Both revising and editing are crucial to a well structured, well written manuscript. And while you definitely, absolutely, without a doubt should hire an editor, you should first take a whack at editing your manuscript yourself.
Did you just groan? I heard a groan.
I get it. If you’re going to hire an editor, why on Earth (or Mars, for the sci-fi writers) should you waste your time self editing?
Good question! Glad you asked, because that’s what I wanted to talk about. . .
Here’s the deal. Editors, time, and your money are limited. Editors can only do so much in one pass. If they’re busy fixing dialogue tags over and over through your 120,000 word epic, they have less time to debate semantics (which you actually want). Even if they do manage to do both in one pass, you still need another pass to edit the changes you applied. Then another pass to edit that, and so on, until you get down to the proofread.
So, why not save some money by doing the basic work yourself? Yes, you still need an editor. But no matter how many passes you planned to pay for, you still will get more from your money than if you did not self-edit first.
As a side note, some editors will actually refuse to edit manuscripts which haven’t had the basics already done. Why? Because fixing all the mistakes you could have caught yourself drastically lowers their hourly earnings and the end result.
Editing isn’t the most lucrative job on the planet (or in the universe, for the sci-fi writers). Many editors do it because they love helping a good story become great. That’s what you want too, right? Help them help you, and self-edit first.
Do you self edit your manuscript before sending it off the professional editor?
