Self-Publisher's Guide: Don't Hire An Editor

Other Articles In The Self-Publisher's Guide Series

UPDATE: You should hire an editor. This follow-up article will tell you why.

If you’re a self-published novelist with no money (ie me), then chances are you want to write with as little expense to your business as possible. This means being as DIY as your talents will possibly allow.

As a self-published author, I am constantly learning the tools of the trade, and educating myself on what it takes to get my work to sell. This invariably means that I spend quite a bit of time scouring the net for advice that will help get my work out into the limelight where it deserves to be. And while I have found quite a bit of useful advice along my search, one advice that I’ve been encountering quite a bit is one that, in my estimation, warrants a bit of concern as it unwittingly works against the penniless DIY author.

That advice? Hire an editor.

Here's example of advice you should NOT listen to.

In my eternal search for the holy grail of self-publishing, I have seen far too many self-published authors recommend hiring an editor out of pocket, only to wind up a thousand or so dollars in debt on their given project. Now, I understand that there is a practical reason why a self-published author would be tempted to hire someone to proofread their work. In the world of self-publishing, quality is no guarantee, and authors understandably want to promote their brand by making their products as shiny as possible. The problem with this is two-fold. A) It gives too many people the idea that editors can make or break a product. B) It adds an unnecessary cost to the self-publishing process.

Now, what I’m about to say next might rub some people the wrong way, but it’s a lesson that every writer needs to learn. Editors are not worth their money. They simply aren’t. But before I go on to explain why, let me tell you what a contracted editor is actually responsible for.

A. Pointing out technical mistakes (grammar, spelling, punctuation, etc)

B. Offering general advice on the narrative of a story

These two roles are important, but at the same time they aren’t anything that you the author can’t fix on your own.

Traditionally, authors have been known to recommend rereading your story twice over before submitting to a publisher. If you’re going to self-publish, I recommend that you do it at least four times, depending on how confident you are in your work. Be your own editor.

There are several ways to do this. I recommend editing twice, then taking a few months off your project to work on other stories (like I do) and then coming back to your manuscript afterwards with a fresh pair of eyes to see what worked, and what didn’t. Then do about two more rounds of edits. Proof-read until you are confident of your work, and then wait a while, and then when you're dead tired of re-reading it, put your book on the market. I guarantee you, you will receive the same if not better results on your own than you would with the help of an editor.

Now, continuing on with my point that editors aren’t worth their money, while an editor can help fix the technical flaws of your novel, what they cannot do is fix the heart of your work. I’ve edited essays and short stories before. And while I can help make a good essay or short story a little better, I cannot make any remarkable changes to something that is simply outright bad. A bad essay with proficient grammar and spelling is still a bad essay. And while I can offer advice on how to fix it, I’m not the one doing it, and the duty falls squarely upon the author to make the necessary corrections.

An author who needs an editor to turn something bad into something good is doomed to fail. And in that same respect, an author who wants an editor to turn something good into something a little better isn’t going to see a drastic rise in quality. Just marginal. In the end, the quality of the work rests solely on the author himself.

It’s important to note that every novel is going to have its flaws. No one is perfect. Hiring an editor is only going to help you marginally reduce those flaws. It won’t address the heart and soul of your story, which, in the end is what matters above everything else.

I know that even after I’ve edited my first novel (Fear Of The Dead) at least five times by myself, it’s still going to have flaws. But the story is simply as perfect as it’s ever going to be. And that’s all you can hope for. Paying someone to make you feel better about your work is not going to make enough of a difference to justify the costs that you put into it. You’re just going to waste money that you could have spent on buying my book.

Remember that.