Short & Sweet Reasons Why You Need an Editor
So without further ado . . .
All the best books have been edited. Seriously. Of Mice and Men? Edited. Little House in the Big Woods? Edited. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, Artemis Fowl, Pride and Prejudice? Edited edited edited.
Basically, there's no getting around it. If your book is edited well, it stands a much better chance of making you rich and famous—or perhaps simply getting your ideas across clearly. Quality of the writing also counts, of course, but this post is to convince you to hire an editor, so we'll talk about your writing another time.
The Time Traveler's Wife . . . edited . . . The Help . . . edited . . . To Kill a Mockingbird . . . edited . . . The Little Prince . . . edited . . . The Hobbit . . . edited . . . The Hiding Place . . . edited . . .
And you can tell when they haven't been edited.
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely, yes, you can!Thanks for being my first A to Z commenter this year, Alex! And happy Easter!
DeleteHi Lynda - great post ... and yes 'we' all need editing ... I still find horrors occasionally on mine and elsewhere ... but editing I can believe is essential - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteWe all certainly do! Don't leave home without it.
DeleteI've lost count of the number of self-pubs I've had to give up reading. Writing is talent and crafting, and practise, but you can easily learn grammar and punctuation from books. However, no-one can edit themselves - you see what you expect to see. So agree! Liz http://www.poetryroundabout.com
ReplyDeleteI work mostly with self-pubs and thankfully, most of them have been excellent writers who take their craft seriously. The bad ones, however . . . it's so difficult to make someone understand that they have so much more to learn before they should publish. And self-editing? You're right: we all see what we think is supposed to be there. Thanks for the visit!
DeleteHad to chuckle at "all the best books have been edited." You don't have to convince me editors are needed. Eventhough I may think I'm perfect, I'm not. LOL
ReplyDeletewww.easyreaderediting.com
Ha! I figured I'd keep it short and sweet and snarky. When I did the A to Z in 2014, I gave genuine advice, and figured I'd just go the fun route this time with common sense that may not be so common. Thanks for the visit! I'm a word nerd, too, so I'm looking forward to your A to Z posts.
DeleteI agree with Hilary above.You can tell when they haven't been edited.
ReplyDeleteIt's so obvious to everyone but the writer sometimes. I have run into some people who simply won't listen to advice, and as a result, they'll never improve.
DeleteWell, here I am, catching up on four days' worth of A to Z posts, from seven or eight different bloggers!
ReplyDeleteGood point, but of course, you're preaching to the choir here! I wonder what The Hobbit would have looked like without an editor. With a book that length, just typos alone would have probably been in the dozens.
I can only imagine . . . Frodo, or Fredo, or Frito. I've edited for authors who misspell their own characters' names with regularity. Sometimes the dual spellings are done in equal amounts, so I can't even tell which one should be the correct one.
DeleteI'm impressed that you're catching up on everyone at once. You have my admiration. I've found a few new-to-me bloggers I've enjoyed all four days so far, so I may end up with some new people to follow. I have a feeling I'm going to end up going through the list of people far beyond April.
Hi Lynda!
ReplyDeleteWell, here I am... better late than never! LOL
I haven't visited any A to Z posts and the challenge is almost over.
The beauty is that these posts will always be here, so I can take my time getting around to them... so if you notice a stalker... it will be me!
I don't even think about all the great novels being edited, but they are!
Some part of my brain imagines that these GREAT authors just sit and the words pour forth... miraculously! But another part of my brain knows that it's not so! LOL
I think its great that you're visiting now! I have a LOT of blogs to catch up with for this month and will be doing the same.
DeleteI used to think that authors wrote linearly and all in one swoop. Hahaha I was such a fool.
Absolutely right! A good editor is there to make your book look the best it can be. I have often taken my edited manuscripts to my English classes to show them that even I need someone to look at my work. I remember one student who burst into tears when I gently suggested some fixes...
ReplyDeleteI try to get that message across to everyone I work with. It's not personal—it's what is best for the book. I LOVE seeing the differences between the original and the final product, especially if it's been a tough road.
DeleteI kind of feel bad for laughing a little bit about your student . . . can you imagine what will happen when she gets her first negative review? Better to hear the tough-but-needed stuff from a friendly instructor who's been there than to hear it online from someone who has no filter.
I see you're visiting from A to Z. Thanks for the visit and comment! I'll have to check out your blog . . . I'm still catching up with visiting, little bits at a time.