Self published authors, do you self edit? - Page 4

J. Strnad · 07-10-2010, 02:42 PM

I've worked with many editors in different fields, and I appreciate the good ones. They can be extremely valuable in providing insight to the story and helping to shape it. Bad editors, though, can screw it up. You have to find the former and endure the latter.

For my own stuff, I do try to find smart people to bounce it off. I listen to them, but I don't necessarily do everything they advise. Someone has to be in control, and that's me.

I also have a friend who is an excellent copy editor, and he's willing to help me in exchange for my input on his stuff.

P.A.Woodburn · 07-11-2010, 08:13 PM

I actually did have more than one editing process, but In the end I didn't trust my writer's groups and hired a freelance editor.
Ann

NickSpalding · 07-12-2010, 11:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BexBits

I'm neither a writer nor an editor, just a reader. As a reader, I really, really appreciate an author making the effort to have his/her story presented as professionally as possible.

I'm reading a self-published book right now. The plot and characters are enough to keep me reading but every page may be the last I wade through. I don't know if the author didn't do much review or thought self-editing was sufficient. Maybe sometimes it is but self-editing won't do you any good if you don't know that, for instance, in English the phrase "he was excited about finding it" is correct but "he was excited for finding it" is not.

Every instance of something like that jolts me out of the story and back into my middle-aged crankiness about language mutilation. One of those jolts may be the one that makes me just give up and there goes the author's revenue from a potential sale of the rest of the series.

You're exhibiting an admirable level of patience with that book then. A book with that level of errors would have found it's way into my bin a long time ago

BexBits · 07-13-2010, 12:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NickSpalding

You're exhibiting an admirable level of patience with that book then. A book with that level of errors would have found it's way into my bin a long time ago

Well, I'm the type that reads soup cans and hand lotion labels if there is nothing else printed around me and I was a bit short on alternative titles right then. If I'd paid bookstore prices for a paper copy I would have been incensed and writing the publisher but as it was I just kept going because the plot showed some originality and creativity. Oddly enough the author snapped out of it and the last 2/3rds of the book were much smoother.

Even more oddly, the very next idie book I tried had the problem, the opening sections needed way more copy editing and smoothed out at about the same place. If I were going to neglect part of my own book (if I had one I mean) it wouldn't be the opening.

abr · 07-13-2010, 11:14 AM

Yes to self-edited, but not by choice. Good professional editors and proofreaders simply cost too much. I don't mind not making money, but I don't want to pay for the privilege of publishing fiction.

NickSpalding · 07-13-2010, 11:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BexBits

Well, I'm the type that reads soup cans and hand lotion labels if there is nothing else printed around me and I was a bit short on alternative titles right then. If I'd paid bookstore prices for a paper copy I would have been incensed and writing the publisher but as it was I just kept going because the plot showed some originality and creativity. Oddly enough the author snapped out of it and the last 2/3rds of the book were much smoother.

Even more oddly, the very next idie book I tried had the problem, the opening sections needed way more copy editing and smoothed out at about the same place. If I were going to neglect part of my own book (if I had one I mean) it wouldn't be the opening.

I edited Life...With No Breaks a good three times right through with a final polish on top and I've no doubt I missed a few things here and there...

Scott Nicholson · 07-13-2010, 12:20 PM

I work as a freelance fiction editor and so i edit my own books but also have a couple of readers to check over things. My NY releases never got concept editing, though the copy edit was top notch. If you need an editor, there are a bunch of good ones at http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com

Scott

Vintage Season · 07-14-2010, 12:07 PM

Having several decades of accumulated writing experience (it took that long before I realized I should release/share some of my stories, instead of hoarding them all and continually saying, "I'm not quite there yet!"), not to mention having intensively studied the English language during a college career that lasted longer than a good percentage of stable marriages, I generally follow this approach:

Write the story
Wait a few days
Read the story aloud
Edit (and rewrite, if necessary)
Wait a few days
Re-read the story aloud
Apply cosmetic touch-up (as needed)
Show the story to a trusted reader
Repeat

By "trusted reader," I mean one of a few in my circle whose literary credentials are above reproach. Will the occasional spelling error or errant bit of punctuation still slip through? Yes... but I am essentially using the same method one would use to separate wheat from chaff: beat the wheat, to loosen the chaff, so you can shake the wheat and blow away the chaff. By the time your wheat makes it to market, there should be very little (if any) chaff visible.

There are, of course, occasional exceptions to the routine. When I was preparing "We Don't Plummet Out of the Sky Anymore" for the eBook Signing Event, I experimented with a number of possible formatting options, and I added a few bits to the ancillary text. In the editing process, the text lost one tiny bit of punctuation; in the added text, I forgot to apply "smart" quotes to one word; and an eagle-eyed reader pointed out one missing letter and one backwards apostrophe, that had survived all edits and the subsequent proofreading. If I had been able to take an extra few days, and re-read the entire project once more, I might have caught any one of those glitches... or I might not.

There are no guarantees, even with a professional editor. We have all found typographical errors within mass-market works, and it is relatively rare to find a work that is completely devoid of the same. The goal is to minimize such errors, so that your reader will overlook (or at least, not think you incompetent for including!) the occasional misstep.

- M.

MichaelFStewart · 07-14-2010, 04:25 PM

I couldn't really answer the poll because I do all of those things, even my dog keeps me company.

I self edit - 3 or 4 drafts. I have two readers. Then I have a professional edit. And then I self edit again.

Not sure how many drafts that makes it, but I always feel like I should do one more!

In the past I have used writers groups but find that helps for the first two or three chapters, but it's tough to get through a whole novel in a crit group. Not everyone has the time to read entire books.

Valmore Daniels · 07-18-2010, 02:12 PM

After my first draft, I do a content-edit myself, then share with my writer's group. After getting solid feedback, I'll tackle the second draft and then let the group have at it once more. By the time I've incorporated any suggestions I like, I'm pretty close to final. Just another pass or two for spelling, punctuation, etc. I'm fairly comfortable with this process.

View Poll Results: How do you edit your work?
I edit it all by myself with little/no outside input	11	44.00%
I have a friend/relative read it over	4	16.00%
I hire a freelance editor	4	16.00%
I'm in a writing group and we edit each others work	2	8.00%
Other, I do it a different way entirely	2	8.00%
My cat or dog do my editing	2	8.00%
Voters: 25. You may not vote on this poll

07-14-2010, 12:07 PM	#53
Vintage Season Pulps and dime novels... Posts: 343 Karma: 1952003 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: Kobo Aura/Kobo Aura One LE/iPad Air	Having several decades of accumulated writing experience (it took that long before I realized I should release/share some of my stories, instead of hoarding them all and continually saying, "I'm not quite there yet!"), not to mention having intensively studied the English language during a college career that lasted longer than a good percentage of stable marriages, I generally follow this approach: Write the story Wait a few days Read the story aloud Edit (and rewrite, if necessary) Wait a few days Re-read the story aloud Apply cosmetic touch-up (as needed) Show the story to a trusted reader Repeat By "trusted reader," I mean one of a few in my circle whose literary credentials are above reproach. Will the occasional spelling error or errant bit of punctuation still slip through? Yes... but I am essentially using the same method one would use to separate wheat from chaff: beat the wheat, to loosen the chaff, so you can shake the wheat and blow away the chaff. By the time your wheat makes it to market, there should be very little (if any) chaff visible. There are, of course, occasional exceptions to the routine. When I was preparing "We Don't Plummet Out of the Sky Anymore" for the eBook Signing Event, I experimented with a number of possible formatting options, and I added a few bits to the ancillary text. In the editing process, the text lost one tiny bit of punctuation; in the added text, I forgot to apply "smart" quotes to one word; and an eagle-eyed reader pointed out one missing letter and one backwards apostrophe, that had survived all edits and the subsequent proofreading. If I had been able to take an extra few days, and re-read the entire project once more, I might have caught any one of those glitches... or I might not. There are no guarantees, even with a professional editor. We have all found typographical errors within mass-market works, and it is relatively rare to find a work that is completely devoid of the same. The goal is to minimize such errors, so that your reader will overlook (or at least, not think you incompetent for including!) the occasional misstep. - M.

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07-10-2010, 02:42 PM	#46
J. Strnad Guru Posts: 915 Karma: 3537194 Join Date: Feb 2009 Device: Kobo, Kindle 3, Paperwhite	I've worked with many editors in different fields, and I appreciate the good ones. They can be extremely valuable in providing insight to the story and helping to shape it. Bad editors, though, can screw it up. You have to find the former and endure the latter. For my own stuff, I do try to find smart people to bounce it off. I listen to them, but I don't necessarily do everything they advise. Someone has to be in control, and that's me. I also have a friend who is an excellent copy editor, and he's willing to help me in exchange for my input on his stuff.

07-11-2010, 08:13 PM	#47
P.A.Woodburn Enthusiast Posts: 30 Karma: 30000 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: none	I actually did have more than one editing process, but In the end I didn't trust my writer's groups and hired a freelance editor. Ann

07-13-2010, 11:14 AM	#50
abr Member Posts: 11 Karma: 20000 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: none	Yes to self-edited, but not by choice. Good professional editors and proofreaders simply cost too much. I don't mind not making money, but I don't want to pay for the privilege of publishing fiction.

07-13-2010, 12:20 PM	#52
Scott Nicholson Scott Nicholson, author Posts: 363 Karma: 2029337 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Boone NC Device: Kindle	I work as a freelance fiction editor and so i edit my own books but also have a couple of readers to check over things. My NY releases never got concept editing, though the copy edit was top notch. If you need an editor, there are a bunch of good ones at http://bloodredpencil.blogspot.com Scott

07-14-2010, 04:25 PM	#54
MichaelFStewart Where tech and story meet Posts: 135 Karma: 500120 Join Date: Sep 2009 Device: iPad	I couldn't really answer the poll because I do all of those things, even my dog keeps me company. I self edit - 3 or 4 drafts. I have two readers. Then I have a professional edit. And then I self edit again. Not sure how many drafts that makes it, but I always feel like I should do one more! In the past I have used writers groups but find that helps for the first two or three chapters, but it's tough to get through a whole novel in a crit group. Not everyone has the time to read entire books.

07-18-2010, 02:12 PM	#55
Valmore Daniels Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,592 Karma: 2822668 Join Date: Jul 2010 Device: Kindle	After my first draft, I do a content-edit myself, then share with my writer's group. After getting solid feedback, I'll tackle the second draft and then let the group have at it once more. By the time I've incorporated any suggestions I like, I'm pretty close to final. Just another pass or two for spelling, punctuation, etc. I'm fairly comfortable with this process.

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