I’ve been there myself.
You really want the best for your manuscript. After all, you’ve spent months or even years getting your story on paper and you’re finally ready to share it with a professional to ensure it is as highly polished as it possibly can be before you click Publish.
So, you dutifully send it to a few freelancers but the fees they are quoting are way out of your budget. What on earth can you do?
When I quote for a job, I always ask the author to send a sample of their work so I can make an accurate assessment of the amount of time the whole manuscript will likely take me to complete. A better standard of text is quicker to edit, so if I can get through a sample of 2,000 words in half an hour, that’s a pretty good rate for copy editing. Multiplied by my hourly rate and voila! That’s my fee. If the text needs more intervention, then it will be more. A proofread will be less.
So, if you’re an author, it’s vital that the standard of your copy is as good as you believe it can be BEFORE you send it to someone like me. Here are some tips to help you do just that:
1. Read your work aloud.
If you take away nothing else from this blog post, then please take this one thing. The human brain does a weird thing when we read in our heads. It doesn’t see what’s on the page. Instead, it sees what it thinks is there. I promise you, once you start to read your work aloud, you’ll pick up many errors you haven’t yet spotted.
2. Rewrite, rewrite, rewrite!
I sometimes receive enquiries from debut authors who think that when they have typed “The End”, they have finished writing their book. I have to gently tell them that no, actually, what they have there is a first draft, not a finished manuscript. It has been said that “real” writing is in the rewriting. (If anyone can enlighten me with the name of the person who said that, please do.) Some authors will send me a sixth or seventh draft, especially if it’s a new genre for them, or the beginning of a new series. The best thing you can do for your book when you finish your first draft is put it to one side for a few weeks, ideally, a couple of months if you can. When you go back to it, you will be reading it with fresh eyes, and will spot more errors that you can correct before sending it to an editor.
3. Beta readers
Worth their weight in gold, these folk. There’s no limit on how many you can have, but it’s essential that they are people you can trust to tell you exactly what you NEED to know, not what they think you want to hear. Constructive criticism is the main aim here. Plot holes you can drive a truck through, continuity errors with characters’ names or appearances, style tics. These can all be highlighted by your betas and resolved before sending to a professional.
4. Get recommendations
The relationship between you, the author, and your editor is critical to your success (and I say this as an author as well as an editor). Not every editor is right for you, so be prepared to shop around to find someone who is familiar with your genre or topic, and make sure they have reviews you can check and/or a portfolio of work. I am fortunate that many clients come to me as a result of meeting in person or, more often these days, through people I have previously met in person or mutual writing friends.
5. Talk to us!
We are human, after all. There is absolutely no shame in asking to split the cost into manageable payments. Typically, my clients pay a 50% deposit up front and the rest upon completion, but I am always to negotiate more instalments to make it easier for customers.
Personally, there is nothing I love more than helping debut authors get their books into the world and helping them grow into their writing journey. I can help you, too. Just drop me a line at EMHEditorial@gmail.com.
Liz is an Intermediate Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing & Proofreading and working towards professional accreditation. She has been freelance editing for six years. You can read testimonials and find out more here.
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