The editing book process is a vast subject and when it comes down to it can seem daunting and unending. However, it is the most important part of writing and publishing. At TrueEditors, we have noticed some authors often have misbeliefs about the entire editing book process, how their manuscript is supposed to be treated, the editing parameters and their relationship with the editor. To help clarify these misconceptions, we have highlighted seven truths about the importance of editing that all authors should keep in mind as they prepare for publication.
1) You can maintain creative control:
One of the most common misconceptions we have heard is that authors think they will lose creative control over their story, that the entire written material will change during editing book. This is absolutely untrue. It is your book, with your name on the cover page after all!
Often authors also think that whatever the editor has to say has to be applied, from character development to punctuation to how the argument is organized. When you hire TrueEditors as part of your publishing journey, you will only see the benefits of book editing. You will have absolute creative control over your manuscript. In traditional publishing, the editor and author work together to create a product that meets the publisher’s needs in the best possible way. However, when you self-publish, you are the publisher as well as author, so the editing book process happens keeping only your vision in mind.
2) Editors offer options, not commands
During the editing book process, every change the editor makes is a suggestion not a command. The importance of editing comes into play before publishing a book because it helps your written work be presented in a better man. As the author, you can reject the suggestions if you do not not think they add any value to your book. You can also come up with an alternative solution and discuss the same with the editor.
3) An editor may rework, but not rewrite
Editors can make a few changes to the style, structure and more of your manuscript. And while editing book, these changes are used as guidance for making the written work clearer. However, when there is a bigger change that needs to be made, the editor will write down their query in the margin for you to take a look at. But they will not rewrite it for you on your behalf.
For example, the editor can add transitions or rework some of the content for clarity, however the information or its essence does not change. Making changes to that is the decision of the author. The editor can only suggest. This highlights the importance of editing. When you come across a query and if you do decide that it needs to be rewritten, it will be you who will do the re-writing part. You will have to implement the suggestion the way you seem fit. If you disagree with the query, you can just skip it.
4) Your editor’s familiarity with your subject and your audience
Your editor needs to act as a third-party reader who is unbiased at all times. One of the benefits of book editing is that the editor will look at your written work as a reader themselves. And would engage with it and want to bring out of it what a reader would want from it. For this, the editor needs to fully understand who your target readers are. And if the editor is familiar with the subject matter of your written work, then this is a bonus for the editing book process. This is another reason that will help you understand the importance of editing.
5) Even the most talented editors are only human
Editing is not computerised. It is a human who is analysing your work based on their professional expertise, and the standards of the industry, facilitating reader understanding. According to industry standards, there is a 5 to 10 percent chance that an editor has made an error or even overlooked one. To ensure the highest accuracy level, we recommend that you put your manuscript through as many rounds of edits as possible, and make use of more than one editor. The margin will be the same, but each round will help weed out all the mistakes. The importance of editing comes into play here as each round will keep creating a cleaner manuscript suitable for publishing.
6) A professional book needs a professional editor
Editing book is a skill that requires years of training, skill development, education and experience. Book editing is a niche and very different from journalism editing. Just having an English major is not enough. An editor needs to hone their skills by editing books over the years to be able to call themselves a professional book editor. If you are looking at publishing your book, you need to ensure the editor you get on board who has experience in doing so.
7) Writers are very close to self editing their own manuscripts
Even editors require editors for the projects that have been authored by them. A fresh pair of eyes needs to look at your work to spot the mistakes. It is essential. The importance of editing needs to be understood in order to take publishing seriously. Even if you are a professional editor who has written a manuscript and self-edited it, you will need an editor to go through it. You will be surprised to see the number of errors the editor will point out that you missed. It is only natural. Because when you are an editor who is looking at publishing a manuscript, your role changes to that of a writer alone.
If you are a writer or an editor looking at publishing your book, you need to get editors on board to help make this process easier. TrueEditors is one of the best editing platforms. We have all kinds of editors on board with many years of experience who will only enrich your publishing journey. Get in touch with us to find out more about the type of work we do and how you will benefit from our services.
-James
