Pay Money or Self-Edit ?

Today, I have two articles to share from The Write Life; and, they both have bullet-point lists of important info…

Photo by Trent Erwin on Unsplash.com

I’ll give you a few excerpts from, Looking for a Book Editor? Here’s How Much You Should Expect to Pay, first…

“I wish I could tell you that proofreading will always cost one cent per word, copy-editing two cents per word, and developmental editing three cents per word, but the truth is much hazier than that.

“While I will provide hard numbers, you should first know certain essentials about hiring an editor.

“This information may help you understand why editing costs seem to vary widely from one editor to the next, but it should also assist you in comparing possible editors.”

Now to share the 8 “essentials” you should know {check out the full article for each point’s explanations}:

1. What kind of editing are you seeking?
2. What’s your total word count?
3. How complex is your book?
4. What’s your deadline?
5. What’s your experience level?
6. What’s your editor’s experience level and/or demand?
7. What’s your flexibility?
8. What’s your budget?

And, there’s a lot about budgeting; plus, a free Spreadsheet to compare costs for different editors.

The article finishes off with a look at a few actual rate structures…

Now, for those folks, like me, who can’t afford to pay an editor :-)

Lets’ check out, Self-Editing Basics: 10 Simple Ways to Edit Your Own Book:

Again, go to the full article for the explanations of each bullet-point…

1. Rest your manuscript
2. Listen to your manuscript
3. Search for troubling words
4. Remove or replace your crutch words
5. Remove all double spaces at the end of sentences
6. Search for problematic punctuation
7. Run spell check or use an automated editing program
8. Subscribe to The Chicago Manual of Style
9. Format accordingly
10. Don’t over-edit

And, here are a few other articles about self-editing:

How to Edit Your Own Work: A Self-Editing Checklist
The 7 Deadly Sins of Self-Editing
How to Self-Edit ~ Infographic

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