Some authors resist hiring a book editor for their manuscripts. “Too expensive,” they say. Or “Just don’t want to take the time to have it edited—want to get my book out there NOW!”
I advise authors to start saving up the money for a good editor as soon as you decide to write that book for publication. And don’t be in such a hurry that you short-change your chances of a publishing contract or that you bring out a book that isn’t ready.
What are some of the signs that you need a book editor? Here are a few:
• You’re not sure where or how to use apostrophes.
• You’re unclear about just where commas go.
• You get mixed up about using their, they’re, there.
• You struggle over what to capitalize and what not to.
• You find that your manuscript has inconsistencies throughout.
• You repeat words rather than try to use creative means to eliminate repeats.
• You write weak—passive sentences.
• Some of your sentences are kind of muddy.
• You don’t know that it is now one space between sentences.
• You’re confused as to where paragraph breaks should be.
• The story drags—doesn’t flow nicely.
• You’re having trouble organizing your nonfiction books.
• You’re too wordy.
• You have too many staccato sentences.
• You find many small problems such as omission of closed quotes.
• You’re not sure how to handle dialog.
• English is your second language.
• You don’t know when to capitalize Mom, Daddy, Grandpa, etc.
If you’re not sure whether an editor can make a difference in your manuscript, get an editorial evaluation. Many editors will take a look, tell you where the problems are in your manuscript and give you a sample edit and an estimate.
You’re spot on! I did not have an editor for my first novel and while many people commented that they liked the story, the main complaint was editing. I’ll never make that mistake again. You can find good editors who will work for a reasonable fee. You owe it to yourself to find one. Your sales will reflect your wise decision. ;o)
Keep up the great work!
Suzan