Why You Need a Copy Editor - podcast

You may think that you don't need an editor because the publisher will take care of it. But that's a big mistake. Even if you're just submitting to a publisher or agent, you're still competing against thousands of other books. Having a polished, well-edited book can be the difference between getting a book deal or not. Author and manuscript editor C.S. Lakin explains why you need an editor for your book. It's especially important for self-published authors since their work is going straight to the readers. Books benefit from critique edits which help improve all of the major components of novel, from plot to pacing to character development. Wait until you have a critique edit done before copy editing, which fixes grammatical errors.
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  • English is not my first language, but I have leaned by my mistakes. I have paid  the publishing company for grammar, punctuations,  spelling mistakes without changing the ideas or the meanings of the sentences. I Though they would have someone to have the manuscript to read it sentence by sentence, yet a special software did the job which not to good. After they sent me the printed book, I saw a lot of mistakes. What do you think I have to do? I have paid almost $300 for editing and the work has not done. Should I ask for the editing money back so I can find a real editor?  In my research this is how I need my work to be done down below

    Content Editing includes Editing Levels 1 and 2 (spelling, grammar, punctuation, consistency/appropriateness of verb tenses, transitional phrasing, continuity/flow of thoughts, support of statements, formatting of citations/references, and footnote editing) PLUS supplementary sentence re-writes when necessary. This level includes reviewing the plot/character elements for consistency in fiction/non-fiction works.

    I want to see me, myself, my style in that book. If the sentence is not a perfect English sentence, they have to fix it, but they do not have to change the ideas; then they can fix the grammar, punctuation, and spelling mistakes. Tell me what to do because the book is on hold now!

  • No matter how good my writing or the number of educated people I have proofread my manuscript, there is a level of literary writing that can only be provided by a copy editor. This type of review always increases the readability and presentation of my book.
  • Such great advice, thank you! You can go over the manuscript yourself, but you're bound to miss one little error. Like you said, once it's out there with your name on it, that's it. So of course you'd want it to be as good as possible. Great advice.
  • Sound advice. The process of completing a novel is more complex these days and it's good to understand the editing process in detail.
  • Great advice! I decided to go ahead and have both my books edited because I may be a poet but one thing I am not is a editor. Therefore, I need all the correcting done for me.