I'm not just an author and a professional editor. I'm also an avid reader. While reading other authors' books, one mistake I've seen so many authors--especially indie authors--make is either not investing in the editing of their books prior to release or wasting money by hiring the wrong person as an editor.
First, let me clarify what I mean by a "professional manuscript editor." Professional editors are not "readers who catch mistakes." They are not your average person who likes to read and can tell you where a comma was supposed to go in a particular sentence. Professional manuscript editors are those individuals who not only have a passion for the written word, correct grammar, and proper punctuation, but they are individuals who are specially trained in correcting, critiquing, and revising others' work. A professional editor will usually have at least a bachelor's degree in English, Communications, or a related field and will have some level of experience, usually 1-2 years, performing work in an editing role. These individuals are highly proficient in grammar, punctuation, and writing styles and are able to offer reliable, knowledgeable, quality feedback to help improve the manuscript entrusted to their care. Again, this is not your average person. This is not just someone who likes to read. This is someone who can take the written word and dive below its surface level and dissect it to find its needs, its plot holes, its inconsistencies, recognize its greater potential, and help the writer attempt to reach it.
Professional manuscript editors have a specific set of responsibilities to their clients:
- Review and revise the content of the manuscript to improve readability, clarity, and the overall flow of the story,
- Correcting spelling, grammar, and punctuation errors,
- Provide feedback on the story's structure, style, coherence, and overall quality and offer suggestions for improvement,
- Recognize and notate any discrepancies, inconsistencies, or information offered that is unrealistic to the world in which the story is written,
- Do all of this while maintaining the author's unique voice and writing style and providing honest and respectful feedback.
As a reader, I must admit that I've DNF'd (Did Not Finish) a number of books because of either poor editing or the obvious lack of editing altogether. There's nothing more frustrating for a reader than to sit a book down, pinch the bridge of your nose, and mumble to yourself, "I don't know what she's trying to say here." Books that have been neglected in the editing department are often extremely hard to read for comprehension. The errors become a serious distraction, and a lot of readers will become frustrated and give up trying to understand what the author is saying. Issues such as run-on sentences, lack or misuse of punctuation, and failure to identify and correct incorrect autocorrect changes are some of the most common errors found in manuscripts, and they are the most frustrating to try to read through. They make it difficult for readers to understand exactly what the writer is attempting to say, and figuring it out can prove to be a task within itself. When you're reading for leisure, this isn't something you're willing to deal with for too long.
Let's take the well-known example of the importance of punctuation:
A woman without her man is nothing.
As it's written here, the phrase comes off as quite chauvinistic. However, what if this is not what the writer truly meant? What if we add the proper punctuation?
A woman; without her, man in nothing.
Now, we get the opposite effect. Now, it is not the woman who is nothing without the man, but the man who is nothing without the woman. The latter example also has a softer tone that is clearly not meant to offend the reader or either particular sex as a whole.
These are the kinds of issues professional editors are responsible for catching for the author.
What this all means for the indie author
Indie authors fail to commission professional editors to edit and proofread their manuscripts prior to publication for a number of reasons. Usually, this reason is financial. One of the easiest ways to call an author's attention to the problem with skipping the editing and revision process is by mentioning the money they're leaving on the table by doing so. However, this is a mistake that is also often made by indie authors who are trying to release several books quickly. While attempting to release books in rapid fire succession is highly commendable, neglecting a book's need to be edited and revised can prove detrimental to the success of the book. Readers may be excited for the release and download the book once it is available, but did they read the book? If they started the book, did they finish? Or did they become frustrated and DNF the book? You'd receive credit and be paid for the download, but you're risking losing money in KENP (Kindle Edition Normalized Pages) or pages turned because your readers aren't finishing your book. Let's be honest here: the struggle as an indie author is real enough without you doing things to set your own profits back.
In the world of publishing, indie authors tend to catch a lot of flak. Many publishing professionals still tend to view independent authors as illegitimate and consider content released by indie authors as "less than." Though I'm sure most of my readers will agree that this is simply not true, it does leave the indie author with a certain responsibility to both the literary community and themselves to try to present their work as professionally as possible at publication. This means releasing work that is comparable to those published by professional publishing houses by making sure all steps are followed. It is of the utmost importance that independent authors do not bypass the editing process, have their manuscript formatted/ typeset in a way that is professional and presentable, and employ graphic designers with a reputation of producing high-quality work for their cover art. Failing to do so is not only a disservice to the author themselves, but it also reflects poorly on the self-publishing and independent author community by giving more validation to the belief that self-published books are lower in quality and substandard. As an independent author, you have to remember that a negative reflection on the self-publishing community as a whole is a negative reflection on you as an independent author as well. This too has the potential to reduce your number of potential readers. We've all heard the phrase "don't judge a book by its cover," but the truth is, as readers, we actually do judge books by their covers. If the cover isn't professional-looking and is perceived to be low-quality, the interior of the book will be assumed to be low quality as well. If the cover looks good but the interior is misaligned and the formatting is inconsistent, the reader is more likely to DNF the book because it's going to be harder to read. The same applies to the editing of the book. Not only does your grammar and punctuation matter, but structure of your story, its flow and its plot matter as well. These are things a professional editor handles.
So, what are we saying here?
Editing--like Mr. Wicher (played by Bill Sage) said on Precious--"is not a request; it's a requirement." It's an obligation to your readers to ensure they are able to easily read and comprehend your book. It's an obligation to yourself and the brand you're trying to build as an author, the perception you want readers to have of you and your work. It's an obligation to the writing community you belong to, whether that's the indie author community, the Urban Fiction community, the Black authors community, or just the literary community as a whole.