Have you
ever wondered why you need an editor? Or why your sister, who passed AP
English, doesn’t qualify as a proofreader? Or why anyone would pay an editor
when there is plenty of “editing” software available?
I’ve responded
to quite a few of these questions on Quora, a Q&A site where anyone can ask
a question and get a variety of answers. The questions seem to follow the same
theme, so I thought I’d share some of them with you.
Is there a website that can proofread my work and edit it for free?
I
don’t know of any websites that edit or proofread for free. And if you come
across one, I would be wary. You often get what you pay for.
Editing,
like writing, is a skill that professionals must study hard to acquire. Once
they have mastered those skills, they don’t give them away for free. Just as
once an author has mastered their skills, they don’t give away their books for
free.
A
new self-publishing author will often have to give away or charge much less for
their work than is fair just to get a loyal group of readers. A beginning
editor or proofreader will also charge less.
As
an author becomes a better writer and publishes better quality books, they can
charge more because their fans are
willing to pay more to read their work. As an editor/proofreader becomes more
knowledgeable and proficient, their prices will also go up to reflect their
training and experience.
There are plenty of professional editors out there who will work with an author who has a tight book budget. But
any editing or proofreading offered for free will not be a professional edit.
When I finish writing my novel, will I need to hire a proofreader, an editor, or both?
Once you’ve completed your novel, you will
need to engage a professional editor. They will edit your story for plot,
structure, characterization, consistency and style. In addition, the majority
of punctuation and grammar issues are captured in the editing process.
Proofreading is the final polishing of your
manuscript before publication. The word by word scrutiny will capture any overlooked
issues or errors and ensure your formatting is correct and consistent.
Many editors will also provide the final
proofreading, so you may only need to engage one editorial professional.
Does creative writing need proofreading?
Yes, anything written for any type of publication,
whether it’s a blog post or a novel, needs proofreading. A second set of eyes
can catch those errors you can’t see, as you see what you meant to have
written, not what is actually written.
For websites or blog posts, a friend with a
sharp eye may be all you need.
If you plan to publish your creative writing, you
should engage a professional editor. Your sharp-eyed friend may catch some of
your punctuation and grammatical errors but will not have the skills or
experience to evaluate your story for plot inconsistencies, characterization or
structure and flow issues.
In creative writing, these elements make your
story compelling and readable. If they are missing or not structured correctly,
your story will not hold together or be enjoyable to your readers. And once a
reader walks away, they are unlikely to come back.
Will grammar correction software (such as Grammarly) replace proofreaders in the future?
Absolutely not. Grammar tools find only
grammar issues. You can accept or address every suggestion Grammarly,
ProWritingAid or other tools give you and you’ll still have hundreds of errors.
Grammar tools do not catch homophones,
incorrect dialogue punctuation, wrong word choice, verbosity, accuracy or any
of a dozen other issues that a trained proofreader will catch.
Every writer should use grammar software to
not only check their manuscript but to teach them how to write better. A proper
self-edit should always be done before you turn it over to a fresh, trained
pair of eyes.
Once a writer has completed their grammar
checks and their self-edit and they are satisfied they have done everything
possible to create the perfect story, it is time to find a professional to
ensure there are no lingering or hidden issues.
You should also make sure you are using the
right grammar program for your writing. Word and Grammarly will have you using
serial commas, while ProWritingAid will not. ProWritingAid will capture more
syntax errors than will Grammarly or Word. Word will have you taking all
personal pronouns out, which will not work for a memoir.
Suggestions in any grammar program are just
that: suggestions. You must consider each suggestion individually and what
accepting that suggestion will do for and to your writing. While some
non-fiction and technical writing require specific grammar rules, fiction
writing doesn’t have to be as structured. For instance, serial commas are
required in business writing but slow down the pace in fiction writing. So make
sure you are using the right program for your specific writing project.
Software, no matter how expansive, will never
replace the trained eye.
Why is it so hard to edit a book all on your own, even with all the editing programs?
There
is no such thing as an “editing program.” There are grammar programs that will
correct your grammar and teach you how to use proper grammar in your future
writings.
Every
writer should use a grammar program after they have completed their story. I
would suggest not using them while you are writing as they will stifle your
creative flow. Get your story down first, then worry about the grammar.
Editing
cannot be encapsulated into a software. There is no program capable of showing
you where you’ve strayed from your plot, where your characters are not well
rounded or real, where the pace of your story loses steam, where your dialogue
sounds plastic, etc. These are the bones of your story. No matter how many
pretty words you use, if the bones won’t hold them up, your story will
collapse.
Likewise,
there are no proofreading programs that will capture those last lingering
errors in your manuscript before you publish. Nothing but a trained eye will
catch a misspelled character name, how in Chapter 1 he had green eyes and now
has blue in Chapter 14, missing or incorrect dialogue punctuation, wrong word
choices, that Macy’s is on First Street not Forest Street, etc.
Self-editing is a skill that all writers
should learn. It begins with using the grammar programs to correct the errors
that you as a writer do not see as you’re writing. There are many errors that
you can fix yourself, once they’ve been pointed out and it has been explained
to you why they are errors.
You should create a self-edit regimen for
yourself to follow once you’ve completed your story. Not only the grammar
issues but such items as:
- Searching
out every adverb you used (-ly) and asking yourself if they are (really)
necessary. Can you make a more powerful statement by using a stronger verb
instead?
- Using
search functions to track down hyphens vs en dashes, closed quotes, other
missing punctuation, double spaces, its vs it’s, etc.
- Search
out redundant phrases (armed gunman, eliminate entirely, invited guest, past
memories, 8:00 am in the morning)
- Search
out homonyms and homophones (bated [suspense] vs baited [bait attached],
appraise [assess] vs apprise [inform], born [started life] vs borne
[carried])
- Search
out those words to avoid (really, very, just, totally, completely,
actually)
Once you’ve performed your self-edit, you’ll
want to turn your story over to an editorial professional who has the
knowledge, skill and objectivity to see and address those elements that are out
of whack or not working.
After you’ve revised your manuscript and think
it’s time to publish, invest in a professional proofreader to scour your
manuscript for any hidden errors and provide the polish to your story.
Now you’re ready to publish.
If you self-publish a book, do you really need to get an editor to check it over first?
Definitely.
You want your best work out there, not a story potentially riddled with plot
holes, grammar issues, inconsistent characterization, and other deadly errors.
Publishing a book filled with errors will turn off your readers quicker than
you can say, “Why didn’t I invest in an editor?”
No matter how many times you re-read
your own work, these issues will not show up for you because your mind reads
what you meant to have written. And while beta readers and critique partners
are great for catching a few of the smaller errors, an editor will drill down
deep to find all the places your manuscript can be improved. And that’s what
you want, someone to show you what you can’t see.
That should be your only focus before
you publish: how can I write the best story I can write? Not just, here’s my
story, let’s see what happens. Once you’ve published, that story is out there
for the world to see. Shouldn’t it be some of your best work?
How many passes does an editor make when editing a document?
That
depends on the editor. If you contract with a freelance editor through such
services as Upwork or Fiverr, you’re likely to get only one pass.
If you take your time and find the
editor that is right for you and your project, that editor will most likely be
as invested in your story as you are. They will be willing to make as many
passes as necessary until you and they are satisfied that your story is the
best it can be.
The right editor for you will not put
a limit on how or how much they can help you. They should be able to tell from
the first read-through what type of help and advice they will need to provide
and price their services accordingly.
Which comes first, proofreading or editing?
Editing comes first. Proofreading is the last
step, the final word by word review, to ensure there are no lingering errors
that might have been missed during editing.
Think
of it like baking a cake. You, the author, pour all your ingredients into a
story. You stir your story until it’s mixed together, pour it into your pan and
bake. When it comes out of the oven, it might be lumpy, maybe you didn’t mix it
well enough. Or perhaps it is lopsided, or still raw, or even burned.
You
might be tempted to plop some frosting on it (a fancy cover) and serve it to
your guests (readers) anyway. But how embarrassing it will be when they take
that first bite (start to read)! They likely will think twice before sampling
your next cake.
So
you find the right editor for you, someone who knows how to mix the ingredients
so they make a light and delicious cake. Your editor will lead you through
those steps necessary to ensure your batter is smooth with no air pockets (plot
holes) and no lumpy ingredients (bad characterization). They will show you how
to pour the mixture into your pan evenly (consistency), and they’ll instruct you
about the right temperature and time to bake your particular cake (pacing and
voice).
Once
you and your editor have correctly followed the right recipe for your
story, your cake should come out of the oven a perfect golden brown; light, airy
and delicious. But it’s not ready yet.
Your
cake must first cool down and set up before you can apply the frosting (copy
edit: all those pesky English rules). And to make it as perfect as it can be,
your editor will decorate your cake (proofread) to smooth it out, hiding every
last morsel of crumb and manipulating the frosting until your cake is a masterpiece,
a work of art that you will be proud to serve to any guest.
Happy
baking!!
