Do I really need to hire an editor, even if I’m going to self-publish? I mean, I’ve through this manuscript several times. So has my spouse and friends. If there was something wrong with it, wouldn’t we have caught it?
I’ve heard dozens of inexperienced writers ask similar questions over the years. Too often they believe their prose is already perfect. I had one work colleague tell me once that his mother was an English teacher, so he knows “how to write good.” Others confuse their beta readers with editors; they’re not.
The fact is no author writes perfectly. Not me, not anyone I know. Even though I’m an editor, I still hire a professional editor to edit my novels. So, the answer to the question above is, “Yes, you need a professional editor.”
It’s important to have your work professionally edited polished, even if you're submitting to agents or publishing companies. If you’re trying to get traditionally published, you're competing against thousands of other writers. If an editor is presented two books and one requires a lot of editing while the other manuscript is well edited, which one do you think the editor will chose? The one that’s already edited. It will save the publisher the time and expense of getting the unedited manuscript ready for production.
Independent authors also need to have their worked edited before publishing. Indie authors, too, are competing against hundred of thousands of traditionally- and self-published authors. To compete, your book needs to look and read as professionally as one published by a Big 5 publisher. That means it must be well-written and well-edited, and as error-free as possible (no book is totally error free). If it’s not, readers who spend their money buying your book will feel cheated and probably leave a bad review on Amazon or other sites. That can cost you future readers. Show the readers you care enough about them to pay the expense of hiring a professional editor.
Look at it this way, too: That book has your name on it. Thousands of potential readers will see your book on Amazon, Smashwords, iBooks, Barnes & Noble, and a dozen other marketplaces. Don’t you think it’s worth the expense to hire an editor to make your book something you can be proud of?
Before you hire an editor, be certain you understand what kind of editing service you need. Is your book really ready for copy editing? Or is it still rough but you think you need advice on how to improve it. Has your book already been edited, but you still need someone to go through and correct simple typos?
Developmental editing, copy editing, and proofreading are the three basic editing services editors provide.
Developmental editing—also called structural or substantive editing—involves a thorough and in-depth edit of your entire manuscript. It examines all the elements of your writing, from word usage and sentence structure, to overall structure and style. It can address plot holes or gaps, problematic characterization, and all other existing material. After a round of developmental editing a manuscript can change substantially, particularly when the authors are inexperienced writers.
Copy editing fine tunes a book’s text. It will address grammatical or punctuation errors, incorrect facts, anomalies, inconsistencies, and glaring typos. Copy editors ensure your characters don’t change their hair or eye color between scenes, and that their names are spelled the same throughout the book. Copy editors also look for consistency in spellings (i.e., gray vs grey) and writing style.
Proofreading is the final step in the editing process before your book goes to the printer or digital press. Proofreaders ensure your text has no tiny errors in spelling or punctuation and takes your writing to the level of professionalism required in the competitive publishing world.
Hiring an editor isn’t cheap and it shouldn’t be. You’re hiring a professional who has long studied the twin arts of writing and editing. You’re paying for their experience and skill. When seeking bids from an editor, don’t just consider what they charge, look at what you’re getting for that price. Hiring a retired schoolteacher with little professional experience at editing may be cheaper, but will that person deliver the kind of high-quality work of an editor with decades of professional experience and who might charge more for their work?
Having friends and family read through your manuscript is fine. But if you want to be considered a professional author, you need to hire a professional editor.