry more responsive to their needs. Two Grove editors who found themselves freelancing again—Mary Heathcote and Cicely Nichols—met with several others to discuss the situation, and predicaments, of freelancers.
As the EFA steadily grew during the ’70s, a more formal structure was needed. Organizing that structure took two years. A Structure Committee wrote bylaws and created the Board of Governors, which was to be headed by two co-executives. It also created the positions of secretary and treasurer. In 1979, the EFA opened its first office, a small space in a funky building on East 20th Street in Manhattan. In 1985, the EFA hired an office manager.
In 1997, regional chapter development was initiated to enrich the EFA experience for the increasing number of members outside the New York headquarters area. The Job List began as a phone-in service; the Member Directory began as a few typed pages, then a small bound book. Both moved online and expanded as the publishing world became established on the internet and increasingly in locations far from New York City. All of the innovations, leadership, and plain hard work that have kept the EFA growing have come from volunteers.
Meet the EFA Staff
We have a team of passionate individuals who live and breathe our core values of Community, Expertise, and Opportunity while serving our members each and every day.
About the EFA
A place to belong.
The EFA is a national not-for-profit, 501(c)6 organization, headquartered in New York City. The EFA’s Board of Directors provides fiduciary, strategic, and generative leadership in line with the organization’s mission, vision and values. The Board and the Executive Director deliver accountability and transparency to the membership, keeping them informed of developments within the association.
EFA members offer a broad range of skills and specialties in the editorial and publishing fields and are based in the US and around the world. We welcome and value members of every race, color, culture, religion or no religion, gender identity, gender expression, age, national or ethnic origin, ancestry, citizenship, education, ability, health, neurotype, marital/parental status, socio-economic background, sexual orientation, and/or military status. No matter your background, the EFA is a place you belong (read our full anti-harassment policy). We are nothing without our members, and encourage everyone to volunteer and to participate in our community.
Meet the EFA Board of Directors
The Board of Directors oversees the EFA’s operations and keeps the membership informed of developments within the association.
