One Crucial Step to Writing that Can’t Be Overlooked
Editing is a crucial step in writing a book - but you don’t always have to pay exorbitant fees to an editor (Article and Video)
(Watch with more detail on YouTube!)
Have you—or are you—in the process of writing a book? If so, congratulations! But before you start dreaming about being famous and your novels being in your favorite bookstore, you have several more steps. One of them is editing.
Producing a draft is not finishing a book.
Writing is rewriting.
I read that when I first started out, and it’s always stuck with me.
Most first drafts are a mess, full of wrong tenses, undeveloped characters, scrambled scenes, pages of meaningless tangents, etc. If you saw my first draft, you’d tell me to give up writing. I have half-thought out scenes, undeveloped characters, boring and monotonous dialogue - I brain dump on my first draft, so it’s a complete mess.
The real work with writing a novel comes with the edits, the pulling apart and putting the story back together so it flows and interests a reader.
As an aside, there are people who write a chapter or scene and edit that over and over until it’s done. Then move to the next chapter. It’s perfectly fine if you write that way - you’ll only know if that’s you once you start writing - but the key is that you’re going back over the work and editing it.
I was on Goodreads when I first started out, trying to meet other authors and find ways to get reviews for my books. If you don’t know what it is, it’s a place for readers to find books and for authors, especially indie authors, to find readers. They have groups where you’ll read one person’s book and someone else will read yours. (Amazon owns Goodreads and allows that.)
The books I got to read were just bad. Some of them had really good stories, but it was obvious the work had very little editing, if any. Barely anyone people can finish a book in one draft.
A lot of indie authors use Goodreads to promote their work, but I found it useless for my kind of writing. Actually the only two 3-star reviews - which are the lowest I’ve gotten - I got from there because the people didn’t understand my work.
I hear the site isn’t as ‘in’ anymore, but it can be good for young adult and romance writers.
Back to editing - take the time you need to edit your book properly. For my latest book, The Light of Wounds, I did sixteen edits. The last couple nearly broke me, but that’s how many the novel needed before it was done.
Editing and Editors
There’s a trend these days for indie authors to write and publish faster and faster. The logic is that more books increase an author’s chance that Amazon’s algorithm will boost exposure for the novels. And, if you don’t know, over 80% of all books are sold through Amazon.
There’s also incredible competition for readers - in 2023, three million books were indie published in the U.S. alone. Traditional publishing adds 500,000 to one million more. Quantity over quality seems to be a trend for indie writers these days.
Rushing your work can hurt you. A first draft is not a completed manuscript for 99.99% of the population.
On the twelfth edit of Fallen Spirits, my second book, I found an inconsistency that had to be fixed because a reader would have picked it up. Yup. It took twelve edits to find it! Even the professional editor I’d hired didn’t notice it.
So it’s to your advantage to make sure your work has enough edits to get it as professional and polished as possible.
Type of Editors
There are two main types of editors: developmental and copy. There are others also, but these are the most important.
A developmental editor goes through your entire draft and gives you feedback on structure, character development, and how the story is progressing.
The copy editor looks at grammar, punctuation, and spelling so does a more of a technical read.
You need both, but paying for each might be too expensive for you.
What if you can’t afford an editor?
If you can’t afford an editor, you have options. I used to believe that every book needed professional edits done - and nowadays, you can pay for developmental, copy, sensitivity, line, and other edits, so it gets pricey.
Then there’s reality. I paid for developmental and copy edits for Fallen Spirits to learn the editing process, but the developmental editor missed some major plot points I had mixed up—like, major plot points—so I’m now leery of paying for editing until I can afford a top tier professional.
What are some options if you can’t afford to—or don’t want to—pay an editor?
Find a fantastic critique group
Join a writing group of other authors who write in your genre and ask them to critique your work.
I did this with my first book Rock Gods & Messy Monsters and spent over two years going through my manuscript line by line with four other people. It was time consuming, but it worked.
And I was pleasantly surprised when a reviewer from a publication for editors said the book was well edited.
You can look for a group on Meetup.com or post fliers in local coffee shops to see if there are any people in your area also looking to connect with other writers. Take your time to find the right people—it can make or break the quality of feedback you’ll get.
And, remember, you’ll need to read and edit your writing group’s work in return; don’t expect the other writers to only help you.
Other authors
You can also make an arrangement with another author in your genre. Offer to edit their manuscript if they’ll go through yours. Be sure the writer has some editing skills, though, and that you check out their writing to make it’s on par with yours.
You can do the same for proofreading, though with AI getting better every day, you can find some good grammar and spelling software to use instead of a human being.
This isn’t as easy as it might seem. Most authors are busy writing books, so most won’t have the time or energy to read someone else’s manuscript. But it’s worth trying.
If you can’t find a group of other authors in your area, you can join an online writing group. There are a lot of groups and associations for writers and authors, like Women in Publishing. Do research and find one that resonates with you.
Software
I now use ProWritingAid, an online editing tool that helps with copy and line editing. You can buy it outright, or pay for a monthly or yearly subscription. I’m paying annually because AI is getting so good that I’m not sure if the company will be as relevant next year. Grammarly is another option.
If you go this route, just make sure other human eyes still look at your work before it’s published.
Alpha and beta readers
Whether or not you’re professionally edited, you also need alpha and beta readers. They’re avid readers who’ll read your book for free—though some are now charging for the service.
An alpha reader looks at your work when you're still in the early stages. They’ll help you with structure, character development, and story. A beta reader reads the book after you finish your drafts and before you send it off to a professional editor.
Find people who read your genre of work. So, if you write sci-fi, make sure you find readers who read sci-fi.
If you find a couple of excellent readers, it can help you avoid using an editor and reduce the overall cost of producing your book.
Tip: Don’t ask your family or close friends - they won’t want to disappoint you and often don’t give honest feedback.
Find a less seasoned editor
You can also look for an editor who’s early in their career. This is a gamble because the less-experienced person won’t have the same skills as a professional editor. But, if you’re lucky, you could find someone good enough who doesn’t charge too much money.
Some editors charge five cents a word or more to go through your manuscript. That means an 80,000 word manuscript would cost $4,000! It adds up.
Bottom Line
If you want to publish quality work, someone else needs to edit it and give you feedback. Period. But it doesn’t have to be a professional editor.
I’m probably committing indie publishing blasphemy by saying that, but not everyone can drop thousands of dollars on editing. And that shouldn’t stop you from publishing your book.
After what happened to me—with a professional editor missing big things—I’m not a huge fan of paying editors until I can afford a really good one.
You need to figure out what works for you, whether it’s paying someone, using critique groups, beta readers, swapping with another author, or using software. Just don’t skip the editing step.
Happy writing!
Ps: I discuss the types of people we need in our writing life in a previous article “Writing is a Team Sport” - check it out to learn more about critique groups and different types of readers.
Diane Hatz is an author, organizer, and inner activist. Join her email list to get personal newsletters and more. You can find info on her books and writing on her website and through her email list.
Please note: I’ve had to create a new YouTube channel, so I’m rescheduling some posts that were already published because the videos have changed. Many apologies for
(The article and video are adapted from a previous Subtack post “Must-Do’s Before Publishing Your Book”)