Part of my process for self-publishing Remnant was securing a professional editor to go through the manuscript with a magnifying glass and tweezers. I just got it back last week and have already gone through and made all the corrections. Bazinga!
Although hiring an editor wasn’t cheap to say the least, it was well worth it.
A professional editor can cost as much as $10,000, depending on what they do for you. My budget wouldn’t support that type of expense, so I shopped around to find someone willing to take it on for next to nothing in comparison. The guy I finally went with agreed to do it for $1,000 if I allowed him to spread the work over a couple months while he finished higher paying gigs. That worked for me. A virtual handshake later, he had my manuscript and I had peace of mind.
What did he find? More than 250 grammatical/spelling errors, questionable phrases, and glowing inconsistencies. Keep in mind that I edited and proofread my manuscript three times and had another editor look it over as well before he ever laid eyes on it.
The fact that he was still able to pull so many errors out of it after two competent editors combed through it was a bit remarkable, not to mention humbling, but not uncommon.
No matter how many times you edit/proofread your own work, you’ll never find all the errors or inconsistencies. Why you might ask? It’s impossible for a couple reasons: 1) you’re too close to it, so you’ll unintentionally look over certain things because you’ve read it a million times, and 2) you’re not as good of an editor/proofreader as you think you are.
That second one might sting a bit, but it’s true. My paying gig requires me to proofread copy and catch any and all errors. Do I catch them all? Nope. I’d say I catch 99% of them, but even I have another proofreader look over every bit of copy that comes across my desk, because there’s no way one person can catch everything.
If you are going to self-publish, the one expense you can’t skimp on is getting an editor, as it could be the difference between a polished novel that flies when kicked out of the nest and the unfortunate manuscript that falls to its death.
Most of the corrections to my manuscript were minor. However, there were a few point-of-view (POV) issues that required some rewriting. POV inconsistencies are the most common errors first-time authors make when writing longer works of fiction. The reader can only be in one person’s mind at a time, so when the author flips back and forth in the middle of a section, it gets confusing.
For instance, if we are in Jane’s POV, describing what she sees and feels, we can’t possibly divulge in the same scene what it is that Jack is feeling as a result of her actions. My editor found a few of these inconsistencies, requiring some minor surgery on my part. I missed them entirely, and you will as well in your own work.
In short, if you’re going the self-publishing route, get an editor. They are worth their weight in gold (depending upon their weight and the current price of gold).
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January 9, 2012 at 8:21 am
It is amazing how much an author can miss when attempting to edit their own work. Even having a writer’s group go through your manuscript with a fine-toothed comb won’t find some of the important stuff. I’m not a self-published author. I was fortunate to find a company to publish my work, but their editor really made me take a good hard look at my manuscript & came up with some soul-searching questions about certain aspects of my second novel. She went above & beyond just catching the spelling & grammatical errors. She posed questions that my writer’s group did not consider because they trusted my judgement that my character’s motive for doing what she did was good enough. In the end, I found her input was invaluable. This kind of scrutiny is definitely necessary, whether you have a publisher or are trying to do it yourself. I concur with your conclusion that an editor is a vital part of the process, especially if you are trying to self-publish, because you want your work to be as flawless as possible in order to be successful.
January 10, 2012 at 7:07 am
I think one of the most valuable things a professional editor can offer is objectivity. As you mentioned, sometimes even writers groups can’t provide a completely objective view of your work because they, in at least a small way, are invested in it. Having someone approach your work as a job and not as the byproduct of a personal investment can make all the difference. Thanks for reading!
January 9, 2012 at 3:42 pm
I do editing for friends and family for free. I had no idea I could have earned so much from doing it!!!!!
But yes, it doesn’t stop me making all sorts of dreadful bloopers in my own writing. As readers of my comments on this blog will know. You just read what you want to read, when trying to edit your own stuff.
My very best ‘lesson’ in editing was when I had written a practical exercise for science students that I thought was very hot stuff, and not as formal and abstract as the exercise it replaced. I then went into the lab to supervise the students following my instructions. WOW – LIKE A SLAP IN THE FACE WITH A WET CLOTH. The things that I thought were crystal clear were interpreted in all sorts of ‘other’ ways by the students.
It was certainly a wake-up call in clear writing in Plain English!!!!!
d.
January 10, 2012 at 7:10 am
I wish that editors were not susceptible to the same blunders as the folks they edit, but unfortunately we are. The good news is there’s always another editor (the world has no shortage of them), so we can all rest assured that someone, if given the chance, will catch our mistakes.
January 9, 2012 at 8:20 pm
You know, I did tell you I’d edit your manuscript for FREE! Silly boy, paying a grand!
From what I’ve seen, the more eyes, the better. I’ve been one of 5 or 6 editors, and believe it or not, EVERY editor found unique problems! Best to have a professional, too, it lends a certain air of professionalism when trying to flog your writings.
Don’t feel too bad. I’m certain Stephen King has had his share of hackings on HIS works!
January 10, 2012 at 7:14 am
You did offer, and I appreciate it, sir. However, I needed someone a little closer to home. Makes it easier in the revision process. King has an advantage as Tabitha, his wife, is an exceptional writer and editor. If he simply used her and put a printing press in the basement, the whole process could be under one roof.
January 10, 2012 at 4:21 am
Good advice Hack. I just read The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern and she has some interesting info on her blog about how she got published. She said the editing feedback was crucial and in her case she ended up doing a couple of major rewrites. It’s a good book so it must have been worth it. There’s a lot more to writing a book than tapping out the words!
January 10, 2012 at 7:15 am
So true. I’m discovering the process for self-publishing can be a full-time job. I think it will all be worth it in the end though.
January 28, 2012 at 9:05 pm
Great article! I’m linking to this from my editing site.
I would also suggest: Do your best to help your editor understand what you’re doing and why. It doesn’t take that long, and it helps us in situations where there’s no clear-cut way to solve a problem. This is why some editors find problems others don’t: We’re sometimes looking for different things, because we’re not always given the same instructions.
I’ve been “the other editor” on several projects, and I always find problems. A good editor isn’t just someone who catches grammatical and spelling mistakes, although those are important. Sure, we argue with each other over grammar and the Oxford comma and logical punctuation. But these are tools, not ends.
Good editors will talk to you and undertand your goals as a writer and do their best to help you attain them. This can result in our doing anything from recasting a sentence to inserting a comma. (You can introduce foreshadowing or change the mood of a sentence by changing the punctuation, but you only want to do this if you’re in the writer’s space and have a certain understanding.) Don’t know which editor to choose? Talk to them, see if they “get” you and your book. You can find out a lot in a five-minute phone call or Skype session.
Almost all of us are nice people, and we do what we do because we love books and want to help writers write more of them.
Yeah, hire an editor. (Ahem.) You’ll be happier, and your manuscript will be better.