Will the next booming profession be copy editor?

[John Carroll]

With all the indie books, conversions and changes in selling books; does anyone think that editing will be the new hot career over the next five to fifteen years?

[vaughnmr]

Yes... if you live in India.

[K-Thom]

I sure do hope so. If the last six months of contracts are any indication, then I'm quite optimistic for 2011.

Yes... if you live in India.

Funny that you mention it. I already have to compete with companies from China and India.

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by John Carroll

With all the indie books, conversions and changes in selling books; does anyone think that editing will be the new hot career over the next five to fifteen years?

No, as I don't think that many indie authors are going to be able to afford copy editors.

[Catlady]

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

No, as I don't think that many indie authors are going to be able to afford copy editors.

No matter how much they need them ...

[JeremyR]

And unfortunately, all too many big time publishers just slap up OCRed books without any proofing as well. They don't have the excuse of not being able to afford them...

[Marc Johnson]

Do you mean copy editor or developmental editor? I think the latter is far more important than the former if you can only afford one.

In case you just mean editor in general, I would answer no to your question. I think the problem is people don't necessarily believe their work needs editing or that they can afford it. In reality, it does and they can.

[HarryT]

Let's hope so. Most independently published books are sadly in need of editing.

[James_Wilde]

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

No, as I don't think that many indie authors are going to be able to afford copy editors.

I agree, Andrew. And it's not just copy editors. Not everyone can afford, say, $500 for a good cover design.

However, I can see various professions which hitherto have been salaried perhaps going in for a share of the royalties from indie authors. Like cover artists, translators, sound book (or whatever it's called) readers, copy editors...

I once had a vision of a site which combined all these talents, where the cover artists and sound book readers got, say, five per cent, translators maybe twenty or thirty, and so on.

[James_Wilde]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Let's hope so. Most independently published books are sadly in need of editing.

Yes and no, Harry. I think the reading public is a good deal more tolerant than we perhaps have a tendency to think. If you're paying $25 for the latest Dan Brown or John Whatsisname, the lawyer chappy, you expect a well-produced and well-edited hardback.

But if you're paying $2.99 for something to kill an empty evening, you're prepared to put up with a lot less. Admittedly you often get it, but it's like the difference between tv and radio - a badly edited book, as long as it's not so bad that it's unreadable, can feed your imagination, even if it's only to think of ten different plot variations and four different endings!

[Hatgirl]

Originally Posted by James_Wilde

Yes and no, Harry. I think the reading public is a good deal more tolerant than we perhaps have a tendency to think. If you're paying $25 for the latest Dan Brown or John Whatsisname, the lawyer chappy, you expect a well-produced and well-edited hardback.

But if you're paying $2.99 for something to kill an empty evening, you're prepared to put up with a lot less. Admittedly you often get it, but it's like the difference between tv and radio - a badly edited book, as long as it's not so bad that it's unreadable, can feed your imagination, even if it's only to think of ten different plot variations and four different endings!

Got to disagree with you there. I recently read a badly edited and badly formatted independent book. If I hadn't promised someone I'd read it I would have ditched it after the first 2 chapters for one of the innumerable excellent books I have on my reader. It's a shame. it was an interesting plot with interesting characters, it just needed someone to go through it with a red pen and someone else to see how the formatting actually looked on an ereader.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by James_Wilde

Yes and no, Harry. I think the reading public is a good deal more tolerant than we perhaps have a tendency to think. If you're paying $25 for the latest Dan Brown or John Whatsisname, the lawyer chappy, you expect a well-produced and well-edited hardback.

But if you're paying $2.99 for something to kill an empty evening, you're prepared to put up with a lot less. Admittedly you often get it, but it's like the difference between tv and radio - a badly edited book, as long as it's not so bad that it's unreadable, can feed your imagination, even if it's only to think of ten different plot variations and four different endings!

I'm afraid that, personally speaking, I'm NOT willing to do that. That's why I spend months proof-reading the classics, and posting them here, because minor details like typos and bad punctuation REALLY annoy me.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Marc Johnson

Do you mean copy editor or developmental editor? I think the latter is far more important than the former if you can only afford one.

I have to disagree, I'm afraid, Marc. No matter how good a story is, poor grammar, punctuation, and spelling mistakes will distract me from it to such an extent that I can't read it. I take the view that if the author can't be bothered to get such things right, why should I take the time to read his or her book?

[Maggie Leung]

Originally Posted by James_Wilde

I agree, Andrew. And it's not just copy editors. Not everyone can afford, say, $500 for a good cover design.

However, I can see various professions which hitherto have been salaried perhaps going in for a share of the royalties from indie authors. Like cover artists, translators, sound book (or whatever it's called) readers, copy editors...

I once had a vision of a site which combined all these talents, where the cover artists and sound book readers got, say, five per cent, translators maybe twenty or thirty, and so on.

Wow, a whole 5 percent? Not sure which Third World country they could afford to live in on that, lol. I don't knock indie books for those who enjoy them, but let's not kid ourselves that we're talking about a "professional" livelihood for copy editors stemming from the hope of 5 percent of sales and such.

[rhadin]

I wish I could say that there is a bright future for copyeditors and proofreaders, but the future isn't bright. I've been providing editorial services for 26 years and because of my specialty have seen steady business. But even in my specialties, publishers are more interested in reducing costs than in receiving quality services. As vaughnmr noted, the boom in editorial services is occurring in India but that won't last. Indians will soon want to be paid a living wage so editing will shift to countries in Africa.

As for independent, self-publishing authors, in discussions with colleagues who try to cater to that market, I have discovered that it is 1% of those authors who are willing to pay for any professional services. When they are quoted a price, the typical response is that their "associations" and fellow indie authors tell them that it is just as good, if not better, to simply ask friends and neighbors to give a review, and that relying on spellcheck and similar automated programs is more than sufficient.

I think there is a split in the population of authors. Those who wish to have a career as an author and earn their livelihood from their writing are significantly more inclined to pay the costs of professional services than are those who look at it more as a hobby. I do believe that most indie authors are realists when it comes to evaluating their own skill levels and thus place themselves appropriately.