Professional Editors

Has anyone used a professional editor before sending to an agent or e-publishing? What was the experience like? How did you find a good one? Did you pay by the page or number of words? How much did it cost? Was it worth it?

It's a terible idea.  Money should ALWAYS flow to the writer, never, ever away.

Hi SeaCure,

Hiring a freelance editor to go over your manuscript can be a good investment, especially if you plan to self-publish. There is quite a range of editing services available, from simple proofreading to developmental editing.

You can take a look at this interview with three freelance editors to find out more, or check out the April 2009 issue of The Writer, which includes three articles that you may be interested in: "How to select the right freelance editor," "The book doctor is in," and "Low-cost ways to improve your writing." (The issue is unavailable for purchase, but you may find it at your local library.)

For typical editorial rates, see this page of the Editorial Freelancers Association's website.

I hope this helps!

Sarah

Sarah C. Lange, associate editor, The Writer

If you plan to self-publish, yes, hiring an editor is a good idea.  If you plan to find a commercial publisher, however, it's a horrible, horrible idea, no matter how you look at it.  Hiring such an editor simply tells a publisher you aren't ready for the big time.  Every editor I know would rather have the book doctor write the book, and leave the writer out of the picture.

Publishers need writers who can write, who can tell a good story, who can build good characters, and who darned sure already know grammar and punctuation.  This is all part of being a writer.

Money should always flow to the writer, never, ever away.  Anyone who takes your money is scamming you, and this includes hired editors and so-called "book doctors."

Perhaps I have I bias in this regard (I am a professional editor as well as a publisher), but I've never met a writer, no matter how good a writer, whose work doesn't benefit from a comprehensive edit.

Now, I'll concede the possibility that Stephen King, John Grisham, et al, DON'T need their manuscripts edited before submission to a publisher; but they have track records of strong sales already, so their publishers will devote the editorial resources required for publication. And, after all, we never see their unedited manuscripts, only the published product. I'm sure a comparison of their submitted manuscript to the published book would be enlightening.

No writer can be objective enough to catch every typo, grammatical or punctuation error in their manuscript, not to mention the inconsistencies in characterization or flaws in plot or the many sub-themes and nuances in their stories. And this has nothing at all to do with the writer's knowledge of grammar rules or skill as a storyteller. It's a simple fact of objective distance; the writer knows the original intent, and that's what he or she sees when self-editing.

You should absolutely hire a a professional book editor (not your cousin who taught high school English) before self-publishing. And while it's true that a traditional publisher will have your accepted manuscript edited prior to publication, a professional edit prior to submission to an agent or that traditional publisher will greatly increase your chances of acceptance.

You've already invested enormous amounts of time and skill in your manuscript. Why hold back on the additional investment to give your manuscript its best chance of success?

in submitting my 40,000+ word romance novel to an agent for consideration, she suggested self publishing to prove sales to get the interest of big publishing companies ~ is this normal?

It's not necessarily "normal" for an agent to suggest self-publishing prior to submitting to traditional publishers to prove sales, but it's not unheard of, given the changing nature of the publishing industry.

There are two schools of though regarding self-publishing prior to submitting to traditional publishers in order to prove sales potential:

1. A strong sales record of a self-published novel will prove to a traditional publisher that there is a market for the work and that the author has the platform and skills to effectively market the title to that audience.

2. A strong sales record of a self-published novel will have already tapped the market for that title, and the title will, therefore, not sell sufficient additional copies to warrant the investment by the traditional publisher.

Both may be equally true.

The problem with a claim by a self-published author of a strong sales record of a title is that there's really no way to PROVE a strong sales record, so a reputable agent or traditional publisher will be skeptical of such a claim.

In the publishing industry, book sales are tracked by Nielsen BookScan, which compiles point of sale data for book sales. The data comes from about 75% of traditional book sales channels, meaning bookstores. But self-published books are typically not sold through traditional channels, so self-published books aren't really counted.

If you decide to self-publish and have what you consider strong sales, there's really no incentive to seek agent representation for that title, since you're already making more money on sales than you would through a traditional publisher. It might, however, help to establish credibility for your next novel in seeking a traditional publishing contract.

Sarah,

These links were very benificial to me as I am venturing into publishing my first book! Thanks for the info!

Ken Lang

creating moments...

Hi Ken,

You're very welcome. Glad you found the links helpful. Best of luck to you!

Sarah

Sarah C. Lange, associate editor, The Writer

Any writer who hires a "profession" editor is throwing money away, giving money to someone who has no clue, and is most certainly harming their own chances of having a career.

Anyone who says you need to hire an editor simply has no clue about writing, or about the business of publishing.  I am an editor, but I work for publishers, as it should be.  If I find out you hired an editor, I can almost guarantee a rejection.  I need writers who can not only write well, but who can do their own editing, rewriting, and revising.

What, are you going to hire this "editor" each time we go thrugh a different phase of the publishing process?

Writers write, and writers must learn to edit their own work.

And anyone who tells you a manuscript must be perfect, must have no grammar or punctuation error, must be typo free, is probably an undercover hired editor.  It simply isn't true.  Good writers, successful writers, and those who wish to be successful writers, do not hire "professional editors."  Period.

If you want to give money away where it will do some good, give it to your favorite charity.  If you want to waste money, delay your career, and enrich someone who knows less than you do, give it to a "hired editor"..

I agree with James IF (big if) you are going the "traditional" publishing route.  However, my opinion is that if you are going to self-publish, it can't hurt to have another professional set of eyes look at the manuscript before you let it loose onto the world.

No one person can catch everything.  And while no manuscript absolutely has to be 100% error free (speaking of the minor stuff only), it's certainly best to catch as much as possible.

When you go the traditional publishing route, you have editors and proofreaders. When you self-publish, you don't.  From my experience, I wouldn't purchase a second self-published book from an author if it was riddled with errors.  Even if the story is good, it's much too distracting to me. So in order to grab my hard earned $$, I don't see it as a waste of money upfront to hire someone to help.

Thanks for listening
Diane

I think it's definitely a good point that you should at least consider hiring a professional editor if you're going to be self-publishing. Oftentimes, people are too close to their own writing to pick up on every little typo and structural flaw. However, I couldn't see myself personally forking over the money for professional editing.