by Jenn Windrow

In last month’s post, we discussed how self-publishing is a business. And you the author are in charge of doing everything to make that business run. However, there are some things you can’t do alone, and editing is one of those things.

That’s why even if you go with a big press or a small press the first thing they offer the author is editing. So, after you’ve self-edited, it is time to find a professional.

The different kinds of editing.

There are a few different kinds of editing…

Developmental or content editing

This is the editor who digs into your story, plot, characters, ending, all the things that make your book a page turner.

A good developmental editor will tell you when you haven’t included enough information or even too much. They will tell you if a character is likeable or not. They will work with you to tie up lose threads. They will let you know if your ending is satisfying or leaves too many questions. And sooooo much more.

Honestly a good developmental editor is worth their weight in gold. And I am not just saying this because I happen to be one. I have worked with plenty of developmental editors on my own books and they are a huge part of the publishing process.

After you’ve worked with your critique partners or husband or friend, and they’ve read your book and told you what they like and don’t like, hire a professional developmental editor. Someone who is objective and paid to tell you the truth about your story and help you shape it into something a reader can’t put down.

Copy Editor

These are the editors who cross those T’s and dot those I’s. They go through each word and check for spelling errors, overused words, bad grammar, and proper punctuation. They are the final stage of making your book as good as it can be.

I’m not someone who knows all the rules to proper punctuation, I rely heavily on my copy editor to do their job and help me get all those pesky commas in the correct place. Trust me, my copy editor has her work cut out for her when it comes to my books, and she knows how much I appreciate her.

Galley Edits

The last stage of editing your novel before you can upload it for pre-order or publish it is the galley edit. Sometimes called a line edit.

This is usually done by you, the author. You will go through your final manuscript, line-by-line, word-by-word, and make sure that you or your editor didn’t miss something. And trust me, misspellings and forgotten words happen in all novels. Even your Big 5 authors. I am sure you’ve read a book, maybe several that have had errors in them.

It’s hard to catch them all.

I will say this, no matter how times you go through a book, you will find some small errors.

When my first book was released, I was horrified to see that a line that was supposed to say "gear shift" said "gear shirt". I mean how many times had I read that line, had my publisher read that line, only to have it slip through the cracks.

It happens to the best of us, but one of the many good things about indie publishing, is when you see an error, you can fix it, then just republish asap without having to go through the gate keepers to make a change.

Finding a good editor

There are so many things too look for when you are searching for an editor. Personally, I think a lot of it has to do with a solid working relationship. If you don’t like them personally, you won’t like working with them. If harsh criticism bothers you, then having a bulldog as an editor might not be right for you.

How do you find one?

• Word of mouth is a good way to find someone.
• Ask your writer friends who they have worked with.
• Google is another way.
• And there are plenty of self-publishing Facebook groups that help with finding good editors.

No matter how you go about looking for an editor, there are plenty of really good ones out there.

Final Thoughts

Editing is an important investment for every author. In my opinion, the second best investment you can make as an author. Remember, you never get a second chance to make a first impression, and editing helps make sure it is a good one.

If you have any questions about the editing process, please add them to your comment below and I will be happy to answer.

About Jenn

Sass. Snark. Supernatural Sizzle. 

Award winning author of Urban Fantasy and Paranormal Romance. Vampires, Greek gods, and a bit of Demon Destroyer fun for everyone.

Jenn Windrow loves characters who have a pinch of spunk, a dash of attitude, and a large dollop of sex appeal. Top it all off with a huge heaping helping of snark, and you’ve got the ingredients for the kind of fast-paced stories she loves to read and write. Home is a suburb of it’s-so-hot-my-shoes-have-melted-to-the-pavement Phoenix. Where she lives with her husband, two teenagers, and a slew of animals that seem to keep following her home, at least that’s what she claims.

Website: https://jennwindrow.com/

Top photo from Depositphotos.

by Lisa Norman

Our writing profession is full of Shoulds. You should:

• post on social media.
• blog.
• invest in paid advertising.
• go traditional.
• go indie.
• sell on your own website.

And then there’s the tech advice! You should:

• use Microsoft word.
• use Grammarly.
• use Pro Writing Aid.
• write on a Mac.
• write on a PC.

The shoulds are endless and contradictory!

Writing teachers can’t even agree on basic writing advice!

• Write every day.
• Write in the morning.
• Write every free moment.
• Write to market.
• Write from the heart.
• Write what you know.

Some advice is good, and most of it is good for someone. But the question is: Is it good for you?

A small-business owner will start a business with a business plan. They'll research customers, goals, etc. But so often as writers, we forget that we are business owners.

Let me be clear: you cannot do everything you'll be told you should do.

You cannot use every great piece of software.

You cannot do all the amazing marketing things and still get your writing done.

What do teachers mean when they recommend these things? Sometimes they're more focused on their business model than on your best interests. Sometimes they are teaching power techniques that may not work for you or your genre.

In the end, you need to be a business owner and think strategically about what is best for your career.

Start with your goals.

What do you actually want to accomplish?

What makes you happy, keeps you sane, and gives you joy?

Understand that some of what may be best for you may not be what's best for others.

Do you want a six-figure career? Are you comfortable with rapid release? Then get to know your audience and start writing! Learn marketing and make it happen! Focus your efforts, and when something comes across your path that you should do, check it against your goals.

Is this good for your goal? Or just an interesting distraction? Will it help you succeed or just add stress?

Are you a passion writer with a story to tell? It may take you 10 years to write a book, and that’s fine. Because that is meeting your goal.

Understand: there are some good things that will also stifle some people's creativity. Something that damages your mental health isn't good no matter the potential gain. There are excellent software solutions that I don’t recommend for some of my clients. Why? Because the software will interfere with their creative process. They need to write first, analyze later.

You know your situation and your creative spirit better than anyone else.

Choose your path. Choose what gets your attention.

What are some shoulds that you've realized are should nots for you?

About Lisa

Lisa Norman's passion has been writing since she could hold a pencil. While that is a cliché, she is unique in that her first novel was written on gum wrappers. As a young woman, she learned to program and discovered she has a talent for helping people and computers learn to work together and play nice. When she's not playing with her daughter, writing, or designing for the web, she can be found wandering the local beaches.

Lisa writes as Deleyna Marr and is the owner of Deleyna's Dynamic Designs, a web development company focused on helping writers, and Heart Ally Books, LLC, an indie publishing firm.

Interested in learning more from Lisa? Sign up for her newsletter or check out her classroom where she teaches social media, organization, technical skills, and marketing for authors!

Top image from Depositphotos.

by Laurie Schnebly Campbell

We all know that writers are super-powered beings who can convince readers snug in bed that they’re actually freezing on the Arctic tundra…

...eloping with the incredibly attractive leader of the enemy forces…

...saying a final goodbye to their stalwart horse…

...basking in a Paris penthouse while they plan how to spend their billion-dollar inheritance…

We do that every day of the week.

Because we’re creators of magic, right? We can take ANY situation and turn it into something funny, or dramatic, or terrifying, or heartwarming, or thought-provoking, or whatever our readers want.

So if we’ve got that kind of superpower -- the mind-boggling ability to turn any situation into exactly what an audience wants -- why is it so incredibly hard to write a blurb for our book?

Especially when, most of the time, we can pretty much take our superpower for granted. While we don’t usually get tired of hearing people rave about our writing skill, we’ve gotten accustomed to comments like:

• “Your note made my day.”
• “Your hero made me swoon.”
• “Your reference letter won me the job.”

“Well, of course,” we think. “Come on, I’m a writer -- this is what I’m great at!”

Which makes it all the more startling when we come across some new type of writing that we’re NOT necessarily great at right from the start.

Okay, we might not expect to be great at computer coding. Or calligraphy. Or composing a symphony. But writing a synopsis, a query, or <gulp> a blurb for our book?

How can that be so HARD?

I used to think I was incredibly gifted because I could whip out a blurb or synopsis in no time. A novel, not so much…but summing up the essence of the book? Piece of cake!

But then I realized this was only because of my day job as an advertising copywriter. Anyone who’s written for clients with something they want people to buy learns pretty quickly to identify -- and highlight -- the Unique Selling Points that’ll appeal to this seller’s Target Market.

(Although, drat it, that still didn't make writing the manuscript any easier. Hmph!)

The Essence of a Blurb

A blurb is very much LIKE an ad because it tells somebody why they want to buy your book -- but also UNLIKE because it doesn't have to tell the entire story, much less how the conflict gets resolved.

And, back to why they’re alike...you know how an ad needs to draw you in from the very start? It's gotta have a headline (or an opening) that makes you think "hmm, I want to see more of this."

Then to keep reading for more.

Your blurb has to do the same. Which is why you need to:

Forget everything you know about writing a novel.

When you're writing a novel, you have to think about plot structure and character development and turning points and how the people grow-learn-change and where to plant clues about upcoming developments and at what point the setting should evolve....

In effect, you have to think long-term.

For the blurb, you don't want long-term. You don't necessarily even want to include the plot plus the character/s plus the setting/s, any of that -- all you want is a BIT of what's cool about your story.

Since identifying what’s cool is generally more the job of a publicist than of a storyteller, you need to switch hats for this particular writing task. We all know what a great storyteller does, and we do it all the time. But a great publicist might NOT know every character in the book... every fabulous little plot twist... every nail-biting complication… as thoroughly as you do.

What they DO know, though, is the guts of what your book delivers. And when offering up those guts (ew, that sounds yicky!) here are:

3 DOs & DON’Ts to keep in mind.

1) DO make use of unusual connections that readers might not expect.

Examples of those would include some intriguing combinations like:

• Vikings & Kindergartners
• Wedding & Murder
• Cowboys & Wizards
• Terror & Humor

Anyone who already likes half of such a pair is gonna be eager to see how the other half fits into this story.

2) DON’T mention a cool detail that’s not a big deal in the plot.

If you have a military thriller during which the agent who’s fleeing pursuers winds up racing through Prince William’s coronation ball during a single one of the book’s 320 pages, this event doesn’t belong in the blurb. Otherwise, readers who love Prince William and coronation balls will be annoyed when they don’t get any more than just that one-page mention.

3) DO convey the mood of the book.

This is crucial, and it’s also where Test Marketing comes in the most handy. Which is one MORE thing that makes writing a blurb similar to writing an ad.

And, speaking of ads, that leads to a:

Prize Drawing Question

What’s some ad (in print, online, TV, radio, signage, whatever) that made you think “yes, I want this” -- to the point where you actually DID place an order, go to the business, make a donation, whatever they wanted you to do?

Do you remember how it opened? (It’s okay to mention the ad even if you don’t remember the opening; it was still doing its job just fine.) Share your answer in the comments!

Someone who comments will win free registration to Blurbing Your Book, a June 3-14 email class on using ad techniques to do exactly that. On Monday morning, I’ll have random dot org draw a name and post it at the end of the comments...and, hurray, I can even justify doing that while at my Day Job since technically it’s about how advertising affects people. :)

About Laurie

After winning Romantic Times’ “Best Special Edition of the Year” over Nora Roberts, Laurie Schnebly Campbell discovered she loved teaching every bit as much as writing...if not more. Since then she’s taught online and live workshops including the one at groups.io/g/Blurb, and keeps a special section of her bookshelves for people who’ve developed that particular novel in her classes. With 50+ titles there so far, she’s always hoping for more.

Top photo created in Canva by Writers In the Storm.