Should you have your manuscript professionally edited?
It's been said that a man who represents himself in court has a fool for a lawyer. That applies doubly to the self-publisher who thinks he should edit his own book.
Even if your mother loves it - it's not a good idea.
Assuming you intend to sell your book: to a reviewer, a bookstore, a customer or even your mother, your words and how they appear on the page make a first impression only once. And while you may be the greatest writer of the 21st Century, you're probably not its greatest editor, an art that requires an entirely different set of skills than writing. Worse: all of us get too close to our work emotionally, where it becomes far too easy to develop blind spots to our errors and mistakes. It's been our experience as reviewers that many small presses and self-publishers fall into this trap, and when they do we're forced to reject them.
The most common errors we see are:
* Subject and verb do not agree.
* Mixed tenses.
* Convoluted or run-on sentences.
* Telling rather than Showing (with action and dialog).
* Erroneously placed quotation marks in dialog.
* Incorrect use of italics.
* Illogical structure and/or incorrect facts.
And so it goes. These are among the many things we look for when we conduct our pre-critique assessment prior to accepting a book for review. Those with too many problems are rejected -- as they will be elsewhere.
We provide this service through our sister company, Sharp Spear Enterprises ( sharpspear@kc.rr.com )We pride ourselves in looking at the books sent to us as if we were intelligent bookstore customers. As we read along, we fold down the corner of every page on which we find a problem. And not just for small presses, big publishing houses get the same scrutiny. One recent galley from a highly respected major publisher had over 100 mechanical errors and errors of fact. It didn't get reviewed either.
Badly edited books don't get bought by bookstores. Period. So skipping this process is simply not an option. Nothing says Amateur more loudly than a poor job of editing. Furthermore, "production values" play as much a part in a distributor's decision to take you on -- or not -- as the book's content. Large publishers have been cutting this corner lately and it shows, but they know they'll still continue to sell their books. You don't have that luxury!
Details and cost.
First, a disclaimer: Our reviews are not for sale. Sending your manuscript to us to edit will not ensure a review.
Next, a promise: We will never reject a manuscript for review while offering to 'reconsider' if you hire us as your editor. Our Review and Editorial Companies are completely separate -- as are our decisions.
Nuts and Bolts: Our editing fees are as follows:
$400 Minimum
$7 per 1,000 words for copy editing and light content editing. More if the manuscript is especially difficult.
Children's 32-page picture books are $50.
Process:
Your assigned editor will review the manuscript thoroughly. If a particular type problem is noted, he or she will tell you how to fix it with an example or two and then mark all those that recur, which you'll find useful as a learning tool. Mechanical errors will be noted and corrected, and structural and/or storyline problems will be noted with suggestions for improvement. We are neither book doctors nor ghostwriters; however, we will provide as much helpful information as we can. We edit both nonfiction and fiction and accept double-spaced paper drafts and Word RTF files for PCs or MACs, however, please query before sending your document!
Contact us for our rates. We cover most nonfiction and fiction genres, to include young adult. Contact us for quotes on children's books and picture books. We do not review many "spirituality" or New Age books. We don't edit poetry, except for rhyming children's books, because we don't feel we have adequate experience in the poetry genre. A person has to know one's limitations.
Bob Spear
Publisher and Chief Reviewer
Heartland Reviews
TESTIMONIAL
As a professor of English Literature, the author of over a dozen books and many scholarly articles, and someone who has spent most of his professional life in a love affair with the English language, I take a lot of pride in my writing. It is not easy for me to consider the possibility that someone could improve something that I have written. After all how can one enhance perfection?
Bob Spear taught me the answer to that question. I spent over five years on my latest book, The Book of Life: An Operating Manual for the Human Body, and I have no idea how many times I went over it and over it. I was sure it was flawless and that I didn't need an editor.
Bob Spear proved me wrong. One of the luckiest things that happened to me in my writing career was the decision to entrust my precious manuscript to him.
If he can satisfy the relentless perfectionism of a pedant like me, it boggles the mind to consider what he might achieve for mere human beings.
Mark Draper, Ph.D.
Chairman of English and Humanities Emeritus
University of Charleston
