Blowing your own trumpet sometimes has to be done – but how
nice it is when other people sing your praises instead. This is a fascinating blog
post from a Fiction Feedback customer, David
Rashleigh, whose work we recently edited.
The Value of a Good
Editor
I have to admit it: I was dreading it. The return of my
latest work from the editor was not something I was looking forward to. At
best, it heralded weeks of re-work; at worst the possibility of a complete
re-write just so that the whole thing makes sense.
A good editor does not come cheap. Not unreasonably, they
expect to be paid for the time and effort that they put into your work. For
that reason, as much as anything, indie authors often don’t bother. Boy, does
it show sometimes. I try to do my bit for other indies; if their book piques my
interest I’ll happily download a copy (especially if they’re giving it away)
but there are times when the lack of an editor has ruined what would otherwise
be an excellent book.
Chief among the sins are spelling, grammar and punctuation.
There’s only one letter difference between “affluent” and “effluent” yet the
meanings are somewhat different. Aberrant apostrophes abound. Some can’t tell
the difference between “there”, “their” and “they’re”, but an editor can remove
silly errors such as these, making your work look professional.
But there’s more to it than that. A male author, like
myself, should employ a female editor if the book is intended for general
readership. What a man thinks is sexy, or exciting, might just be a complete
turn-off for the ladies and getting that alternative viewpoint is absolutely
essential. Any editor is reading your story for the first time and can point
out flaws in the plot that you haven’t spotted, because you already know how
the story turns out and can make the mental leaps required to reach the
conclusion.
My own experience has been instructive. I hadn’t realised,
but I tend to lapse into the day job style of writing. My novel ends up
sounding like a report. I’m also fond of repeating certain phrases. There were
inconsistencies in the plot, and I learned about a whole new tense. Pluperfect,
anybody?
Now is my opportunity to plug my editor. Dea Parkin of Fiction Feedback has done
sterling work on Mindblower: Assassin.
There is no doubt that the book is vastly improved as a result of her efforts.
What’s more, she made many of the changes to the manuscript herself; using the
review facility in MS Word allows her to make the corrections whilst pointing
them out. By doing it this way, I’m already more than half way through the
basic rework, with the plot issues to tackle next.
In summary, if you want to be a published author, get
yourself a good editor. If you can’t afford a professional, at least find a
fellow indie and offer to edit each other’s work.
In a few weeks, you’ll be able to judge for yourself the
quality of my work, and Dea’s. I would like to think that you’ll be impressed.
Thanks, Dea.
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