Self Publishing Your Book? Five Reasons Why You Need a Good Copy Editor
August 1st, 2009 | 
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Aspiring authors often have a difficult time getting established publishing companies to look at their manuscripts, which is why many choose to self-publish. The problem is that in the interest of saving money, many self-publishers eliminate a key element from the publishing process – skilled copy editing. That is why there are thousands of poorly-written self-published books on the market, and one of the reasons the literary world has traditionally looked down on self-publishing.
Think about it: you spent hours researching and writing about your subject. You believed in yourself and your project, were enthusiastic, highly-motivated, and willing to do whatever it took to put your book into the hands of the reading public. But then you sabotaged all your hard work by failing–usually in the interest of saving money–to submit your manuscript to a copy editor prior to submitting it to the printer.
There are a few things serious self-publishers must realize. First and foremost, self-publishing is a business. Not only are you marketing the book your have written, but you are marketing yourself. Therefore, preparing for your “grand opening”–which in your case is the day your book hits the shelves at your local book dealer–is key to your business’s success.
Secondly, it is important to recognize your limitations. Writing a book makes you an author, but not necessarily a writer. Nearly every high school graduate can string enough words together to be understood. But great, even good writing requires a strong knowledge of grammar and a consistent, painstaking commitment to practicing the craft. The rich and famous know this, which is why they often hire writers to help them pen their memoirs. That doesn’t mean that only skilled writers can and should write books; what it means is that if grammar and spelling aren’t your strong points, you should hire a copy editor to proofread your manuscript.
Other reasons copy editing is essential to self-publishers:
1. Good copy editing lends credibility to your work. Credibility gained on your first self-publishing endeavor creates a following of loyal customers for your next project.
2. Good copy editing makes you look like a good writer. You may not have great writing and grammar skills, but a copy editor’s job is to make you look like you do!
3. Good copy editing sells more books. No one wants to spend hard-earned money on a poorly proofread book. Remember, you are in business to sell your product.
In the past, self-publishing was viewed as being strictly for amateurs. But with the recent success of best-selling self-published books like The Shack, attitudes are steadily changing. One of the ways self-publishing can gain respectability is for self-publishers to view hiring a copy editor not as an unnecessary expense, but as a crucial factor in their publishing success.
Karen S. Ramsey, is an adjunct English instructor at Tri-County Technical College in Pendleton, SC and the owner of A Second Look Editorial Services http://a2ndlooker.com
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You mention copyediting, but copyediting primarily is to clean up grammar, punctuation, and typos — which is indeed critical. What self-publishing authors *really* need is an editor with the skills to do developmental editing. Just making sure a novel is clean in terms of typos and punctuation doesn’t mean the overall story itself is any good. This is what has caused — and continues to cause — the stigma of a self-published book: the generalization that all the books are crap.
A developmental editor (DE) works through the beginning, middle, and end of the book and makes sure the author answers all that s/he has promised the reader. A DE looks for plot holes, inconsistencies in people, places, things, events, etc. I could go on, but I think that gives the very, very basics of a DE’s responsibility.
Keep in mind, too, that not all DEs have a strong handle on grammar, punctuation, spelling, etc. so the novel may still require the skills of a copyeditor; and, of course, a copyeditor may not have the skills to do developmental editing either.
As long as self-publishers continue to publish without their books undergoing *both* of these types of editing, then the self-publishing field will continue to be thought of as books that only a mother would buy.
Cheers,
Marty Halpern
That’s very true, Marty. Of self-published books I’ve read, I’ve only encountered a small number who neglected the developmental level of editing, where the book had some good content but wasn’t focused enough.
Great post! In particular I want to underscore your second paragraph. It amazes me how often self-publishing authors will spend months or years writing a book, and invest a large sum of money to have it printed, but skip having it professionally edited (or professionally designed, for that matter) because it “costs too much.” As you point out, self-publishers who skip that essential quality-control step are not only sabotaging their book’s chances of success, but contributing to the poor reputation of self-published books in general.
However, I’m afraid this post might give the impression that only writers with below-average skills need copyeditors. Guess what? In the world of the established publishing companies, every book gets copyedited. Period. It doesn’t matter how talented the author is, or how many books he or she has written before, or how many millions of readers bought those books. Every writer needs a copyeditor (and, as Marty Halpern points out, quite a few of them need a developmental editor, too).
Professional editors have the awareness and objectivity to find problems that the author might never notice; the skills and experience to fix those problems gracefully, without muddling the author’s message or voice; and the tools and training to do the work efficiently.
Authors looking for an editor can start by visiting the website of the Editorial Freelancers Association (www.the-efa.org). (Full disclosure: I’m a member of that professional organization, but so are hundreds of other talented editors.)
Best regards,
Kathy Carter