Friends of friends mainly. English majors are never very far from professional circles, and several have found that contract tech editing is a way to pay bills while working on items closer to their core.
This is accurate. I would add that, in my experience, the value-add of working with a technical editor to shape the book and stay on track is definitely worth the cost of an editor.
And then there are typesetters, copywriters, graphists, reviewers, marketers and distribution platforms that do a lot of the work of making a book successful. Sure, writing is critical, but bringing a high quality book to readers requires a lot of work that you have to do yourself when self-publishing.
However, having an editor that will engage with your work and provide expert feedback will make your work better, as well as save overall time.
It's not quality versus quantity - it's paying for expert assistance. This isn't cheating, mind you - it's something every one of us will do, given the option. However, wealthy institutions can pay for it, and other institutions cannot - that leaves the academic to either pay out of their own pocket (say, if they have a partner who is in our industry and can afford to), or go without.
Learning a good editor is an investment. You sacrifice some productivity and time now for a massive return on your investment later. Stating the obvious, I know, but so is this article.
A professional editor can have a substantial impact on the clarity and impact of what you write. Good professional editors are rare and fairly costly. I work regularly with a a writer/editor who has been a great help. Contact me off list (drallison@gmail.com) and I will be happy to provide a referral.
It's also important to note that editing is not just making sure your copy is grammatically correct -- that's called copyediting, and you can pay for that by the page. It's pretty easy to find a copyeditor.
A good editor is someone who knows good writing and will tell you if you're producing crap. They should also be able to tell you if you're writing to the current zeitgeist.
There's value to having good editorial support but, IMHO, it's not worth signing over all your rights and earning potential.
You can outsource all phases of editorial and production, the big houses already do.
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