Spoiler Alert! Editors talk to each other. A lot.
It’s no surprise that our talk often circles around subjects like the success of our clients, the state of the industry, and what’s not working. One thing that came up in a recent conversation is the number of authors opting out of having an editor entirely. It started when a friend who has degrees in writing, over a decade of experience in the publishing industry, and lots of experience editing trying to decide if she wanted to do an honest review of the literary merits of a “best seller” indie book.
What did she find?
1 misused apostrophe
3 overly-repeated words (not used as a literary device)
2 run-on sentences
3-4 redundant uses of conjunctions
10 uses of the word “that” (not including previously cited repeated words)
15 uses of “was” or “were” (not including cited repeated words)
At least 3 examples of missing punctuation
Cliche (3 or 4)
Ineffective / idiomatic / juvenile metaphors.
Sentence variation practically non-existent.
Overly long, rambling sentences.
Jumping subject mid-sentence.
Seriously rushed, made me re-read several chunks over and over to find my feet
…. all in the opening pages of the book.
These are basic errors that an editor would pick up. And that weren’t picked up because the author opted out of using a content editor.
Other editors were quick to point out other problem books. Ones with teaser sentences with obvious errors, or ones with blurbs with typos. It happens. Authors are human. And even Big 5 books sometimes have typos (usually caused by editing too fast or the change being rejected rather than accepted in the final draft). But it’s baffling to see so many poorly edited books flooding the market.
Until someone said one of her clients had canceled because a popular indie author guru (who I never did catch the name of) said indie authors didn’t need editors.
Now… I kind of get this. Edits are expensive, usually costing a $1/page ($0.004 per word) or more. Not every author has a few hundred dollars to do a book that way, and I understand that. The upfront cost for a self-published novel run from $200 to several thousand depending on the cover art, quality of your editor, and whether you hire a formatter or not.
It’s tempting to say that your crit partner can edit for you and that your digital design skills are enough to make a cover. Which… they might be. If you’ve been writing for a few years, have a crit partner you brought up through the ranks and works as a professional editor, and are trained in graphic design – yes! – you can skip hiring an editor. But not everyone is in that situation. Not everyone has the connections.
But you still need an editor.
If you can’t afford good cover art and a good editor then you know what you do? YOU QUERY THE MANUSCRIPT.
Write your query (back-of-book-blurb + word count and title + two sentences about you) and you query that thang! You send it out to small presses or agents. Because, with traditional publishing, the editor and cover art are part of the contract.
“But… what if my book isn’t good enough to query?” … I’ll be honest. If you don’t think your book is query-ready than it isn’t editor-ready or publication-ready yet. If you have edited that manuscript as best as you know how, and it isn’t ready to show a big New York publisher with money to burn, then that book shouldn’t be published. Put the manuscript down, give it an affectionate pat, and go write another book.
Self Publishing is not an excuse to skip the work, be lazy, and publish rough drafts. Your paying readers are not a test group or a beta reader.
Self Publishing means you do the work up front, pay up front, and earn more after sales. It’s riskier, because there’s no promise you’ll make back what you put in, but you have more control over the situation, publish on your own schedule, and have final say on what you do. These are the trade offs.
If you want a career in publishing you need to invest in your work. Respect all the time and effort you put into writing and make sure you only publish your best work. Hire an editor or query your novel. Either way, make sure you get an editor’s eyes on it. You did not spend years of your life writing that book you love only to publish the rough draft. You’re better than that.