{"id":1022,"date":"2019-06-25T15:53:40","date_gmt":"2019-06-25T15:53:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/?p=1022"},"modified":"2022-05-30T15:41:19","modified_gmt":"2022-05-30T15:41:19","slug":"editing-a-book","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/articles\/editing-a-book","title":{"rendered":"The Ultimate Guide to Editing a Book"},"content":{"rendered":"
Congratulations! You\u2019ve finished your first (or second, or fourteenth) draft, and now your baby is ready for those polishing touches that will make it truly shine. It\u2019s time to edit your novel.<\/p>\n
Ah,\u00a0self-editing<\/a>. Some writers swear by it, some writers swear it will kill them first. Either way, it must be done. Or mustn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n If you plan to\u00a0self-publish<\/a>, the answer is, absolutely.<\/p>\n If you plan to\u00a0publish traditionally<\/a>, the answer is, definitely.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s why.<\/p>\n Self-publishers:<\/strong> Submitters:<\/strong> Before we sit down to work, let\u2019s go over the different types of editing a book might require.<\/p>\n A lot of work falls under the word \u201cediting\u201d or \u201crevising,\u201d but it all comes down to three types:\u00a0developmental editing<\/strong>,\u00a0line editing<\/strong>\u00a0(also known as copyediting), and\u00a0proofreading<\/strong>.<\/p>\n It\u2019s important to identify the types of editing your novel needs–and do them in the right order. Developmental editing, for example, will probably make you revise huge blocks of text. There\u2019s no point proofreading before you do that, because all your effort and time will go to waste.<\/p>\n The correct order is as listed above: developmental editing first, then copyediting, and finally proofreading.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re self-publishing, you\u2019ll need all three. If you\u2019re submitting your manuscript, all three should be provided to you at no cost by the publishing house.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s what each of them means.<\/p>\n Developmental editors take a deep look at the novel structure. They look for plot holes, character development, pace and suspense, tight scenes, and other story-level details.<\/p>\n Self-editing on this level is almost impossible. It\u2019s the Curse of Knowledge: you\u2019re too close to the narrative, you know the facts too well, and you can\u2019t imagine how new readers would perceive the story. Is it clear enough? Entertaining? Suspenseful? Engaging? You\u2019re the wrong person to answer these questions.<\/p>\n You can find professional, hand-vetted developmental editors over at\u00a0Reedsy<\/a>.<\/p>\n If that option for editing your book is a bit too pricey for you, you can find developmental editors on non-vetted platforms such as\u00a0Guru<\/a>,\u00a0Upwork<\/a>, and\u00a0Fiverr<\/a>.<\/p>\n Either way, be careful to interview your candidates and make sure they are masters of your genre.<\/p>\n Developmental editing rates for fiction manuscripts run anywhere from $0.03\/word to $0.90\/word. Some editors quote by page. The standard page has 250 words, so costs are usually $7.50 to $22.50 per page.<\/p>\n For example, a YA Fantasy manuscript usually runs about 60,000 words. Be prepared to spend at least $1800 on developmental edits.<\/p>\n Pricey? Yes. Worth it? Oh yes. The right developmental editor can make or break your novel.<\/p>\n At this level of editing the manuscript, story is no longer an issue. Language is. But not usage and spelling issues. Copywriters look at your\u00a0voice<\/a>,\u00a0word-choice<\/a>, paragraph and sentence structure, readability, and so on.<\/p>\n This is something you can and should do on your own! Do it before you send your book to be professionally edited, and all the more before you submit your novel anywhere.<\/p>\n Expect to pay $0.012\/word to $0.02\/word. Per page, the cost will be $3 to $5.<\/p>\n For a 60,000-word manuscript, that\u2019s about $1,020.<\/p>\n The last but not least editing pass will weed out grammar and spelling errors, typos, inconsistency in names, and the likes. It\u2019s a language-only pass.<\/p>\n Expect to pay about $0.01\/word to $0.015\/word. That would be $2.50 to $3.75 per page.<\/p>\n The same 60,000-word manuscript would cost about $720.<\/p>\n Some professional editors will lump line editing and proofreading under the same service. This combined service should cost about $0.02\/word to $0.03\/word. That would be $5 to $7.5 per page.<\/p>\n Four more steps before we tackle the checklists.<\/p>\n Now that you\u2019re ready, let\u2019s get to editing!<\/p>\n Remember, no one can completely self-edit his or her own manuscript. You\u2019re bound to miss things. That\u2019s okay. Self-editing is not meant to replace professional editing by a fresh set of eyes. Its job is to increase your chances with traditional publishers–or to save money when hiring a professional editor for self-publishing.<\/p>\n And finally, learn to enjoy, or even love, editing. Think of it as a golden opportunity to squeeze the most juice out of every word you use in your novel, or to sharpen the arrow which you will fire into your readers\u2019 hearts. Make the most of it, and it will make the most of your novel.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","categories":[39,16,19,18],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles\/1022"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/articles"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/articles"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/refiction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Should I Bother Self-Editing My Book?<\/h2>\n
\nNo one can truly edit their own work. Spare yourself the 1-star reviews, and have your novel edited professionally before you publish it. However, self-editing your book first helps cut down on rates. The more you do yourself, the better quote you\u2019ll receive.<\/p>\n
\nYes, you will likely be assigned an editor before publication. But in order to get there, you have to catch the publisher or agent\u2019s attention. To that end, your manuscript has to be as clean as you can make it on your own.<\/p>\nTypes of Editing<\/h2>\n
Developmental Editing<\/h4>\n
Line Editing \/ Copyediting<\/h4>\n
Proofreading<\/h4>\n
Getting Ready to Edit a Novel<\/h2>\n
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Self-Editing Checklist for Line Editing (Copyediting)<\/h2>\n
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Self-Editing Checklist for Proofreading<\/h2>\n
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A Note on Editing a Book<\/h2>\n