People working on their first book often ask, "When should I hire an editor?" Here's the answer: Hire an editor when you've finished your book and made it as good as possible on your own. If you haven't finished your book yet and are struggling to get to The End, you're not ready for an editor, but do not fear! A book coach could help. Let’s talk more about when you need a book editor—and when you don’t.
When should you hire an editor for you book? When you’re ready for difficult times! (Kidding.)
Hire an editor when… you've finished at least the first draft and filled in all the gaps
Before hiring an editor, you need to have reached The End. You want all the chapters and scenes on the page.
Ideally, you've gone back through your first draft and made as many improvements as you can before getting frustrated and throwing your laptop out the window. Then, you've gone into the yard, picked up your dirt-covered laptop, gone inside, poured a big glass of wine, and continued editing getting mud on your fingers as you go.
When you want to throw the laptop out again, then… check all the gaps are filled in. If your first drafts are anything like mine, you'll have lots of comments in brackets saying things like:
[THIS IS CRAP. WRITE BETTER.], or
Mr. [Why the hell is it so hard to come up with fake names?] or,
My personal go-to, [This scene is LAME-O. Rewrite.]
We all do it. It's a normal part of the process. But sort that shit out before hiring an editor.
Hire an editor when… you've finished writing, but something isn't working
You reached the finish line (yippee!) and gave your beautiful book draft to a friend, your mom, someone in your writing group, or another kind of beta reader.
And they didn't write to the New York Times to declare there is a new, future-bestseller they simply must read.
They didn't plow through it in 24-hours, then call you in hysterics, delirious about how good it is.
They didn't message Jennifer Lawrence on Instagram and declare that she must, must, must play the lead in the movie that they definitely will make of your book.
Instead, their reaction was just a bit… meh.
So, you know something isn't working. The book doesn't have the emotional resonance you hoped for, but you don't know how to fix it. That's when you get an editor to tell you how to improve what you've already written, so it has the impact you want.
Hire an editor when… you just want someone to check your grammar
There are different types of editors. Some look at big-picture stuff, like the book's structure, and if it all makes sense and is compelling. Confusingly, there are no industry standards for editor titles and descriptions, but these big-picture geniuses are usually called developmental editors, structural editors, or content editors.
Others get more nitty-gritty and edit paragraphs and sentences. They remove extraneous words, correct grammar, and generally improve the flow of the writing. They don't fix plot holes or give ideas for rewriting (that's developmental editors), but they make what's already on the page sound even better. This is what most people think of when they think of editing.
These super-stars are called copy editors or line editors, and if you just want someone to fix your sentence structure and punctuation, they're the people you need.
Hire an editor when… you've already fixed all the grammar and just need an extra set of eyes
Just to make things more confusing, there's another type of editor: the proofreader.
Proofreaders are magical people who can spot when you typed a period instead of a comma, know the difference between an em dash and an en dash (yes, those are real and different things), and can spot a curly quote mark in a line of straight quote marks from a thousand words away.
Hire a proofreader when you want an extra set of eyes to double-check your writing after you're sure you've caught every possible error. Because proofreaders prevent you from embarrassing yourself by writing that you spent the night on the couch with cop porn instead of popcorn. They eat autocorrect for breakfast.
If none of the above scenarios apply… you probably don't need an editor
You don't need an editor if you haven't finished your book yet.
You don't need an editor if you haven't started your book yet.
You don't need an editor if you can't decide which idea to write about or how to write about it.
You don't need an editor if you want someone to hold you accountable for actually putting the words on the page.
You don’t need an editor if you can’t figure out why you keep procrastinating.
If that's you, you're not ready for an editor. But you don't have to stay stuck—a book coach can help.
Whatever stage you're at, you don't need to struggle alone. Get an editor if you're ready for one, or a book coach if you're not. With the right help at the right time, you can get your book into the world.
Thanks,
Liz “You Can Do It!” Green
Book Coach, Green Goose Writing
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