Editors (and why they are important)

Whilst self publishing and POD (Print On Demand) may be a rapidly growing industry (especially during the recession, when more authors are turning to the technology as the publishing houses tighten the purse strings), there is one aspect of the process that stands head and shoulders above all the others in terms of importance: editing.

Too many self publishers and POD users forgo this vital step (as I nearly did), because they don't believe their work needs it. After all, you've written 128,000 words, spread over 28 chapter which end either on a cliff hanger or an intriguing note; your friends have read it, you've read it ten billion times yourself, you aren't finding any more typos in all of that... what more could there be to do with it?

Again, I will go back to my own experiences: just under a year ago I believed that I was all done. I had a cover, I had the layout of the novel sorted, I had registered a dot com to promote it, I had worked out a price point that would attract readers and be competitive in the market place... but the one thing I had not bothered with was to get myself an editor.

I believed at the time that an editor would do one thing and one thing only: fix my grammar, spelling, and other typos. Maybe re-arrange a sentence or two if they didn't read properly, and replace a misused word or three.

I couldn't have been more wrong.

A good editor will not simply just tackle your spelling, but also give feedback on the feel and flow of the work, as well as advice on the structure as I discovered when my manuscript was returned to me. There were numerous suggestions for changes, ranging from bringing information further forward in the story, so that it could be appreciated by the reader earlier, to re-writing the space battles (which read far too much like a video game). There were also notes on maintaining a consistent point of view and the reaction to the characters within the story.

All of this information was invaluable, as I'm sure you can well imagine. It helped me to make my story better, as well as consider points for the next two novels in the series. At the time of writing, I actually have three copies of the pre-edited version of HONOUR OF THE KNIGHTS sitting in a drawer. I look at them, half disgusted and half relieved, thinking of what could have been. Not sure what I'll do with them; maybe I'll throw them away. Or give them to someone I don't like very much...

It may be tempting to believe that you can do the job of an editor yourself, but I wouldn't advise it, especially if you're thinking about self publishing. Friends and family may be able to help you with correcting sentences that don't read right, but unless they happen to have a lot of experience in publishing you shouldn't rely on them give you too much advice on what they really thought of your story. Most of the time they will be more impressed with your achievement of writing 100,000 words, as opposed to giving you critical feedback on the structure (they don't want to hurt your feelings after all).

So, yes, if you're reading this and have been mulling over whether or not you should hire the services of an editor, then I would say that you should do so, without a doubt. Search the internet for the best service you can afford, cross reference them and look for references and testimonials, and then get in touch and see what kind of services they offer.

And hopefully your manuscript will be all the better for having an objective and critical eye cast upon it.