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The more I read these, the more I understand how much work has to go into writing. At times, it seems somewhat daunting. But at least I am learning what is done.
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Ernie,
Writing a book is a lot of work. Publishing a book, which includes editing, etc. is a whole different job. Since publishers are usually the ones that handle that aspect, including the costs, authors have never realized how expensive it is to publish, print, and distribute books. Now all these different jobs, some of which have been freelance for decades, are available to individual authors and not just to traditional publishers.
This guest post is very enlightening. There is a tremendous amount of work that goes into both writing and publishing books. Mere writing prowess isn’t enough, an author needs a lot of collaborators in order to craft a compelling story!
Reply Hey, Maya,
I’ve been trying to reply for days: my response kept disappearing.
Writing is one job unto itself. Editing and getting the book ready for publishing is a whole new job. Then there’s publishing, distribution, marketing. It’s a lot of work for any authors. A
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This is one area in which I can say with confidence I am NOT qualified to edit my own work! I’m too close to it, and my brain tends to autocorrect without my input. 🙂
I work with crit groups and beta readers, and then run my manuscript through an editing app to find the easily correctable mistakes before I send anything for editing. My goal is the cleanest, most polished draft possible before contracting an editor. A good editor is worth their weight in gold. I don’t want to waste their time or my money either!
I’m glad to see this post because I think professional editing is a necessary step in publishing that many people are willing to skip and hope no one will notice.
Reply McKenna,
We all read over our mistakes, or assume that how we think a character sounds is how everyone reading it will assume the character says something. Once, all my beta readers put “ha ha” at the same place in a book and that was not how I’d meant it at all. Editing in traditional publishing is done on completed books, which may be why so many people simply don’t get all the steps involved in publishing a book, which is separate from writing one. A
I would love to win this giveaway for a novella I have written. It was meant to be a short story to submit to a magazine. It had a life of its own. Now I would like to make it into a series.
Having it edited (even 40 pages) would show me the areas I need to brush up on from English classes taken years ago.
Reply Felita,
Isn’t it wonderful when stories take off on their own?
Please do note that this giveaway is copyediting only, which is done on a completed manuscript. A
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Great article. It’s true, as much as we think we can edit our work we can’t. If we can’t hire an editor we should at the very least have a proofreader or another set of eyes to look it over.
Reply Thanks, Justin. Copy editing, designing, proofreading, printing, distributing… whew. that’s why publishing is an entire industry. A
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Great advice and overview of the editing process. Up until a few months ago, I didn’t understand the different levels of editing. Thanks for furthering my education!
Reply You’re welcome, David. You might like having a look at last year’s #NaNoProMo where I talked about all the levels of editing at a traditional publishing House. A
Reply David, glad this helped. If you missed last year’s #NaNoProMo post, I talked more about different levels /types of editing at traditional publishing Houses. A
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Thanks for the article. I think one of the things that makes editing your own work difficult is separating yourself from your writing. No matter how good a job you do it is still good to get a peer review of your work to get a different perspective. That being said, edit it to the best of your abilities before sending it to a professional editor.
Reply Daniella,
Very well said. You should always send a completed manuscript to an editor, when you and all your beta readers think it is absolutely perfect. Otherwise, an editor can’t do their best job for you. A
To win this prize would be amazing opportunity to help settle my mind. My self editing needs a mind set I’m still developing. I believe my characters are realistic, the plot unfolds at a good pace and asks heaps of questions. But, yes the but, is it what readers want to read, or is it what I want to write? I’d appreciate a professionals opinion.
Reply Roseanne,
All the things you’re worrried about are all the things that beta rreaders read and criti
Roseanne,
(sorry for the incomplete: my computer keyboard is much misbehaving today)
All the concerns you have about your story are exactly the things that beta readers critique. Editors, except when doing developmental editing, deal with manuscripts that are considered complete and perfect by the author and their beta readers. A
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