Editing a book is so much more work than writing a book.
In self publishing, editing is the most important step. Done right, your book will be indistinguishable from those produced by the Big Five (there are still five, aren't there?), and probably look better than books from the smaller presses. Done wrong and you will confirm the stereotypes of self-published books being sloppy and of lesser quality than their traditionally published counterparts. Did you know that readers can return a Kindle book if they don’t like it? Sell enough books and you’re bound to see a few returns. Hell, I’m not afraid to admit I’ve even had people return free downloads of my book. My book is rated a solid 4.7/5 stars on Amazon, and I don’t expect everyone to love it, but having someone return a free download? Like that 305KB of text wasn't worthy of space on their 64GB iPad? They couldn't just delete it; they had to take the extra time to let me know too. Ouch.
So, editing is a drag. Writing the first draft is full of triumph and excitement: You create new characters, discover new twists, and the feeling when you finish is exhilarating. But in the editing process, there is rarely good news. Editing is the art of identifying, measuring and eliminating the bad writing. It’s subjective and thoroughly boring. It’s as fun as putting on a second coat of paint: Not very satisfying, but it has to be done.
After my first beta-reader said the first five chapters of my next book were “a little slow” I could no longer wait for feedback from other readers. I called one of my other hand selected critics and she said she didn’t think it was slow, but that I needed to do “more showing, less telling.” (Writing Advice 101.) And she was right. I could look at the pages with their dense paragraphs and lack of dialogue and see without even reading the words that I had abandoned the style of storytelling that my readers always compliment me on.
That means it’s time for a rewrite.
Here’s a tip on rewriting: That first glorious version… is now a steaming pile of dung that you want to just delete. Don't. It makes a perfect outline for the new and improved version. It’s a Cliff’s Notes to what you should have written. And on the bright side, the rewriting is a lot quicker than writing the first draft. Ha ha! Just kidding. It’s even slower because now you can’t deviate from the story you’ve already written. One little edit near the beginning of your book can set of a chain reaction of changes. Be organized, and take notes as you go.
The hardest part is knowing what to edit. One thing I do after making light changes based on feedback from my beta readers is to hire a content editor. I was lucky to find someone with experience and interest in doing this for me for a reasonable price. It isn’t cheap, but if someone treats critiquing your book like it’s their job (because it is), you will get solid, honest advice. I recommend having a potential content editor show you what they’d do in your first 30 or so pages, so you have an idea of their style and what you’re getting for your money. This was the best money I spent on my first book. She was able to point out when my main character was being an “idiot” (her word) or was coming off as unlikable ("douchey.") She had me cut unnecessary scenes that didn’t contribute to the story or slowed things down. Most of all, as a paid editor, she felt ownership in the quality of the final product. We had a lot of fun over many pints analyzing the book together and it made editing less of a solitary act. When we were done, I felt confident in the final product.
One final thought on editing. Once you are done, and I mean done with making changes, hire a copyeditor. You cannot effectively copyedit your own writing because you know what it’s supposed to say. I made the mistake of having my last book copyedited before all my changes were done. I found myself finding tiny typos and formatting issues for months after the book was out and had to upload new versions to Kindle. It was an amateur mistake I will not repeat.
I know that hiring people for some of this work may seem like it flies in the face of the term “Self Publishing,” but there are some things you can’t do. We’ll talk about that more when we get around to designing our book cover. No, you can’t do it yourself. Really… stop… don’t even try.
By day Jonathan Kile is a peddler of petroleum products, navigating a Glengarry Glen Ross landscape of cutthroat sales. By night he assumes the identity of novelist and child-wrangler. Jonathan’s first published novel The Grandfather Clock is available on Amazon. He's writing his second and third novels, blogging at Well-Oiled Writer and cursing his editor. You can email him at jkilewrites@gmail.com.
