The Self-Published Author’s Guide to Hiring an Editor
by
Editing Your Manuscript Word By Word and Line By Line
I used to advise self-publishers to avoid the one-stop shops and find their own separate professionals, which would include a manuscript review (by a professional or their own writers’ group), a line editor, a copyeditor, a designer, a proofreader, an e-book designer (making sure someone could proof the code here too), and a printer. That, frankly, costs many, many thousands of dollars to hire true professionals and is typical of the cost a publisher shoulders when publishing a book. Self-publishers, initially, were trying to replicate this model with their own limited bank account. But with no gatekeeper, and the market generating less and less revenue for their product, there’s no way most would ever recoup their investment. No wonder there was so little quality control – who could afford it? But now that rapid technological changes are forcing me out of Gutenberg assumptions faster than I expected, I really believe a much more streamlined editing and production process is preferable.
Step 4: Edit your manuscript, so that every word is exactly as it should be. For objectivity, hire, crowdsource, or barter for a professional editor. Here’s your guide to picking the right editor for you:
1. Experience in your medium.
This editor should demonstrate professional expertise in the medium you’ve chosen (if it requires a level of professional expertise, like the book or e-book), evidenced through a client list or testimonials. Unfortunately there is no established set of professional credentials for editing; most everything we learn, we learn by doing. Experience with your specific area, and satisfied clients, best identifies a quality editor for you. If no special production skills are required for your medium, then your editor should be experientially aware of the assumptions and culture of your chosen interactive media (Twitter, Facebook, websites, blogs).
2. Expertise in your topic or genre.
Your goal here is quality control from the start: if your editor knows of a work with the same premise that came out last year, you’ll need to show awareness of that so you don’t seem like a trite copycat. Or if you make a point that unknowingly contradicts an expert in your field, you’ll need to show awareness of that as well. Most of us need help chasing this down.
3. Personal connection and trust.
This editor should be someone you personally connect with. You’re paying your editor not to just prep your manuscript for the “publish” button, but to tell you the hard truth about the quality of your work and empower you to improve your craft. If you don’t believe your editor really is your advocate on every level, even to the point of telling you you’re not ready to publish because he or she cares about your reputation maybe even more than you do, then when you receive the inevitable hard news about what needs to be cut, you may result to unbecoming activities, like voodoo.
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