Image credit: Nic McPhee (CC:2.0)
Independent authors are a scrappy bunch, as the blogs and podcasts I follow remind me again and again. The mantra of indie authors echoes that of the DIY community everywhere: why pay someone to do something you can do yourself?
If you view editing as just one more item in a lengthy to-do list, it’s natural to look at your budget and ask yourself if editing is really necessary.
But up-front cost is just one factor to consider when plotting your course—and as a professional author, you owe it to yourself to look at more than just the immediate bottom line.
Readers Respect Authors Who Respect Them
Readers have, generally, been doing this for awhile, and they know what to expect when they make a purchase:
- A smooth read, free of grammatical roadblocks
- Logical transitions from section to section
- Strong character development; characters whose actions and interactions make sense
- Clear, concise, meaningful sentences that don’t bog readers down
- Sound, well-presented arguments
- Genre-consistent conventions
- Consistent terminology, tone, and language throughout the book
- Recognizable, readable formatting
In self-publishing, you’re free to do whatever you want with your book. Just be honest with yourself about your sales expectations if you intend to stray too far from the norm.
Editing is an expense. It may be (and, in many cases, should be) your biggest expense in the publishing process. But buying your book is an expense for readers as well. When you know you’ve got a great story, it’s easy to assume your book will transcend any objections readers have to its presentation.
When readers spend good money on a book riddled with typos, with wandering content and a monotonous voice, or with no clear direction—all issues a skilled editor can help you iron out—they’ll notice. They may even take it as an insult. And insulting readers is a surefire way to lose them forever.
[Click to tweet: Insulting readers is a surefire way to lose them forever. The Importance of Editing by @skolbwilliams]Readers Can See Before They Buy
As editor and writing coach Derek Murphy explains on the ALLi blog, your book really might be riveting enough to keep readers engrossed despite textual hiccups. But there’s one small hurdle to clear before you get that chance: convincing them to commit to your book in the first place.
Every major retailer provides some way for readers to view a sample before they commit. If you notice very few sample downloads converting to sales, ask yourself what potential readers might be finding—or not finding—in those first crucial pages.
This preview is your book’s audition; you must use it to sufficiently impress your audience. If your samples showcase your mistakes, readers won’t have a chance to become engrossed, and they’ll move on faster than you can say “At least I saved a few bucks.” A professional editor can help identify these issues before they have a chance to turn off potential readers.
The More You Publish, The Better Your Chances
The lines between an author’s tasks and an editor’s are fluid, and this fluidity can lead to misunderstandings about an editor’s role. Too often, the debate over the need for a dedicated edit is interpreted as a loose defense of one profession’s necessity to the other.
I’m no marketing pro, but there’s one particular point I want to mention here: every book you publish increases your options for packaging, marketing, and leveraging each book’s sales off of another’s. (Rundon’twalk over to the Self-Publishing Podcast and have a listen, if you’re not convinced of this yet.)
What does any of this have to do with editing? Only that in most cases, there are much better uses of your time than scouring style guides and memorizing rules.
It isn’t that editors are exclusive members of a secret society of wordsmiths, privy to mystical linguistic information mere authors can never know. It’s just that as a professional author, there are only so many hours available per day to write new material to add to your catalog. Is hiring an editor the better course?
This is a modified excerpt from The Indie Author’s Guide to Book Editing, currently available on Amazon, Kobo, Smashwords, and Google Play.
