Now that the self-publishing age has fully arrived, increasing numbers of people are at long last seeing their books in print. While this may be a gratifying experience for the writer, in too many instances these books are poorly produced, unedited and not a good testament to a person’s creativity or writing ability.
Writers will go to any length and expense to see their work come alive on the printed, bound page, but most self-published writers do not want to invest money in a good editor, and any editor worth his/her salt can transform an embarrassing publication to one that is noteworthy.
Editors Do More Than Proofread
Editing is not the same as having your friends or family proofread your work. Proofreading is basically just checking for spelling and blatant grammatical errors. One’s computer can run spell check; that does not mean the writing has been edited.
Writers are also, for the most part, quite incapable of editing their own work. This is not due to ignorance, but rather due to over-familiarity with the subject. The writer knows what he/she is saying, or wants to say, and as a result can’t give the sentences a fresh reading. Only if one puts a manuscript away for a very long time is this at all possible, and even then proofing one’s own work is still very difficult.
By all means, have friends or family proofread your manuscript. The more errors one is able to correct before the manuscript goes to a professional editor, the faster the editing process will go, thereby potentially costing much less.
An Editor’s Work
By and large, editors check for many writing faults. These can range from simple misspellings to plot oversights or illogical leaps in plot development. In addition, an editor will check for character development, chapter sequencing, setting description and a host of items that actually deal with the plot, characters, setting, conflict, theme, mood, dialogue, etc.
In addition, a keen editor will read for sentence structure, passive voice, point of view changes, word choice and a plethora of grammatical errors:
- Split infinitives
- Dangling modifiers
- Dialogue punctuation
- Correct use of other punctuation marks
- Wordiness
- Repetition
- Stilted dialogue
Fact Checking
Many editors will verify the resources used in the manuscript. This is especially important if one is writing nonfiction. Are resources quoted correctly? Is credit given where credit is due?
A good editor is very careful with the corrections he/she makes, for their reputation is at stake. Very often authors acknowledge editors, agents and others who helped get the book into print; no editor will want his/her name associated with a sloppily assembled book.
If your book is worth producing at all, it’s worth your time and money to do it right. Hiring an editor is a key step in this process.
R.L. Coffield - R.L. (Becky) Coffield is an award-winning freelance writer and author who also teaches writing, publishing and boating ...
