You find a blurb for the coolest-sounding self-published book ever, and smack that “Buy now with 1-Click” button like a fully-engorged mosquito sucking its dinner out of your ass. You download the shiny gem to your Kindle, rub your hands together, and open it, only to find the first page littered with typos, spelling mistakes, and poorly constructed sentences.
You’re not alone. We’ve all been snowed by a steaming pile of puppy poo disguised as Godiva chocolate.
Grumble. Hiss. Crappy self-published authors giving the rest of us a bad name…
“Well, I have nothing to worry about,” you say. “I don’t need an editor because I’m made of awesome. That whole Jacqueline Howett thing would never happen to a fantastic writer like me. Besides, who has the money to pay those money-grubbing vultures, anyway?”
If you don’t have the money, take out a freaking loan, honey. A self-published writer needs an editor like a baby needs diapers. If someone doesn’t catch all that mess before it leaks out the sides, everyone locked in the indie submarine is taking a dive on a number of uncomfortable levels. Shit stinks. Period.
NOBODY writes a perfect novel. Not Stephen King. Not Nora Roberts. Certainly not you.
At least, not without help.
I am a writer. I also freelance edit on the side for a boutique publisher, but I still hired an editor to eyeball my upcoming self-published trilogy. Here’s why:
- A fresh pair of objective eyes can gauge how your audience might react to your story. A good editor understands the market and knows what’s hot. He or she will offer advice about how to amp up your heroine’s kick-ass factor, alpha-fy your beta hero, take your point of view deeper—whatever is necessary to satisfy the hungry masses.
- After a hundred critique partners and beta readers have sliced and diced your manuscript six ways to Sunday, it’s easy to lose sight of the story. There may be entire scenes you don’t even recognize any more. An editor can help you readjust your lens, focus on what’s important, and show you what’s not.
- Like a lot of people, I’m seduced by the empty promises of my “darlings”—those momentum-robbing scenes we love with all our hearts but can’t bear to ax. Deep down, I know they’re bad for the book, but I can’t let them go without confirmation from someone I trust. When a professional tells me to cut the cord, it’s time to pay my respects to the scene and kiss it goodbye. A week later, I don’t miss it.
- Even though I’m good at catching other people’s mistakes, intimacy with my own manuscript tends to cause selective blindness. For example: six appearances of the word door in a three-sentence paragraph; a bra instead of a bar that escapes the spellchecker’s notice with a triumphant giggle; a missing word that changes the entire meaning of a sentence. A good editor has crap-seeking capabilities that can blast those pesky typo bastards out of existence in a single pass. (By the way, did you notice I used "that" three times in this bullet point? A good editor would have. :-)
- Characterization, pacing, plot holes, world building, goal, motivation, conflict…Blah blah blah. I could go on for days about all the other reasons to have a solid editor shake up your words, but I’ll have to save these for another post.
If you plan to self-publish, hire a professional editor—or, at the very least, enlist the services of an experienced critique group—before sending your baby into the world alone and diaper-less. It’s cold and lonely out there, and you don’t want some mean old reviewer like Sara calling your sweet pea stinky. :-) (Editor's Note: The only sweet pea I call stinky is my own, but that's because he usually is!)
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Awesome, Kendall! And thanks to Sara for hosting this guest spot! You guys are flippin' terrific.
ReplyDeleteOn a side note, the Jacqueline Howett thing... Ouch. It's sad when people are so involved that they can't see, nor embrace their inadequacies. It doesn't make you a poor writer to know you aren't omniscient. It makes you a SMART writer to trust yourself enough to know that you aren't and to take the criticism you need to be better. There's ALWAYS room for improvement.
Everything I expect from Kendall: great advice, scatalogically presented. Excellent post!
ReplyDeleteHey, Carissa! Thanks for the kind words. I totally agree with your point about inadequacies. If we tackle our jobs as writers with an "I'm perfect" attitude, we do ourselves a tremendous disservice. No matter what your profession, or how good you are at it, there is always someone better. I love your statement: "There's ALWAYS room for improvement." So true.
ReplyDeleteAravan, you are too kind. Thanks for visiting, my friend!
Kendall ROCK ON!!! Awesome post! I just posted a guest blog with Michelle Muto author of The Book of Lost Souls" my topic about book covers...your blog hits the nail on the head of the same thing I address!
ReplyDeletehttp://michellemuto.wordpress.com/
Thanks for the awesome blog!
Hey Thomas. I will be sure to check out your post as soon as I can. Thanks for visiting. :-)
ReplyDelete*sigh* I have to agree. I edit professionally. I was a journalist/editor for decades. Now I work at a public relations firm where editing is my primary function.
ReplyDeleteAnd I still need an editor. *grumble*
I hate to admit that. I always have. Every word is my darling: I spend hours on page, reading, rereading, slicing and inserting. By the time I'm done the story is part of me. It's inside my head.
That's the problem. Because it's so much a part of me, I can no longer step back and see those gaping holes.
Editors bridge the gaps. They're more than proof readers. They're professional readers who find the holes and offer suggestions to fill said voids.
But I have to mix a metaphor. To me, an editor is like a back-up program for a computer. We all know we need one, but rarely make use of it until it's too late.
Kendall Grey is brilliant. My first stop each morning is at her blog. She shares that brilliance at no charge. I appreciate that.
Diana, you put it way more eloquently than I did. I love your comment about editors being "back-ups". Hopefully, we are smart enough (after a failure or two, perhaps?) to know that no matter how talented we are, it helps to have a pair of professional eyes take a gander at our work. Like Carissa said above, there's always room for improvement.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know you were an editor. No wonder we get along so well!
Thanks for your kind words. I'm enjoying the vampire "bites" on your blog too. :-)
Kendall, you are hilarious. Reading this at 7:30 am with two cups of coffee in me has made it all the more fun. I'm so glad to call you my friend and I totally appreciate your genius sense of humor. I love your blog and I love you! Mwah!
ReplyDeleteI love this post. This is something I will be struggling with in the future (if I ever get there). I probably will need an editor even more than most writers, since I'm not a native English speaker. The money is the issue however. :/
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great post!
Great post! This is probably a dumb question, but I'm pretty new at this, can you give me any recommendations on editors or a reliable site to search for them? I haven't looked too hard for this just yet, but I will be in the not too distant future.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your insight, and your humor is ALWAYS appreciated! :)
Yup, this is definitely one of your finest posts, Kendall! ;)
ReplyDeleteAWESOME advice!!!!!!! :D
Kara - I ADORE you! :-) I want you to get kicking on that book of yours. Let me know if I can help. Hugs.
ReplyDeleteKatja - Your English sounds fantastic to me, but yes, you still need an editor. If money is a problem, there are a lot of sites online where you can find great critique partners/groups. Sometimes you have to weed through a few people before you find the right match, but when you do, it's worth it. And free! Best of luck with your writing and finding the perfect person to help you edit.
Amber - Not a dumb question at all. I'm not sure about specific web sites, but a Google search for "freelance editor" would probably yield some good leads. I'd recommend my editor, but I don't think she's taking any more clients at the moment. When you do search, be sure to check the person's credentials. Check out Preditors and Editors at http://pred-ed.com/peesla.htm. Good luck!
Laura - Thanks, my friend. I appreciate your support. :-)
Great post!
ReplyDeleteWhat I had to learn the hard way was, NOT EVERY EDITOR CAN FIX YOUR BOOK'S PROBLEMS!
I knew I needed help. A year ago I had no writer friends, no one who could help me find the problems in my just finished novel. After talking to the hubster, we decided to hire a freelancer.
She was super nice, and I liked working with her, but I kept getting rejections even after implementing her suggestions. (There weren't many as far as the plot went.) My only two full requests came with some super advice. It boiled down to this: Your plot blows. Rewrite.
I was disappointed that the over 1 grand I spent on a freelance editor didn't give me that little nugget of information, but I've been plugging away on it anyway.
The point of this comment is, yes, hire an editor. But caveat emptor. In a HUGE way. It's a lot of money, and if you pick wrong, you'll be raking in rejections (or bad reviews for self pubs) and won't know why.
Gina
Thanks for the great post, Kendall. And lots of good info and advice in the comments as well. Getting that first editing feedback a few weeks ago was such an eye-opener for me and while it can make things seem more daunting, it also gave me a boost of determination. I try to look at every critique and edit as an opportunity to learn more about my craft and I can use all the help I can get, LOL.
ReplyDeleteGina - you make a great point. There's no reason in the world to hire an editor until your work has been through SEVERAL critiques from people you trust. By that, I *don't* mean your family or friends. Yes, you trust them, but they will LIE to make you happy. Plus, if they aren't writers, they may not have the right insights and/or experience to provide you with anything helpful. You need people who are familiar with the CRAFT of writing, not amateurs who dabble here and there. Some people like to enter contests to get feedback from experienced writers. Do whatever you must to get honest, OBJECTIVE feedback before you hire an editor.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you had that experience, but you're right. It's a lesson learned. The best way to get your manuscript ready for an editor is through tons of feedback and revisions based on what the *majority* say.
Ella - So glad to hear you're getting advice from peers. This is a hugely important part of the process. I think a lot of people (myself included) finish a first draft and think, "Look at me! I wrote a novel. I'm the shit!" Our friends tell us how wonderful it is, and we send out queries, only to be bitch-slapped by form rejections. What went wrong? We didn't get the feedback I mentioned above.
Regarding critiques, sometimes the truth hurts. I know all about it. My advice is to cry or scream or rant it all out, give it a few days to stew inside your brain, then return to the critique and your manuscript with a fresh pair of eyes. If five people say your heroine is a whiny bitch, chances are she is, in fact, a whiny bitch. :-)
With critiques, try to understand what the person is telling you and why, take what works, and throw the rest out the window.
Great comments. Thanks for stopping by, ladies!
You're spot on, Kendall. Every book needs a top notch editor. Great post!!
ReplyDeleteThanks to Sara for letting me hang out on the blog. I had a ton of fun! Thanks also to everyone who visited and commented. I think we had some fantastic discussions. :-)
ReplyDeleteOh, didn't see you there, Lynn. I think we posted at the exact same time. Freaky! Thanks for stopping by, my friend!
ReplyDeleteThis was a fantastic post and so true. When I was reviewing, I found that even some boutique pubs need to pay closer attention to their edits... so, yes, an editor is the way to go. A pro eye can mean the difference in your name. Great post!!!
ReplyDeleteHey, Rachel! Glad you stopped by. Yeah, I find *a lot* of typos, even in traditionally published novels. It drives me nuts. There's no way to catch *every single* thing, but when you find a couple of problems in the first chapter, and it goes downhill from there, it's not a good sign. I guess I'm a bit of a grammar snob too, so it really bugs me to see mistakes in professionally edited and published works.
ReplyDeleteGREAT post! This is one of my biggest pet peeves. I am so tired of hearing "Self-publishing means lower quality, because traditional publishers use editors." Editors are not elusive gurus living under lock and key in the publishing houses...they are available for hire, and it is our responsibility to hire them. I wrote about this in my blog post "Potty Training for Self-Published Authors" (http://jacquelynwheeler.blogspot.com/2010/04/potty-training-for-self-published.html), which covers this and other tips for the smugly ignorant self-published among us.
ReplyDelete