1) I don't pay editors. Editors pay me. That's because I'm going with commercial publishing. If I were self-publishing, then I'd hire an editor (but I'd do that wearing my Publisher hat, not my Writer hat).
Question 1): What are your plans? Commercial publication? Self-publication? Something else?
I want my work to be as good as possible so if I want I can go either way. Obviously, if you self pub, you don't have to worry about sending out a query but I want one, and a synopsis too should I chose commercial.
2): My usual procedure, after writing all the way to The End, is to let the manuscript sit for a month or two while writing something else, then re-read it and re-write it. Continue to revise until it's the best I can make it.
Question 2): Do you have a complete manuscript that you have re-written until it's the best you can make it?
I've worked on this MS six years, taken it to all my creative writing classes and worked the s**t out of it. This is my 8th draft and still counting to get the ending right and then probably again after BETA readers. It's the best I can get it right now but that will change, I'm sure.
Observation 2): Many people like Self-Editing for Fiction Writers, The First Five Pages, and Line-by-Line as guides.
3): Once I've re-written to the best of my ability, I find beta readers. These are often my fellow writers who are working on the same level I am. However it's good to have a filthy-minded teenager read it too, to find out if you've created something unintentionally hilarious.
Question 3): Have you explored beta-readers or writers' groups?
I'm ready for 'em!
Suggestion 3): Recruit some friends to read your book and give their unvarnished opinions. Mom probably isn't your best choice, but someone you trust to tell you the truth as they see it will do just fine.
4): After getting reports back from your beta readers, re-write your book again.
Yus sir!
Comment 4): Then, and only then, and if and only if you're planning to self-publish, should you begin to dream of considering hiring an editor.
Observation 4): £484 (about $780 US dollars) is a pretty low price for a professional editor with real editorial chops. And I don't see any way in the world to do a structural edit four chapters at a time. The editor needs to read the entire work, as a unit, probably multiple times before commenting on the structure.
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One further note: The plan to end on a cliffhanger is probably a bad choice. What do I mean by bad? I mean Your Reader Throws The Book Against The Wall And Tells All His Friends Your Book Sucks. That's bad. Important safety tip.
No plan to end on a cliff hanger, only to end with the possibility of a sequel. As someone said, what I may have done is left the end too open which I think needs fixing. One of my POV's closes whereas the other one is left unfinished so I need to cement that as I want this to be a stand alone.
Oh, and to answer the question in the thread title:
When I get an editorial letter, about one third of the time I slap myself on the forehead, say, "How could I have missed that?" and make the change. About a third of the time, I don't care one way or the other about the suggestion, so I make the change. And about a third of the time I say, "What are you smoking?" and don't make the change. Then I send the revised manuscript back. Usually, making the first two categories of changes fixes the problems that the third category was trying to amend.
Editors are part of the publisher's team. Their goal, like yours, is to make your book the best it can be so as to sell a lot of copies, make a ton of money, and bring cheer to the world.
Thanks for all of that, I have a good few editing books at home but new titles always help ;p
That's a great point that Macdonald makes. Your beta readers/future editors definitely need to be able to see the entire work to be able to give *any* editorial comments. You really can't see the thread of a thing in small chunks like that.
Thanks for bringing it up, Macdonald, I might not have thought of that one on my own. (Totally learning from your experiences, here, Shay! Thanks for posting about them.)
No problem. Until I get my BETA readers in, my editor, despite bad spelling and what-not, might be 100% right. I'll let everyone know.
