One of the nicest things about guest posts, in my opinion, is that they let me bring in a variety ways of looking at things. Sometimes it's just a new way to say something I agree with, but sometimes the guest writer will have a different opinion than I do on a given topic. In the case of Steven Ramirez, I agree wholeheartedly that quality is essential in a self-published book, but I disagree with his recommendation for how to achieve that quality.
I don't think it makes sense to pay money for editing, cover design or any other publishing component. If you can afford it, that's fine, but most of us can't. If we say that the way to produce quality books is to spend money, then we're cutting the regular people out of the indie scene and leaving serious indie publishing only to the lucky few with money. And that, of course, would go against the whole point of being indie in the first place. It's supposed to be about quality, not money.
So what should we do? Beat our chests and announce that we don't need no stinkin' editors? Proofread our own work and hope for the best? No, really, there is a better way. It's called barter. Yes, we should proofread own work: that's just a mark of a professional and courteous writer. But a book always needs editing by a fresh pair of eyes. Even if you're an expert in spelling and grammar, you can never catch all your own mistakes. Our brains tend to see what they expect, so if you already 'know' what you wrote, you won't necessarily be able to see what it really says on the page.
Fortunately, there are lots of other authors out there who are very serious about their work and are also experts in various aspects of self-publishing. For example, there are professional-quality editors who need a service you can provide and are willing to barter. I might even be one of them.
I enjoy these posts, and I couldn't agree more with the concept. It's the application I have trouble with. For example, many of us writers write part time, as time permits. Our actual expertise, if we have any, is in another field, usually. With that in mind, how would one barter services, when one has the feeling of having nothing to offer others? Whatever I can do, most of you all can do, also.
ReplyDeleteThat said, I appreciate your thoughts and ideas. I really think you're onto something here.
Thanks for the comment, Walter. Sorry it has taken me so long to reply. It's true that most of our skills are not unique, but there are still two reasons I can't do what you can do: 1. I can't effectively beta read or edit my own work. I need a fresh pair of eyes. 2. It's impractical for one person to read up on every aspect of indie publishing and become good at it. If we work together, we have the chance to specialize.
DeleteThis, from the New Hampshire history expert who helped me get the details right for Chief Passaconaway.
DeleteAnd I just found a typo in this post, even though this must be about the fifth time I've read it over after writing it. Definitely need a second pair of eyes.
ReplyDeleteIt must be a very minor typo. I just re-read the post and I didn't see it.
ReplyDeleteAnd I wouldn't say expert. Far from it. I would say avid student, perhaps. :)
One of the problems is the narrow defintion of "editing" to mean proofreading, when in publishing-speak it actually refers to content editing and line editing. Can an average person with an English degree and sharp eye for typos become a proficient proofreader? Maybe so. But can they come close to a professional editor in term of story structure, character development, deep POV, voice? No, that's really a professional editor. Not saying someone couldn't move up that way, but it takes all the experience and knowledge of any fully professional endeavor. And the people who can do it well are not only making a full time living this way, they are booked for months (sometimes years) out. So can you get them to work on your manuscript on a barter system? No. You can't. So implying that indies can achieve anywhere near a quality level that publishers do (even smaller publishers) through barter is misleading.
ReplyDeleteNow I'm not a stickler for editing as much as some. I put my first two books out on more of a whim, and though they'd been read by upwards of 10 critique partners/beta readers, I didn't have them professionally edited. But as soon as they sold even a few copies and I decided to continue on as a self pub author (a publisher, really) I put 100% of their sales into editing. But even then it was copy editing, or basically, proofreading to fix any errors. Now I've finally been able to move into content editing, line editing, and proofreading. Thank goodness! Because I know these are quality "minimums" for a publisher, which is what a self publisher really is. By minimums, I'm saying that it will, of course, happen that we'll publish without them. Our first books, we're just seeing how things go. But if we want to be taken seriously as a self published author, these are things we must do. They're not optional, and the only way to get professional services is to pay for them.
Thank you for taking the time for such a thoughtful reply, Skye. You make some great points. More here: http://jaeblakney.blogspot.com/2013/05/i-love-it-when-i-hear-from-readers.html
Delete