The Editing Process

Recently I've been considering using a professional editing service to edit the manuscript for my novel, Seven Seconds. It's been through the hands of a couple of beta readers, and whilst I appreciate their efforts, I think it needs a professional and emotionally detached treatment.

There is only so much a writer can do to improve his or her own work when it comes to editing, and it's amazing to see the kind of glaringly obvious mistakes you miss simply because you're far too close to the text. I'm fairly confident it's reasonably sound in terms of typos, but professional scrutiny of grammar and formatting could turn out to be invaluable.

I've read a few accounts of successful 'indie' self-publishers paying to have their work edited, saying it makes all the difference in terms of professionalism. I am beginning to think it will bring to the end product a reassuring feeling that I've done all I can do to finish it and present it to a paying public.

I recently got a quote for a full edit of my manuscript which was in the region of £1000, and while I think this is a bit too much to justify at the moment, I think spending a few hundred on it will be worthwhile, especially if it comes back with plenty of recommendations. One thing I certainly want to avoid is putting my novel out on Kindle before it's ready. The worst thing would be to get reviews damning it for being badly formatted or amateurish, thus harming further potential sales.

Ultimately, a self-publishing writer wants to see money spent on preparation of their work, in terms of cover art, advertising and editing, as an investment that will be returned in sales income. To that end, an indie writer has the delicate balancing act to perform between polishing their work within their own means, and spending money they might not earn back.

Spent money on self-publishing? How did it work out?