How Do You Get Your Book Edited?

thenewbie said:

I was curious about the editing part for those of you that self-publish. How do you find someone affordable to edit for you? I have searched a lot and it looks like book editors want a lot of money. Is there cheaper alternatives?

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You get what you pay for.

Publishing is a business. In successful publishing, someone pays for things like editing, cover art, and so on.

If you decide to self-publish, that means it's yourself, rather than someone else, paying for those things. That's why a self-published author earns greater royalties per book: because they're paying for all the associated costs.

If someone can't afford to pay for what's necessary for the business to flourish, they can't afford to be in that business.

I've been sent a few hundred self published books for review: very, very few of them have been edited well enough to make the reading experience a good one. If you skimp on editing, your book, your readers, and your sales, will suffer.

If you do decide to work with an editor, make sure you find someone who knows what they're doing: many people set up as editors without having the knowledge or experience to do the job well, and you'll be wasting your money.

Like the others said, you want to hire a good editing, and you get what you pay for. A good freelance editor will be expensive, but think of it as an investment.

And, you should edit your MS as much as possible before sending it out. This'll ensure that you're not wasting as much money, and you're getting a better job from the editor in the end.

You can always edit it yourself. Have you friends (who know grammar and such well). And edit, edit, edit it.

I'd recommend finding a beta reader first, perhaps doing a few edits yourself and then moving onto an editor. This blog post has an extensive list of links to freelance editors, as well as everything else you might need with self-publishing. Click here.

thenewbie said:

I was curious about the editing part for those of you that self-publish. How do you find someone affordable to edit for you? I have searched a lot and it looks like book editors want a lot of money. Is there cheaper alternatives?

Click to expand...

As everyone's already said, you get what you pay for. Don't skimp on the editing. (and don't skimp on the cover, but that's a different thread.)

Assuming you have already gotten feedback from a variety of beta readers and revised your story several times, look for a freelance editor whose work you respect. Check their references. Read what they've done.

Then, save your spare change, sell lemonade, run a Kickstarter, whatever you have to do to raise the money.

There's a room at AbsoluteWrite where you can request beta readers, too, which is worth looking at.

Don't assume that editors or beta readers will polish your first draft for you. It's essential that you revise your book as thoroughly as you can before you send it out to beta readers or an editor, because you don't want them to spend their time pointing out errors you could have found for yourself: you want them to make suggestions that you wouldn't have thought of.

Suggestion, before you pay for an actual editor, make sure you've made the work all it can me. With most editors you get one shot for your money. Also, be careful using someone advertised on the web, better to use someone referred by another writer you know who has used them. I used two and both were remarkable, but I have hear horror stories where they simply provided proofing vs a thorough review (continuity flaws, script weaknesses, etc)

You should get a beta reader or two who aren't writers so they can tell you more objectively if your book appeals as far as story and the things most readers care about. You'll often find you get vastly different feedback from writers and non-writers--both can be valuable, but often the pure reader feedback is a bit moreso.

I don't remember if there are rules about suggesting actual people or not, so I'll err on the side of caution. But if you Google "your genre editor" you'll find a great deal. Just then google the editors names to find where they're discussed on messages boards and such. Look at the books they claim to have edited. Maybe reach out to people who've used them and ask if they'd recommend them.

Vet them the way you would anyone you pay for a service. You're probably going to pay at least $500 or more, depending on the length, and that's kind of a bottom barrel number. A bad editor is worse than none at all, so really shop around.

Yes, it's pricey, but if you spend $150 on a budget one willing to do a full novel at that, how many hours do you think the editor can reasonably spend and make any money for the time? I'd be afraid of a rushed job and a waste of that money.

If you get some truly excellent betas that can help you whip it into shape, you may be able to get away with only proofreading. A lot depends on where you are in writing and how much experience you have--and how good your betas are.