Despite being the single highest cost of self-publishing so far, the copyedit will be the one expense I will never regret.
That would have been the list if this article was entitled “A single most important thing I’ve learned”. But it’s not, so there are ten more below. Which I guess makes it eleven…never mind! Anyway, after getting eight quotes and four samples from Australian and American editors, I chose Lu Sexton of A Story to Tell to copyedit Shizzle, Inc and I’m blown away with the results. To be honest, I had a lot of reservations about paying for editing. After all I’ve already had a structural edit; I’ve revised the draft no less than a hundred times myself; I speaka English real good. Handing over cash for a promise of making your draft better is scary, even if that promise comes with a professional reputation and an exceptional sample edit.
In the end it was probably that sample that did it. Lu didn’t just pick up grammatical errors and turns of phrase, she made a few clever suggestions for heightening the drama and comedy without losing my protagonist’s voice. I had the balls to ask if the rest of the manuscript would get a similar treatment and got a polite answer that yes, it would. And it did. I got back not just an improved manuscript, but a lesson in writing, customised just for me. Here’s the list of lessons I promised, in no particular order:
1. Confusing turns of phrase, such as “my destiny was to be discovered”. Isa thinks she is meant to be discovered, but Lu thought it reads as if Isa is about to find out what her destiny is meant to be. I couldn’t agree more.
2. People jump off bridges, not from them. Snakes are venomous, not poisonous.
3. How often my characters “waived” their hands and got their feelings “crushed”.
4. Continuity and circumstances not matching what characters are doing. It’s lunchtime, but Isa is not hungry. Dress is matte in one sentence and shimmery in the next.
5. Explaining things too much. Once the character is in a lobby, you can call it “it” and not have to remind the reader that we are still talking about the lobby. They will get it.
6. Character’s voices not matching their choice of words. The posh evil antagonist slipping into slang, or dim Isa using formal speech.
7. Impossible combinations of actions, such as “I managed to close my mouth and said”.
8. Rhythm. Amazing how cutting a few words or moving sentences around improved the flow. For example, when describing a person, its awkward to move from face to shoes and back to face. Unless of course it suits your character, which in my case it didn’t.
9. Using more contemporary references. It’s hard to pretend to be a girl half your age. Twenty-year olds would compare massive speakers to those that can be found at a Skrillex concert, not Rolling Stones.
10. I have writing tics. Several of them. Everything was “something-looking”. Metaphors are great, but there are more interesting ways to describe them.
Most of the suggestions were not just track changes, they were accompanied by comments explaining the reason for change. Not only that, I got a separate style sheet, to help my proof reader. I didn’t know those existed!
I could go on, but this is starting to get embarrassing. Plus, as we know, numbered lists attract more attention, and what is better than a nice fat top ten? So keep on writing, and start a savings account for the copyedit. You won’t regret it.
Ana Spoke, author 
Reblogged this on Lu Sexton Wordsmith and commented:
I really enjoyed editing this manuscript, and am doubly rewarded with this glowing feedback. Thanks Zhanna for trusting me with your words.
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I like that title wordsmith because that’s exactly what an author needs. I was an editor for a small press and I knew better, but I edited my first novel over and over and over. The more I edited and proofed it the more I found wrong. I put it away for a month, and when I came back I edited the story again. It was brutal. That’s the best word to describe it.
I asked a stranger a month later to proof this novel and he found a typo and misuse of a word in the first paragraph.I promise you, I will never put myself through that again, to the copyeditor you go.
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Brutal is the right word, fellow wordsmith 🙂 I think I will still edit endlessly myself – I’m the kind of person who cleans the house before the cleaning lady comes over…
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Reblogged this on Desolie: thoughts about editing, writing and words and commented:
One writer’s experience with her copy editor highlights why your editor is your collaborator to make your writing clear, engaging and sharp.
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Definitely one to be shared, Zhanna.
Convincing writers to use an editor is an on-going challenge for those of us in the profession. I’ve reblogged your post so I can direct potential clients to your wise words.
Thank you, and all the best with your writing career.
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Thank you Desolie (and what a beautiful name, btw). It’s been a learning experience for me an now editors (I’ve used 3 different ones for structural, copy and proof) are my new best friends 🙂
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I couldn’t agree more. My copy editor not only finds all my niggly little errors, she makes the whole thing sing. The benefits of a good copy editor (or sub editor is you’ve from the UK/Australia) far outweigh the cost.
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Hi Sarah, thank you for visiting. Editors (I’m using 3 in succession on this novel) are my new best friends 🙂
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Number 7: I shut my mouth in awe, then reopened it to laugh.
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Thank you. I ended up with “I managed to pull myself together and speak”.
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I had to chuckle at all of the above. I’m sure I’ve made the same mistakes, some I catch, others left out there for others to chuckle over, or shake their head in dismay.
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I wish I could say I chuckled at mine… it was more of a gasping in horror 🙂 amazing that I’ve actually learned something in the process, still going through it before sending off to the proof-reader, and keep finding things I can make better. Not glaring errors, just opportunities to polish. Very glad I have a self-imposed deadline, otherwise I would just keep poking at it for another year.
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‘… just opportunities to polish’ sums it up exactly, Ana.
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Fresh eyes are always a good thing!
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Fresh professional eyes are even better 🙂
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I’ve never hired a copyeditor. I’m still not entirely sure what they do, but this post gives me more of an idea. So they go through and read line by line and make edits?
This process sounds like it was extremely helpful. What do you mean by a style sheet?
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PS: Thank you for visiting my blog and liking my last story. 🙂
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Hi Kristina, I’m glad it helps. Since I’m self-publishing, I’m going through what a professional publishing house would do, three rounds of professional editing. First a structural edit, to check if the story plot makes sense, there’s sufficient character development, etc. then the copy edit, which is as you guessed, going through in more detail, looking at flow, rhythm, choices of words and grammar. Then I will send it off for a final proofread, which will get into fine details of grammar and punctuation. All three editors are different people, so three sets of “fresh eyes”. Definitely a learning experience, and I get a better MS out of it.
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Oh, and the style sheet is like a summary of everything you need to keep consistent throughout, from character name spellings, to punctuation decisions. My novel is set in the US, but being reviewed by Australian editors, so the style sheet lists all the American references and punctuation styles that are to remain. It will help the proofreader not to “fix by mistake”.
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Wow! That’s a long process. I didn’t realize so much went on behind the scenes!
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Oh, that’s not all 🙂 then there’s layout, formatting, cover design, marketing…
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I think self publishing is where I’d go too. Clearly, I still need to research more, but it’s the current plan. Good luck on your sales and with the rest of the process. 🙂
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A style sheet saves you time and effort. You don’t have to keep flicking back to see how you spelt something (for example), and you don’t have to rely on your memory.
A style sheet is essential in non-fiction writing as well.
Acronyms and other shortened forms can be a real pain for the editor when a style sheet has not been included.
Whenever I begin an edit, I ask the author for their style sheet (which often needs to include what style manual [Chicago, Oxford, etc] and dictionary is to be used). If there’s not one, I set up a style sheet and add to it as I go through the document.
So save your editor time (and yourself money) by making your style sheet a basic tool in your writing kit.
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Thank you Desolie for a proper answer. Y’all ignore my layman’s explanation…
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In my story, I wrote that one of my characters ‘didn’t see any warning bells.’ My editor calmly pointed out that one does not ‘see’ bells, one hears them. It’s true that a good editor not only makes a better book, but makes a better writer. Thank you for putting it into words for us 🙂
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I’m so glad I could help! It’s a steep learning curve, I can’t imagine how writers could manage years ago, when there were no blogs or even Google to help…thank you for visiting and please stay tuned. There’s a steep marketing curve ahead 🙂
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I learned something new! I never heard of a style sheet, but it sounds like it would be very helpful, and reduce the number of times you would have to correct the incorrect corrections. LOL I spent some time as an assistant editor at a professional magazine, and it is amazing how the writer can overlook obvious mistakes, because the writer knows what they meant to say, but doesn’t always see what they actually wrote. Thanks for sharing your experience. It will be helpful to us writers who listen to your advice.
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You’ve made my day 🙂
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Reblogged this on The Midnight Writer and commented:
Never skip the copy-editing! It’s invaluable and will help you grow as a writer. themidnightwriter.co.uk
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Thank you so much for sharing!
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Hi, I’m glad you enjoyed my joke. Thank you for writing about editing. Good writing still needs another set of professional eyes to see what the writer cannot. You make some really good points about context and who the speaker is and whether the speech style suits the speaker. I recently read a book where a tough New York detective said “Oh, I hope I didn’t give you a fright”. The writer is from the UK where this would be a common statement, however, not suited to this character.
I wonder if some magazine publishers are cutting back on editing. I cancelled my subscription to Smithsonian magazine after becoming too frustrated with the writing. A tiger was described as “often frequenting a valley”. Perhaps the word ‘frequenting’ doesn’t have enough
weight on its own.
I am looking forward to seeing your finished product and wish you huge success. Thanks again for pointing out the value of editors, the unsung heros of the written word.
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Ana, you’ve been learning what in the traditional, i.e. pre-Internet, publishing world was all just the normal process of preparing a book for publication. But with all the pressure on the publishing industry from e-books and the web, the industry has slashed the staff it was once expected to have as a regular course of doing business. It started with the newspapers, which I’ve worked in for 25 years now. Copy editors at newspapers were the first to go in the job cuts some two decades ago. You can track the decline in the quality of the language since then. And so many glaring mistakes in every issue.
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Hi Sean, and thank you for stopping by. It’s unfortunate and I agree that it probably contributed to the degrading language quality, although I blame Jersey Shore as the main culprit. Also, I apologise in advance for publishing a book titled “Shizzle, Inc”…
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You’ve convinced me; copyediting can help my writing become even more engaging and rhythmic. I appreciate #9 the most, since I am a younger writer and am always humbled by an author who takes the time to create an authentic teen voice. Thank you for sharing!
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Glad I could help! I think that if you decide to self-publish, it doesn’t mean that you get to skip any steps a publishing house would do to produce a quality book. Thank you so much for the feedback!
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good post. thanks for stopping in.
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I also do freelance copy-editing and it sounds as if you found a good one for yourself. I work in a very similar way and could see the value in your copy-edit. You got your money’s worth with your copy-editor. Thanks for sharing that. So many people don’t want to spend the money, but the difference to your writing is amazing and well worth the price.
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Very insightful. thanks!
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Reblogged this on the story writes itself… and commented:
Interesting to see who looked in on my latest post, so checked on Ana’s blog (now kindly following mine) and found this useful piece. Have to agree with your views on getting that professional outsider input Ana. J
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Thank you very much for the reblog! I hope it helps others to make the leap and get a professional to help. I would definitely suggest getting samples, some of the professional editors provided terrible samples, where they killed the “voice”. One made my comedy sound like a textbook.
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This is great info, Ana. I’m curious, and hope you don’t mind me asking, but do you pay for each sample (to find out which editor you want)?
Thanks so much for signing up to follow my blog btw, Ana.
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No, not at all – the editor takes a bit of risk in spending time in providing a quote with a sample, but that’s normal. One got really upset when I gently turned them down and made a harsh comment about wasting their time, but they incidentally provided the worst sample of all. Still better than committing to pay a considerable sum for an edit, only to find that you are not happy.
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Reblogged this on Barrow Blogs: .
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Thank you so much for sharing!
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Reblogged this on Kim's Author Support Page.
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Thank you so much for sharing!
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Good to know. I haven’t written my book yet. But when I do, now I know to pay for a copyedit. Also, I didn’t know the style sheet existed. Thanks for the knowledge.
And thanks for the follow.
Melinda
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Thank you, Melinda, and best of luck with your book. Seems that blogs are a great resource for writers…
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Reblogged this on Archer's Aim and commented:
Very interesting insights – reblogging on Archer’s Aim.
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Thank you so much for sharing!
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My pleasure, good points.
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Thank you for sharing your thoughts, I found it very encouraging to read such an open and honest assessment of your experience.
I had the incredible opportunity of obtaining tuition on editing from a professional author and college professor with an international bestseller. It took 12 months of long hours every day to both edit my book and learn why it needed the changes, but having no formal qualifications myself, I found it was well worth it.
I found it exactly as you describe, with many of the same points. There are others, too.
Congratulations on making the right choice and getting your book edited, I wish you all the very best for the publishing date and beyond.
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Thank you so much! Yes, just when you think you’re finished, it turns out there’s a lot more work to do… have you blogged about what you’ve learned from your experience? If so, I’d love to re-blog it.
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This was an informative blog tnat I can relate to completely. One note though. Don’t assume because you pay a lot you will get a good edit. I know a writer who paid 750 and had to make the copyeditor go back and fix quite a few errors. Another paid 1400 and got a superb edit. Some pay much less and it’s a toss up. Go by the reputation of the editors. ‘An above ground pond’–should have been ‘pool’– got past 5 copyeditors with my first book, including me.
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Completely agree, but would add that a sample is a must have. The prices I got were very similar, but some of the samples were borderline ridiculous, one crossing out my beginning paragraph and writing their own, another making my comedy sound like a textbook!
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Pingback: Ten things I’ve learned from my copyeditor | seasonofdream
My husband is my copy editor not that he is professional but just another set of eyes because sometimes my French gets in the way! loved this post
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Merci beaucoup! I’m Russian-born, so completely understand…still, would highly recommend it, even though I’m about to write a not-so-positive review of my proofreader 😦
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Dear Ana Spoke, The other day I happened to pick up at 19th Century “aid” to improving one’s writing. I picked it up because, apparently, it was a book from which Emily Dickinson had learned a few things. I was struck that we don’t seem to produce books like this any more. Of course we are now more afraid of “prescriptive” teaching — telling writers how they should write. This is seen as restrictive and stultifying; blocking a writer’s creativity. I “get this,” as the current expression goes. And yet, . . . People still need to learn how to write. Writing, even just of comments, replies, e-mails, chats, etc., remains a large part of our lives. Best, Wm. Eaton, Montaigbakhtinian
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Thank you William. I know I get irritated with punctuation… could never read Matthew Riley, because he! uses! Exclamation marks! To describe settings!
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Excellent post! I learned so many things from my copyeditor as well. I never thought those extra set of eyes were a must for every writer. She spotted mistakes that I had overlooked after revising a thousand times and she suggested such simple changes instead of my long, awkward sentences. It was truly a blessing. Now, I don’t write anything without paying for the copyediting services, even my query letter and synopsis have been given that proper treatment.
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Thank you Carla! Good suggestion, when I try the agents again with the second novel, I will get the letter and synopsis polished too…in hindsight, I wonder if I would have been more successful if I’d invested into edits before sending Shizzle, Inc out.
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Your ten things you learned really points out the necessity of a professional editor. I’m not there yet, but your post shows the importance of this step. I also want to thank you for following my blog.
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Thank you 🙂 I would say you can’t skip any step normally undertaken by a publishing house, otherwise you will a) never learn and b) never reach or turn off potential readers.
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Great advice.
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I’m waiting on the comments from my editor Joshua Essoe. I hope for similar humbling to what you describe!
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Congratulations on completing your book, Anthony! It’s a learning experience, all of it.
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So true, so candid and at the same time so endearing! Learning a lot from your posts 🙂
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Thank you so much! I’m so glad I can help, and hopefully soon there will be a post on the actual published book 🙂
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it takes some courage and professionalism to reveal your own weaknesses and then laugh about them as well as asking for and appreciating help. Good luck with your book, I hope it sells well and will get you a publisher as a result!!
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Thank you so much! I’m loving the self-publishing at the moment, so empowering and what a learning curve!
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As a writer and editor, I love this post for its honesty and objectivity. Using an editor doesn’t make a writer any less of a word-crafter. It makes the writer better for wanting to make sure the reader really understands.
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Thank you Mandy! I think the experience has made me a better word-crafter, it was like a one-on-one lesson in English, from tempo to punctuation.
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I like this list! makes on think and reflect
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First, thanks for the FOLLOW!
Second, I like this post very much because as both a writer, who still has to learn a lot, and a (sometimes) copyeditor, I can relate to this. Sometimes, I even re-read my old stuff and cringe whenever I find errors I never noticed before — grammatical, typo, spelling…
Love the post 🙂
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Thank you, JGi 🙂 You’ll be happy to know that all that drama got resolved relatively amicably…the editor got paid, and I got my book published.
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Congratulations, by the way! 😀
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Thank you 🙂
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Reblogged this on Odd Sock Proofreading & Copyediting and commented:
A new author’s lessons learned from getting a professional edit. Your lessons may be different, but professional editing and proofreading will almost always improve a book.
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Thank you so much for sharing, Steve!
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Really fascinating article – as an editor myself it’s gratifying to see someone who really appreciates what we do 🙂 Best of luck with your book!
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Thank you so much, Clare! I’ve used three separate editors, and can’t be happier 🙂
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Reblogged this on peachysinsights.
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I just found this post today and thought it worthy of reblogging. I beta read for new authors on a volunteer basis and though I am not an editor I can tell the difference between one that has already been edited by someone and one that has not. For those that have not I think I end up sending them a copy edit version. Thank you for relating your experience. My author in residence stated in an interview, when asked what she thinks the most valuable advice for new authors would be, “save a penny for every word you write so when you are done you can afford to pay an editor, it will be the best money you’ve ever invested.”
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Very good advice (about saving pennies)! Thank you very much for sharing 🙂
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Love it. I wrote it doen…literally.
Thanks
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I went through a structural edit and copy edit for Timber Howligan, and I agree, it was the best money ever spent!! I love this post. After reading it, I went to Amazon and read the first page of Shizzle, Inc. and was hooked–I just bought the book! I can’t wait to read it!!
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Amazing, thank you! Can’t wait to hear what you think of the whole thing!
I’m hoping to save some money next time by using Grammarly first, but will use editors forever.
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I love to read and I often see #4 in published books! I always want to correct the author. Oh, well. Congratulations on your book! Thanks for liking my post, “If We Were Having Coffee Right Now…”
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Thank you very much! Continuity is hard to do by yourself, because you’re so “in it” and don’t see the missing details. Authors have to have editors, whether paid or not.
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Pingback: Grammarly is not that grammar-worthy | AnaSpoke.com
Pingback: Ten things I’ve learned from my copyeditor | El Tololoche
Thank you for sharing!
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