Why Do Indie Writers Need Editors?

Guest Post by Valerie Douglas

Here is a simple math question, and one of my favorite examples to illustrate why you need an editor. 

28. A train is blowing its whistle while traveling at a speed of 33.0 m/s. The speed of sound is 343 m/s. Observer A is directly in front of the train, while observer B is directly in behind it. Find the whistle frequency heard by A and that heard by B. 

Looks perfectly fine doesn’t it? 

Until an editor looks at it. Then a good editor will comment: If Observer A was (standing, lying down?) directly in front of the train Observer A would be dead. (Hit by fast moving train. Plot hole, please fix.) You capitalized Observer the first time in reference to A, but not to B. Be consistent, choose one or the other. We could also use more information about the train, Observer A (was he afraid before he was run down?) and Observer B. 

That’s what a good editor does, they pick up what you miss; the inconsistencies, the plot holes, the lack of information or overuse of the same, typos, words you consistently misspell - convinced that you spelled them correctly or never knew you were spelling or using incorrectly. There are many, many of those. So many there are books devoted to helping you find them. Ex. Strunk and White’s Elements of Style. 

Why, though, do Indie writers specifically need an editor? Besides the fact that they don’t use any of the above, either editor or editing books? The reason is simple, Indie writers have a reputation for publishing unedited crap…and it’s not entirely undeserved. Go to almost any Indie writer’s listing of their book(s) and look at their reviews. Unless those reviews were written by family and friends you’ll frequently find comments like this ‘One of the poorest-written novels I've read in a long time’, ‘Better proofreading please’, etc., or ‘the emotions are told instead of demonstrated, the characters are two-dimensional and the finale happens too quickly’. That last is from a best-selling Indie romance author. All of those examples could have been fixed by a good editor. Sure your story is good, but don’t you want it to be great? 

I think I’ve heard a million times, ‘but I read a traditionally published novel and it had lot of mistakes in it’. Yes, we’re held to a higher standard than traditional publishers. Aren’t we trying to be different, though - aren’t we trying to be better? 

Yes, being edited is tough. *grins* I cringe every time my editor points out something like ‘there’s too much nodding going on’ and then points it out every time (nod, here… and here.) *ack!*. Sometimes I want to shout at her – enough already with the nodding!!! – and then I think again. If it happened enough for her to notice, then readers will, too. If she doesn’t point it out, might I miss a few?

I’m sure some of you are saying, “I don’t really need to use an editor, my English is perfectly fine, no one has ever corrected me. In fact, most people come to me for spelling/grammar/English help.” Well, I hate to disabuse you of the notion, but my editors LOVE me. Both of them claim I’m a dream to edit… my spelling is great, my grammar is better by far than most. They can sometimes go a whole page without a single correction. BUT. I’ve got this thing with comma splices. And…well, there’s that nodding thing. 

Every author has quirks, bad habits and words they habitually use wrong. An editor’s job is to catch those errors before the reader does. Your job, as an Indie writer, is to make the suggested corrections. That’s also the advantage of being an Indie author, choice. And if you choose not to take your editor’s advice? Don’t blame your editor.

Some of you are no doubt crying “Editors are expensive.” Yep, they are. So, at the very least, go out and spend a few bucks on the Strunk and White book. Get some Beta readers, and not friends or family, but people you don’t know. There are sites on Facebook to find them, or use other authors you know. There are also a number of Indie Editor/Writer sites on Facebook that offer first chapter edits. Take advantage of them. You’ll probably be surprised – or if you’re honest, shocked and horrified – at what they find. 

Don’t like the reputation that Indie writers have for writing unedited crap? Then change it. Get an editor. (There are places on-line to find those, too.) 

About the author:

Valerie Douglas is a prolific writer and a genre-crosser, much to the delight of her fans. A fan of authors from almost every genre from Isaac Asimov to Chelsea Quinn Yarbro, she writes classic fantasy, romance, suspense, and as V.J. Devereaux, erotic romance. Who knows what will pop up down the road!

Happily married, she's companion to two dogs, four cats and an African clawed frog named Hopper.

Visit her website to find out more about Valerie Douglas.