The Importance of An Editor
By Jerry D. Simmons | November 25th, 2006 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
All writers need editors. The very best writers rely on editors to help them improve their manuscript. Writers cannot appreciate a good editor until they have worked with one. Editors do not change the integrity of a manuscript, they work to improve the story, identify weaknesses, and offer an unbiased eye toward making the writing and eventual book the best possible. Studies have shown a clear correlation between editorial expertise and book sales. When was the last time you read a truly wonderful book and the editor was not praised somewhere in the introduction or acknowledgement? A writer can have a wonderful story but fail to convey that properly without the services of a competent editor.
There are two kinds of editing: The first is content and the second is copy. A content editor will take your manuscript and work with the writer to develop the story, characters, plot, structure, and anything necessary to make the writing come to life. For the nonfiction writer the content editor will help to identify the weaknesses in the information the writer is trying to convey to the reader. Copy-editing is looking for spelling, grammar, and syntax errors that take away from or discredit the writing. You can copy edit your manuscript without content editing but ideally as a writer you use both.
If you are a writer and trying to make decisions about marketing and selling your book, you must consider professional editing first. A well-edited book is as good a marketing tool as a writer can have. A poorly edited book with the best marketing services money can buy, may fall well short in sales. If you have to decide one over the other, editing should be first on your list. You can sell a good story over great writing, but you cannot sell a good story that is poorly edited.
Leave a Reply
