If you have written a book, you deserve to be congratulated. That’s a hard task to accomplish, and your hard work should not be taken lightly. But once you have it written, your next step should be editing.
A lot of authors avoid hiring an editor because they think it should be simple enough to do it themselves. But there are many reasons you should consider hiring an editor, and that’s what I’d like to talk about today.
Reason #1: You Need the Objectivity
Does your story flow? Does it leave the reader with unanswered questions? Are there pieces of the story that you missed? These are the questions you can’t answer for yourself because you’re too close to the story. But an editor can easily answer them for you.
Your editor will be able to look at what you’ve written and give you raw, unbiased feedback, which is exactly what you want. They know how to look at a book through the eyes of the reader, and their input can help you write a book that people won’t want to put down.
Reason #2: You’ll Save Yourself a Lot of Time
How long did it take you to write your book? A year? Two? For many people, writing a book takes a very long time, and once it’s done, the last thing they want to do is read it again. It can take months to re-read a 200-page book, even if you make it a priority. The reality is that you’re busy, and life will still be pulling at you from every direction. It can be hard to set aside some time to read a page or two every day, looking for mistakes.
With an editor, you have someone who dedicates their time to your book. Editing is their job, and allowing someone else to do it will save you a lot of stress, as well as time.
Reason #3: An Editor Will Find the Mistakes You Missed
Think back to when you were in school and you needed to write a 10-page paper. You toiled and toiled over that paper, and when you got it back from your teacher, it was filled with red marks because of the mistakes that you missed. If you read it over before you handed it in, how did that happen?
It’s because of the way our brains work. You know exactly what you meant to write, and your brain knows what you meant to write too. The problem is that your brain only sees what should be there, and not what is there.
An editor will be looking at your book for the first time with fresh eyes. They’ll be able to catch all those mistakes you missed without any problem at all.
Reason #4: They’ll Help Your Book Progress
There is a lot of back and forth when it comes to editing a book. Your editor may send you a chapter that they completed, and then ask you to make some of the changes they recommended. You’ll make the changes, send it back, and the process will continue.
It’s very easy for authors to lose sight of continuing to work on their books because – again – life does get in the way. But when you work with an editor, you’ll be hearing from them constantly about your book. This will keep it at the top of your mind, and at the top of your to-do list.
Reason #5: You’ll Avoid Publishing a Book That’s Less Than Perfect
Have you ever scanned the reviews that Amazon lists for their books? People use the review sections to talk about their experience in reading it. If the book was riddled with errors, you’re sure to see that talked about in its reviews.
You worked hard on your book, and you don’t want it to be filled with errors. Your editor can help you avoid that by producing a finished product that’s ready for publication.
Finding a Quality Editor
If you’re looking for a quality book editor, look no further. Editing is just one of the services we offer at Colwell Creative Content.
I’ve had the privilege of working with many aspiring and established authors to bring their books to the general public. Editing is a passion of mine, and if you’ve written a book, I’d love to help you get it ready for publication. Contact us today!