You need an editor.
Oh, you're going it alone, you say? Because that's what the indie and self-pub revolution is all about? And, besides, you've read all the how-to books. Don Maas and Stephen King and Anne Lamott; Stein On Writing, and Self-Editing For Fiction Writers. You keep your copy of The First Five Pages and Strunk & White's bible open on your desktop for easy reference. You don't need an editor, right?Uh, wrong. Unless you want to end up like certain authors embarrassing themselves in public (anyone remember Jaqueline Howett's meltdown from last year?), you need an editor.
Jeannette de Beauvoir, a colleague and friend from the Internet Writing Workshop, is hosting me on her blog today to discuss this issue. Take a stroll over and join the conversation! And don't miss the Write It Sideways post from yesterday on the topic--excellent points there, too.
Very true. There is so much that I miss when I don't get second opinions.
ReplyDeleteYes! No matter how talented you are, you're not going to be able to see all the plot holes, all the little missing things you can fill in with your brain because you made up the story but that other readers won't know to intuit. You need a second set of eyes for these things, even if you have insane talent and skill.
ReplyDeleteAs a writing coach and freelance editor, I thank you all from the bottom of my skill set!
ReplyDeleteIt's rather worrying how many published novels out there are full of grammatical errors and spelling mistakes.
ReplyDeleteThere's a little surprise for you over at http://justermie.blogspot.co.uk if you're interested. ;-)
Totally agree, G. Problem: How do you find one you can trust? The price for editing can be pretty steep, so the idea of finding the 'right' one is a little daunting. Heading over to check out your guest spot... :)
ReplyDelete