The Importance of being Edited

The Book Analyst

The Importance of being Edited

(A hold-all – hand-bag – handbag?)

The Book Analyst

Does being your own ‘publisher’ mean anything more than getting

to grips with Kindle Direct?

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Which services are provided by a publisher?

• Editing• Marketing• Cover design• Sales team• Publicity • Rights sales• Accounting

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Why Edit?‘I do 5 drafts before I send it to the publisher’.‘It took me 20 edits over 10 years before my work was ready.’‘I never edit, it just pours out perfect the first time.’‘I do a rough edit in my head first, then a written draft, then another two rewrites.’

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What’s the point of editing?

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Send out the best work you can do

• ‘It’s not bad – for a 99p novel.’• ‘I love everything she writes – I’m always

waiting for the next book.’• ‘I found it really hard to work out what was

going on so I didn’t finish the book.’

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Different sorts of editing

• A read and review• A deep structural edit• Copy editing• Proof-reading

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A read and review

An industry expert giving an honest opinion on what works and what doesn’t work in your

novel.What you get – advice on how to avoid common

pitfalls, how well your book is working, and what to do to improve it.

What you don’t get – a line-by-line edit, help on grammar or spelling, help on doing the rewriting.

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A deep structural edit

Most similar to advice given by an agent or editor in a publishing house.

What you get – your novel gets broken down and rebuilt – sometimes even to the extent of changing the ending or the genre.

What you don’t get – although this is a very detailed edit, it’s not a line-by-line rewrite and won’t correct spelling or grammatical errors.

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Copy editing

A line by line edit that looks out for continuity errors, and works with your writing to allow

your prose to work to its best advantageWhat you get – word by word changes that

should bring out the best of your writing.What you don’t get – structural or major

changes.

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Proof reading

What most people think of as ‘editing’, this picks up the errors.

What you get – consistency of style, spelling and grammatical corrections.

What you don’t get – any advice on the writing itself.

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How do you decide which edit your work needs?

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Are you still working out the recipe or are you onto the icing?

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Going it alone or paying

• Recent survey – see www.blog.taleist.com looked at 1007 self-published authors.

• Asked them how much they made each year, and what services they’d paid for (or got for free).

• Aimed at a ‘typical’ self-published author rather than the Million Club.

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Do the sums add up?

• Each professional service costs

• So which are worthwhile?

• If you only have money for one bit of professional input..

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The Cover

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Do the sums add up?

• If you think you can sell over 250 copies – it’s probably well worth investing in some professional help.

• E books open a means of marketing more niche books.

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Who do you get help from?

• Yourself• Your friends or relatives• Your writing peers• A professional editor

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How to pick a professional editor

• Look for someone with a good track record• Would you prefer to be edited by an editor or

a well-known author?• A small outfit – or a bigger company?• A style you feel fits your work• A clear explanation of which edit you’re

getting• A clear explanation of costs and timings

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Essential tips for going it alone

• Don’t publish your first draft• Do get someone to have a look at what you’ve

done• Read – a lot.• Find a peer group.

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Conclusion

• Self-publishing is about a lot more than writing a book and getting it online.

• Editing is a vital tool that has polished the work of many professional authors and can offer great rewards.

• Consider one-off editorial advice to help you with taking your writing forward.