The Biggest Benefits of Professional Editing That Have Nothing to Do With Spelling and Grammar
Most new authors approach professional editing with little idea of what an editor actually does.
Tell me if this picture is familiar: You send in the manuscript. Your editor sends it back with typos fixed, sentences streamlined, and plot holes filled.
That’s a common misconception. And it explains why many new authors view professional editing as a luxury.
If my prose is already polished, they reason, I can scrimp on editing and increase my budget for covers or ads.
What they miss is that many of professional editing’s greatest benefits have little to do with fixing grammar or even plot structure.
Consider this writing paradox: By the time you finish your first draft, you may have spent hundreds or thousands of hours on it.
Which means you know all about it. Probably too much.
Because from your perspective deep inside the book, the motives behind every writing decision seem self-evident. Information readers will need to understand the plot may be missing, but you won’t know, because your brain automatically fills in every detail. Even the most confusing paragraph can make perfect sense to you, because you know what it’s supposed to say.
Many authors who recognize this quandary turn to beta readers. And don’t get me wrong; good beta readers can certainly level up your game. But nine times out of ten, new authors enlist their family, friends, and like-minded writers for beta-reading duty. Which just kicks the objectivity problem one step down the road.
Read the full post on Substack.
SOULDANCER RETURNS, THE CYCLE CONTINUES
Ten years after winning the first-ever Dragon Award for Best Horror Novel, Souldancer returns with the definitive anniversary edition and an all-new companion novella, The Other Side of Fear.
The Kickstarter launches September 1, featuring early bird rewards and a crowdfunder-exclusive hardcover of the new novella.
Follow the Kickstarter now to be notified the moment limited rewards go live!