Your Editor is Your Partner

An editor is someone who makes your work more readable, more salable – better. An editor doesn’t change the voice or direction or meaning of your words.

Your editor is your partner. Everyone needs an editor. Doesn’t matter whether you’re going the self-publishing route or signing with a regional or small publisher. At some point, an editor will need to look at your manuscript. Even if you sign with an agent who liked it enough to add you to her stable, she will probably suggested changes or edits. Then when one of the major publishers takes you on, they will have an editor go through it. Getting to that point, though, is a long road. Hiring your own editor BEFORE you send it to an agent or publisher will up your chances of getting your book in the queue with both.

If you’re self-publishing, either in print or e-form or both, you’ll need that independent editor even more because that will be your one chance to get it right. People may be reading more and more e-books, but they haven’t changed their standards. They still want a well-written book and while they may skip over two or three mistakes, they won’t buy your next book if your first has too many mistakes.

Yes, editors cost money, but they pay off, too. In the short term, you have a much better book that reads smoothly. In the long term, you learn from seeing what the editor did to improve your manuscript. I’ve known authors who have said that hiring an editor was like taking a one-on-one class in writing.

What are your experiences working with an editor?

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Disclaimer: I don’t often post about editing. Mostly because, as a lot of you know, I’m a freelance editor and I didn’t want my blog posts to sound like I’m trolling for clients. Now, however, I feel I can write a post about editing every now and then since I’m no longer taking on new editing clients. Since taking over as the Coordinator for Story Circle Network’s Editorial Services, I’m only working with existing and returning clients.