THE WORLD OF PROFESSIONAL EDITING

Every author must edit their book, but there’s only so much you can do on your own. Eventually, you’re going to need professional insight. And if you’re self-publishing, you won’t have a publisher provide an editor for you. You’ll have to look for one yourself.

As someone about to self-publish his first book, I’ve been on the hunt. Here’s what I’ve learned on how to get your manuscript professionally evaluated.

Before you look for an editor...

When you’ve finished writing a book you initially have two conflicting instincts.

First, to start rewriting immediately. You’ve just been getting words down on the page and you can’t bare to leave it as it is - what if someone snoops on your laptop and reads it?!

Well, you must resist and follow the other instinct. To not look at it.

IT'S NOT THE EDITORS JOB TO FIX YOUR STORY

In his memoir ‘On Writing’, Stephen King recommends stashing your manuscript in a drawer for 6 weeks. Literally in his case, but I’d suggest printing your book too for the same reason as leaving it - it’ll give you a fresh perspective.

You see, before getting your manuscript professionally evaluated, I’d strongly advise doing a couple drafts on your own.

First drafts are basically vomit, words spewed on the page. You need to make them somewhat coherent before someone else is forced to decipher them.

Yes, it’s an editor’s job to help you fix your book, but you’ve got to do most of the work. They just advise you, you’re the writer. Why should they help you if you haven’t tried already? What’s to say you won’t just ignore them - which you’re at liberty to do, it’s your book at the end of the day - and waste their time.

Editors will want to work with you if they see potential in something. They’ll be passionate about your book if you are. And that shows if you’ve already done some self-editing.

Also, first drafts tend to be cringey and embarrassing. So, spare yourself red cheeks and get a head start.

What do editors ACTUALLY do?

When I think of editors, I think of J. Jonah Jameson banging on his desk demanding pictures of Spider-Man. Someone will be cutthroat and brutally honest about your work so be prepared.

This could be an article on it's own. In fact, the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook 2020 (which has a whole section about self-publishing that helped kick-start my journey and I reference heavily in my article - How to self-publish your own book) has an article by the late editor and author Diana Athill who described her job succinctly as “unwrapping a lumping parcel and finding something beautiful inside it”.

Essentially, editors fine-tune uncut gems. They make suggestions about plot and character, spot inconsistencies and inaccuracies, correct spelling, grammar and punctuation, flag up potential libel. And just like Adam Sandler in Uncut Gems, you can reply to anything they say with-

But what specific services do they actually offer?

Developmental editing

This is before you’ve put fingers to keyboard. An editor will help you plan your book, the overall structure, a chapter-by-chapter outline.

Editorial assessment

An editor will give you general feedback on whatever you send them. Nothing nitty-gritty, just big-picture stuff, whatever’s glaring.

Structural editing

This is still big-picture stuff but a bit more in-depth, telling you what does and doesn’t work, what to change, what to cut. It focuses on plot, pacing, characters, settings, themes, writing style - so, everything.

Line-by-line editing

Going through every sentence in your book to make sure it makes sense, grammatically and narratively.

Copy editing

Similar to line-by-line and proofreading but with a broader scope looking for any inconsistencies or repetitions, factual errors etc.

Proofreading

You should already be doing this one. The final stage of editing. A thorough check for typos, misspellings, basically anything that’s been missed.

For more detailed descriptions of every type of editing, here’s an article by Harry Bingham who I mentioned a lot in my article about self-publishing.

And if you’re not sure which type your manuscript needs right now, just ask an editor.

where can I find professional editors?

google

Googling “book editors” and all variations would be a natural starting place. But I’ll save you scrolling through countless pages, clicking on related searches, opening tabs, trying to keep tabs on what you’ve found.

You’ll see it advertised if you search for editors anyway, but the top result will be for...

Reedsy

I sort of stumbled across the website but it’s also listed in the Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook.

This is the place to find editors. It’s free to use and all you have to do is make an account/sign up with Facebook or Google.

You fill in the details of your book - the more the better - including a synopsis and a sample

then browse according to the specific service(s) you need. Filter by the type of book you’ve written - language, genre - then read the bios of the editors, their experience, see who you think would do your book justice and then ask them for a quote. You can choose up to 5 editors at one time.

I did this a few weeks ago, it was super easy and all the editors got back to me by the next day. They were all really friendly and enthusiastic about my book and because I wasn’t sure what exactly I was looking for, they asked more about the book, its development, and kindly explained the differences between services before discussing money.

Once you’ve made a decision, you can either reject the other quotes or the editors will do it for you.

Reedsy also offers other services including:

• Book design
• Publicity
• Marketing
• Translation
• Ghostwriting
• Websites

They also have apps, writing tools, a blog and free courses such as How To Self-Publish a Book. I’ve just started that. It sends an e-mail to you every morning for 10 days with tips, breaking down the process into manageable chunks.

You can pay if you want more from the site, but Reedsy offers a lot for free. It’s the most popular and reputable site for finding professional editors and I couldn’t recommend it higher.

Writers’ & Artists’ Yearbook

The Bible for book publishing has an entire index of editorial services, including Reedsy, as well as their own on their website including prices.

Facebook groups

My search for an editor began in the Bang2Write Facebook group. All I did was ask for suggestions, a push in the right direction, and soon enough I was messaging an editor directly.

So, you could save yourself a task and simply make a post in whichever writing groups you’re a part of, on Facebook or otherwise. And if you’re not in one, join one!

Writers shouldn’t be alone. Seriously, you’ll thrive in a community with people in the same boat as you, the encouragement and support they provide each other. And clearly, the networking opportunities! Editors are lurking in these groups actively seeking writers, so say hello!

is it worth getting my manuscript professionally evaluated?

Pros

The clue’s in the title. Of course you want someone professional to edit your book. Someone whose job it is, who’s probably been editing longer than you’ve been writing, who’s read more than you ever will.

It’s also a fresh set of eyes. You can pore over your manuscript over and over and never see the mistakes because you’re bored of reading it, you want the process to be over.

At the end of the day, it’s your book too, you’re too close to it. You can never be objective about it. You need someone who doesn’t know you, who isn’t attached to the content, to give you their thoughts. If you want your book to be read widely, it needs to be read outside your comfort zone from the beginning.

Provided you find a good editor, one you gel with who is genuinely pumped about your book and wants it to be the best it can be, it will be.

Cons

Unfortunately, hiring a professional editor costs money.

Currently, my book doesn’t have an editor because I simply couldn’t afford it. I was naive about the costs and once I started messaging people on Reedsy I realised it would be a significant chunk of my earnings.

I’m sure like me most of you reading this don’t have that much disposable income. You’ve got a part-time job because you need time to write. You don’t have a spare few hundred quid lying around for someone to edit your passion project because you’ve got rent to pay, a cat to feed.

I’d like to give you a breakdown of how much editing service costs but it really depends on the editor. Some are more expensive than others if they’ve got the reputation but some are also willing to negotiate and accommodate financial circumstances. One of the ones I spoke offered a monthly payment plan but ultimately, I couldn’t agree to it because I couldn’t predict what I might need the money for in the future.

Obviously, a professional editor is a worthy investment and if you can afford one, do so. But don’t spend your savings if you’re not entirely sure.

the power of the beta reader

If, like me, you don’t think you can afford your manuscript to be professionally evaluated, then enlist beta readers. People who will read your book and give you feedback for free from the viewpoint of an average reader. These can be friends, family, fellow writers, just people on the internet willing to give their time.