Some authors give their manuscripts to professional editors (at a cost). Some get family and friends to cast a beady eye over it. Some authors are happy with their own writing skills.
A bit about editing
- Even if you're a good writer you do need someone else to check what you've written. You can be so close to what you've written that you can't see the manuscript objectively. It needs a fresh pair of eyes.
- Editing your manuscript does not mean it's no longer going to sound like you. It just means using spelling checkers, getting your grammar correct, and knowing how to string a sentence together.
- If you know how to spin a tale, most readers will let you and your characters express themselves using idiomatic speech, misspellings and half-formed sentences - it IS how most of us speak and write - but if a book is be taken seriously eg, historical fiction, autobiographies, books on hunting, cuisine or hiking trails, it needs to be edited to standard.
- If you know you don't write well, but really do have something to say, you will need some help.
- There are online editors who will offer to edit your manuscripts but you need to be careful about their skill level. The NZ Society of Authors https://authors.org.nz/writing has suggestions about manuscript assessors and editors. Bookpublishers.co.nz also offers professional book editing services and offers to connect you to an expert. BriarsBooks usually assists authors with a thorough read- through and editorial services if the book needs it.
- But if you're trying to keep your costs down and your market local you probably don't need any editing assistance beyond what friends and family can provide for you.
- If a few things do escape the net they will be caught when a proof of the book comes to you from the printer. It's at this time that final changes can be made within the cost of the printer's quote.
