Quote:
Originally Posted by shibamistress
I agree. It's something I tell my students all the time (I teach creative writing). If they don't make their book publishable, they're not going to get to the stage where someone is going to edit it for them (for free anyway, as they seem to think). What really drives me crazy is the ones who think they don't have to worry about grammar/punctuation, because a mysterious "someone" will fix it for them when they realize their brilliance. Not going to happen!
Still, everyone needs more opinions than their own, so it is good to get a professional opinion, whether from another writer, or if you don't have a writer friend to do it, then seeing professional editing help. Good links here, too!
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I guess I take a middle view here.
Yes, any author, even the brilliant wacky artist types, should have and use some self editing skill, or (if they are really on the brilliant artsy side) at least display some passable skill with the craft elements of typing, spelling, punctuation, etc, to make their work readable and understandable.
But it is often very difficult to edit ones own work even if one has GREAT editing skill, and the skill set of an artist/author really is NOT the same as that of a craftsman/editor.
So I think collaborating with an editor is probably the best approach if at all possible.
ApK