Is Book Editing Necessary for Your Self-Published Book?

Many self-published books have the potential to perform well but they still remain unnoticed. One of the major reasons of this is an unedited or poorly edited manuscript. And that's why we say - 'Editing unlocks the true potential of your manuscript.'

Some books that don't need editing, but how would you know whether yours need editing or not? If yes, what type of editing will be the best choice? Let's discuss in detail:

Books that don't need editing

Two types of authors don't need editing:

Type 1:- You wrote a book just to pass time or you got it published just to fulfill the desire to publish a book. In such cases, where there's no direct goal of selling, you can skip editing.

Type 2:- People who get their book published for vanity (i.e. to get admissions, etc.) or to add the prefix 'Author' with their name.

The above two types of authors can skip editing. Online tools like Grammarly can be used to correct basic errors in such cases.

Now let's move towards the books that need editing.

Cases where editing is necessary

Three types of authors who cannot skip editing (if you have the budget) :

1. Serious Authors: Authors who are very serious about their work, with a desire that their book should leave a lasting impact on each and every reader. It doesn't matter if they're traditional or self-published, they don't want anyone complaining about the quality of their content.

   
   

2. Career-oriented: Authors who are serious about building their career in the writing industry, should never skip editing. The level of your book should always be 10 times better than your own writing level at a point of time. If you want your writing career to flourish, you must embrace editing.

   
   

3. Traditional goal: Some authors want to pitch their books to traditional publishers. An unedited manuscript has a low chance of selection due to high competition in the market. In such cases, getting top-notch editing is a must. 

Consequences of not getting your book edited, even when it needs editing

1. Book reviews are more like complaints: Having an unedited book will result in lowering the ratings of your book. People will complain about content quality, plot holes, dialogues, grammar, and countless other things.

   
   

2. Profile impact: If your book is written to promote a business, it'll reduce the credibility of your business due to minor mistakes or low-quality content. It'll also have a negative impact on your own profile.

   
   

3. Publisher woes: Sometimes you publish your book without editing and then later realize that your book needs editing. Although self-publishers don't have to give anything, they still charge huge amounts just for changing the files.

Determining the need for editing on the basis of language 

1. If you make a lot of mistakes while writing and even doubt your writing skills and there are chances of making a lot of grammatical errors, your manuscript will need editing no matter how many times you self-edit it as you're doing it with the same knowledge every time. 

   
   

2. Your writing skills are good but you're writing long-form content for the first time. Editing is vital in such cases as long-form content needs to be in proper flow and well polished. This will also help you to understand how to write a book perfectly without editing.

   
   

3. You're very good at writing and already have a long time experience. Language errors aren't a thing for you. In such cases, you can skip basic (grammar) editing. Instead, you can opt for comprehensive or developmental editing if you haven't read hundreds of books.

What do you do if you don't have a budget?

1. You can wait for some time to generate some budget.

2. Use Grammarly to combat grammatical errors in your book and get help from an avid reader.

3. Try self-editing.

How does an editor become one?

1. An editor has read hundreds of books.

2. He has written countless books not just for himself but for others as well (ghostwriting).

3. He has vast knowledge of grammar and language. He knows all about content presentation.

4. An editor reaches a good level after editing at least 3 lakh words.

Conclusion 

Many books by famous authors like JK Rowling, Amish Tripathi, and Stephen King go through multiple rounds of editing. You can even find the names of their editors on their books. Editing makes your book reach a better level. You cannot expect your book to survive for long if it has mistakes. 

Editing is something you cannot and should not skip, if you skip it you'll regret it.

Contact us for professional editing services.