5 Myths about Book Editing
Many writers, especially the ones who are new to the craft, believe many misleading comments and concepts about editors and editing. They feel as if all the editors want to do is give negative comments about a writer’s masterpiece. They feel embarrassed when someone asks them to give their work to an editor. Are you one of the dozens of writers who believe that hiring book editors is wrong? If you are, then you will soon find out why and how getting your book edited by an editor is good for you as well as your ebook marketers.
Yes, you will receive criticism about your work but it is not to lower you but to make you a better writer. They help to identify your mistakes or suggest how you can make your manuscript better if you want to. All you need to do is have an open mind to what your editor has to say about your work and be able to realize and accept your mistakes. However, before working with editors, here is a list of myths many writers believe about editors: How to become a book editor
1. Editors Don’t LikeWriters:
Myth: Editors may be failed writers themselves, tired of reading and checking other writers' work, or they are just jealous of writers that are being acknowledged for their work and ruin the writer’s work on purpose.
First of all, that is not true. If you give an editor a book to edit, and the editor destroys the book, he or she will be out of work and nobody likes that. Second, you may not like an editor’s note or suggestion about your work but they only give you such comments and feedback to help you make an amazing book by taking their suggestion if it seems relevant. Take their suggestions with an open mind.
2. Editors are Not Needed by Good Writers
Myth: Good writers do not need editors to make good books.
Once again, not true. There are times when even the most gifted of writers require an editor. This is because when you are writing a book, you need to get lost within that writing which helps you create masterpieces. However, it becomes hard for you to judge the quality of your work.
This is where a good editor jumps in and saves you from ruining your own book. It is possible that a chapter where you may feel like you did a great job, might seem a little off to the editor because you may have shown that brilliance in some other part of the ebook marketing services. Professional editors will drag you out of that separate world of a chapter and show the whole universe of chapters from afar and tell you where you went wrong. So if you have written a book you can easily get in touch with affordable book editing services and have your book edited. Then you will see what difference editors make in a book through their craft.
3. Editors Change Your WorkAccording to their Liking:
Myth: As editors aren’t accomplished writers or aren’t lucky enough to be writers, they try to change your work and put their ideas into your work.
There's a good amount of editors who started out with a desire to become a writer there are also some who have successful careers as authors, but they are never trying to make your work their own. At the end of the day, it is your work that will be praised and applauded, not theirs because the piece of work has your name on it.
4. Editors Make Changes in Your Work to Justify their Job:
Myth: Publishers and writers think that editors do not deserve to be called editors unless they make a huge number of changes.
This is untrue. If you feel that some of the edits or changes made by the editor are confusing or seem strange, just ask them for their rationale behind the edits. Professional and skilled editors will always have a genuine reason behind their edits. Once you get to know what those reasons are, you can easily decide whether you keep the changes or not.
5. Anybody Can Edit a Book:
Myth: All you need to edit a book is to know the language, its grammar, and the ability to write. Since anyone including your spouse, friend, or neighbor can read, write and correct grammar, they must be qualified enough to edit a book.
Just as you need talent, a high level of knowledge, and some trial and error to become a good writer, you need all these traits for the purpose of editing a book as well. Editing a book needs special skills that not everybody possesses. Editors do not only clear the manuscript of mistakes and errors, but they also point out areas that may be repeated, anything that may be confusing, or any inconsistency whether tonal or story-related. They give overall suggestions to make your work even better.
If you still don’t believe it, just carry out a little experiment. Get two copies of unedited manuscripts. Contact and ask any ebook marketing services to edit one of them and ask anyone from your family or friends to edit the other one. You will see a huge difference in both results.
There are many other myths about editing a book that is either not true or just misunderstood. Editing is a very helpful step for writers in their careers and really helps them improve as a writer. It is time that the art of editing received the respect it deserves and was embraced by non-believing writers.
