Have you noticed the number of editors, book shepherds and coaches, writing workshop leaders and new publishers cropping up? Where do they come from? Before you contract with them, you’d better find out.
I’m always shocked to learn that a first-time author has established a “self-publishing” company or that a high school teacher with no publishing experience is editing books or that a one-or two-book author is presenting writing workshops.
Of course, some of these folks actually do have the credentials and knowledge to help with the basics. But few of them have the experience to make a meaningful difference for other authors.
So what should you take into consideration when you contemplate hiring someone to guide you through the publishing maze? Experience. This should include the type of experience he or she has had and the amount of it. What about credentials? What has this person accomplished, achieved, established with regard to the subject at hand? If you have a choice between two professionals who claim they can help you market your book, for example, you’ll surely choose the one with a track record. The one-book author may have learned a lot about marketing over the past year or so, but the multi-book author who has been teaching book promotion workshops for 10 years would probably be much more knowledgeable.
Some people are not effective teachers, though. They just don’t know what material to present, nor are they organized enough to present it adequately. So, along with your credential and experience-check, you might confer with clients, students, as well.
What about cost? Does the fee indicate the quality of the service or education? Gosh, I just presented a loaded question. In fact, I guess it’s impossible to answer with any sort of authoritative accuracy. I can tell you about the experiences of two authors who were looking for a cheap editor.
One of them hired a teacher who wanted to start an editing service at a friend’s recommendation. Being new to writing, this author put her trust in the “editor.” Several hundred dollars later, the author met another editor, who was also the author of several books, and decided to send her manuscript for evaluation. The results of the evaluation were heartbreaking, as the new editor pointed out numerous mistakes and errors in the already edited portions of the manuscript. This hopeful author switched editors which meant that she had to pay the editing fees all over again.
How can a beginning author who has no real sense of proper grammar and punctuation—who doesn’t know the difference between then and than, there and their, to and too, for example—choose a good editor? I suggest getting sample edits and, perhaps, a manuscript evaluation covering 4 or 5 pages from 3 or 4 editors. You’ll discover how they work, what they know and whether or not they can improve or impair your manuscript.
The second story I want to share has to do with a gentleman who came to me for an estimate to edit his manuscript. I provided my estimate and he claimed it was more than he could afford. As I sometimes do, when business is slow, I offered him my 1999 fee. He still said he couldn’t swing it. I thought that was a pity, because I knew I could do his particular project extreme justice.
This author stayed in touch and eventually told me that he found someone who would edit his 150-page manuscript for something like $50. Huh? I strongly advised him against it. He didn’t know anything about the editing service or exactly what they would provide for him. But he sure liked the price. This was something he could afford.
Several months later, he reported to me, with his tail between his legs, that the editing service was a scam. They did nothing more for him than turn on their automatic spellcheck function and run the manuscript through it.
So, do you get what you pay for? In some cases, you sure do. In others, no. As in any profession or business, caution is required.
The economy is starting to turn around. I hope that you are feeling the shift. Maybe this is a good time for you to hire an editor for your marvelous manuscript. At least send it around for an evaluation. Some editors do this for free. Others charge a small fee. I will do a FREE evaluation of the first few chapters (or 30 pages) for anyone reading this. PLFry620@yahoo.com
In the meantime, order my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. It includes a section on self-editing—something every author should do before turning their manuscripts over to an editor.
http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html
Pat,
Nice post. I’ve also wondered about the people who become a self-published author in March and by June they are running workshops in self-publishing.
It goes to show, as in any business, the success of your publishing business may well depend on the quality of the team that you assemble to produce your book.