Copyediting: Laying the Foundation

It always amazes me that so much time, effort, and money is spent on marketing a book, and many times little thought or discussion is given to the editorial quality of the titles in question. Let’s think about it—if a book is not edited by a professional, the end result can be devastating to even the most well thought out marketing plan. Here are some common misconceptions regarding quality editorial services:

1. All an editor checks are spelling and punctuation. In addition to checking spelling and punctuation, a professional copyeditor looks at overall organization, style, word choice, phrasing, permission/copyright issues, and addresses possible formatting concerns that may result in delays and problems with page composition.
2. Family and friends make good copyeditors. Family and friends are a great support network, but a professional copyeditor is more concerned with the readership of your title than with the author’s feelings. Family and friends have a habit of holding back the truth in order to spare the author’s feelings.
3. To gauge ability, look at price: the higher the price, the better they must be. In publishing, you should never assume that price is an indicator of quality. Look at their client list, find out how long they have been in the business, find out where they are located (cost of living is much higher in some areas of the country), ask a reputable source: in the end there are many ways to find out who out there is a high-quality, professional editor.
4. I can get an estimate sight-unseen. We’ve all seen it: some of the POD publishers are guilty of it…one single, blanket price for a “copyedit”. How they call it a “copyedit” I will never know. With the range of writing ability out there, there is no way that one single price can cover all levels of copyediting. If you look at the editorial services offered by Books Just Books.com, you will notice that the entire process starts with a diagnostic review of the raw manuscript. Once this is completed, the review is sent to the author/client along with a sample edit, illustrating what the editor proposes to do with the manuscript. While BJB agrees to refund the fee for the evaluation, many editors do not. Regardless of whether you are reimbursed, this step should be looked at as an investment to ensure that the proper level of editorial expertise is applied to the title in question.

Laying the foundation for a quality marketing plan involves offering the best book possible for the reader. For those of you with questions regarding editorial services, feel free to email me at MJ@selfpublishing.com.

Last 5 posts by Margaret Jennings

• Why a Copy Editor Instead of a 10th-Grade English Teacher? - September 20th, 2007
• Choosing the “Perfect” Service Provider - March 4th, 2006
• The Power of a Comprehensive Editorial Evaluation - January 3rd, 2006
• What’s Behind a Proofread? - December 6th, 2005
• Copyedit or Copy Edit? - October 11th, 2005