Why you should use an editor for your book

So, you’ve completed your manuscript, hours, days, weeks and months have gone in to it, but is it ready? For most authors being so close to their work makes it virtually impossible to look at it from an objective position, the phrase, ‘not being able to see the wood for the trees’, springs to mind.
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You could persevere regardless and publish without having the book looked at, for some authors this may work, but for many it doesn’t, when the first genuine reviews hit the book’s Amazon page it can be shock. Suddenly the ratings start to come in as threes, twos and even one star, this can be depressing for any author and make you question why you wrote the book in the first place.

However, for 99% of authors their early drafts are full of errors, issues with the structure, the plot, the book’s flow and so on, but with review and editing, a manuscript can go from mediocre to outstanding.

So why doesn’t every author get their manuscript looked at by a professional?
This can be for a number of reasons:

• Firstly it could be cost, editing services can cost anywhere from $20 to $70 per hour, and if you haven’t budgeted for this it may be a struggle to proceed, but even so, it’s worth holding back until you have the funds.
• It could be a time constraint, where you want to publish in time for Christmas and just finish the manuscript in September, you get a cover created, advertising and then upload it to KDP just in time for the Christmas sales rush.
• It could be stubbornness, not being able to take advice from professionals (especially if you’re a first time author).
• And finally, it could be through fear, people fear criticism, sending a manuscript to an editor will mean that your work gets scrutinized, and every single creative person hates being critiqued.

But ask yourself these questions, why did you write the book? Do you respect your readers? Is this a vanity project? Would your favorite author cut corners?

When you get to the end of writing a manuscript it feels like you’re in the final stages of completing a very long journey, you’ve been going for miles and just ahead you can see the finish line. But although this is a common mindset to find your self in, you need to pace yourself and realize that completing the manuscript is just stage one.
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When you view publishing you need to look at it as an on-going journey with your book, one that keeps going for years. So, once you have the manuscript completed you need to understand that it is not immediately ready for publication.

​So why should you use an editor?

• They will see the issues in your manuscript that have been missed, they’ll be able to clean it up and fix any issues with the plot and structure.
• There are various editing services which will be able to cover every angle of your book from developmental editors to proofreaders, all catching errors and polishing your work at the same time.
• They have an invaluable insight with the genre and specific section of the industry that you are writing within, this is invaluable when you come to publish.
• They will help you to create the book you were dreaming of making when you first started.

​As we mentioned earlier, publishing is a long-term game and some elements within this will take time, but then most great things do. If you can look at the journey of your book as something that will blossom into a work of greatness over a timescale which may be a little longer than you first thought, you will be on your way to publishing the book you always wanted, your readers will thank you!