Last week, I talked about three different types of first readers-alpha readers, beta readers, and writing groups. These are great (and free!) resources that I used to help get my novel, Red and Black, to a higher level of quality than I could achieve on my own. But even after seeking advice out from friends and colleagues, Red and Black still wasn’t in a publishable state. For that, I needed professionals.
You may find yourself wondering why. I mean, my first readers were all kick ass. Why did I need to pay professional editors to mark up my book even further? This has a lot to do with the nature of self publishing. As indie authors, we are expected to perform all of the steps that would normally fall to a traditional publisher. And traditionally published works go through multiple layers of editing, both with the writer’s agent, and the publisher itself. And just like how most of us non-artsy folk wouldn’t consider opening up Photoshop to make our own covers, unless you know the Chicago Manual of Style front to back, you really should hire a professional to do your editing. And even if you do have a pretty good grip on the rules and regulations, you still should consider hiring some sort of professional. Once you’ve read over a manuscript dozens of times, little things like misplaced commas and repeated words just don’t stick out like they should.
There are a lot of different types of editors out there, but for the purpose of this column, I’m just going to go into the big ones: developmental editors, copy editors, and proofreaders. What you chose is going to depend on your experience as an author, and the needs of the manuscript in hand.
Here’s the breakdown.
Developmental Editors– If you’re new to writing in general, then you’ll probably want to consider a developmental editor, who can help you with large concept issues such as plot structure, characterization, pacing and flow, and how your book fits into the expectations of your genre. The software of your book rather than the nuts and bolts. Developmental editors typically jump in after you’ve done drafting and some editing on your own, but I’ve also heard of editors that provide assistance even earlier in the writing process. As far as the cost goes, like with all professional editors, it can really vary. One numbers I’ve seen thrown around in multiple locations is 1-3 cents per word, but given that I did not use a developmental editor for Red and Black, I cannot confirm this. So don’t be surprised if I’m a little off on this one, money-wise.
Copy Editors– Copy editors bring things to a more technical level, being concerned with grammar, punctuation, and word choice. All the small things that are likely to trip up your reader. My copy editor was also really good at pointing out repeated words, capitalization errors, and the fact that my word processing software had inserted the wrong type of apostrophes. She also commented on POV slips, and a few pacing issues. Even after having multiple people go through my book (including myself!) I was shocked at the amount of errors she was able to catch. Most resources I’ve checked report that copy editors typically charge between 1-3 cents a word, and this lined up with my experience.
Proofreaders- This is the stage that I’m on right now! Proofreaders take care of the really nitty-gritty stuff, such as misplaced commas, capitalization errors, and any spelling/grammatical problem that have managed to slip through. Just because your copy editor didn’t notice them, doesn’t mean a random reader won’t. I’ll never forger reading one of the early Harry Potter books and discovering a case were Professor Snape had been shortened to “Snap.” I’ve heard it say that proofreaders typically charge up one cent a word or so. This has lined up with my personal experience as well.
If it’s your first time thinking about professional editors you’ve probably taken a look at the costs provided above, done some mental math based on the word count of your novel, and are now quietly (or not so quietly?) weeping into your hands. Yes. Hiring professionals to edit your novel is awfully expensive, and is one of main reason why it took me so long to come around to self publishing. After all, I don’t usually write in the nice, compact 50-60k range you’ll see a lot of self published novels settle into. 90-100k all the way!
But despite the shock of seeing my savings account dramatically decrease, I have yet to regret the money I’ve spent on my professional editors. After all, I want people to take me seriously as a writer, and the best way I can communicate that is with a book with a high level of polish. And while the numbers may seem high for something similar to what your beta readers do for free, you need to keep in mind what you’re really paying for. Not just the hours they spend combing through your manuscript, but for all of the experience they’ve accrued over the years to get to this level of expertise. And that’s worth something.
“Okay, okay, Nancy,” you may be saying. “I’ll consider it, but where do I find these people?” As with much in this digital era the answer is, “the internet!” A lot of freelance editors have websites where they list their clients, costs, and availability. Which I, as a newbie indie author, found completely overwhelming. This is why I ended up using Reedsy, a curated website of professional editors, cover artist, formatters, etc, as a resource. If you’d like to check them out, their website can be found right here. If you’d like to learn more about my experience with Reedsy specifically, I am planning on writing up a post with more details in the upcoming month. Please considering subscribing to my blog to learn about this in your email. There’s a handy dandy link on the left hand side of my home page for that.
But until then, I need to dive back into these edits. It’s back to the world of misplaced commas and stray grammatical issues for me!
Nancy O'Toole 