I can’t believe I did it again! Someone I follow on twitter recently released a book, and it is selling like ice water in Hell (or like I imagine ice water would sell in Hell if there were ice water and people could buy it). This woman wrote the book in about three months (how, I have no idea) an then had it edited. Since she wrote a Christian non-fiction book, as I am striving to write, I wanted to know who she got to edit her book. Once she gave me a name, I reached out to this editor. I wasn’t expecting a fast response, but I received one in a day or two. The editor wants to see three pages of my work and get the page count to determine price. She will start editing for 2013 on the 22nd. So by my boyfriend’s birthday, I need to have this book finished. That’s 19 days from today.
I always do better with deadlines, so this is good, right? Except I’m not done writing. Or revising. I think that I can be done by the 22nd. I already know what I want to say, for the most part. The most arduous things will be picking the quotes from interviews and revising the manuscript once I have it all written down. I’ve never worked with an editor, so it should be interesting. I know everyone needs an editor, but my arrogance is cropping up again in this area. I feel like she won’t have a lot to do and I will be paying her for nothing. Ha! As many errors as I find in pieces I am “done” with, I should know to be humble and check everything again once I think it’s perfect. I don’t know if this is the right editor for me, but I am excited to get started on the next phase, to delve into what happens after the writing and revising. I am excited for someone else to evaluate my work, even if only clinically and not for enjoyment. The next step will be beta readers, someone to write a forward, and that most dreaded aspect of writing, building a writer platform/getting published.
Does anyone have any tips for working with an editor or any stories on working with one? I’d love to hear from someone who has been there and done that.
Related articles
- Professional Editing? (the-view-outside.com)
- The internal editor will not be silenced (justaddstory.wordpress.com)
- Wildly Improbable Goals 2013 (nhwn.wordpress.com)
- Why You Need an Editor (cultofajracewood.wordpress.com)
- Five Dos and Don’ts for Picking an Editor (omnivoracious.com)
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