Top 10 Signs You Need to Hire a Professional Editor

by, Alycia Morales

Whether you're aiming for a book contract with a publishing house or you're planning to self-publish, here are the top 10 signs that you need to hire a professional editor:

10. You've never let anyone else read your novel until now. Chances are you've made mistake.

9. Your best critics have read you're manuscript. They include your mom, sister, best friend and high school English teacher.

8. Even an editors eyes are blind to errors after the tenth time through a manuscript.

7.  Your favorite way to finish a sentence, or a thought is ...

6. A good portion of your manuscript is underlined with red squiggly lines. Spell check isn't always relatable.

5. The happy, beautiful, fabulous, main character started walking down the lush, green, flowery path toward the white, glistening castle in the middle of the field.

4. Your novel reads like a Dick and Jane picture book.

3. Your character is depressed or reflecting on the same thing on page 1, page 3, page 10, page 25, page 86, page 101, page 240, and still on page 450.

2. God told you to write it, it's going to sell millions of copies.

1. None of us have enough minions to do everything that needs to be done and hiring an editor will give you a much better chance at successful publication than thinking you've done good enough on your own because, after all, no one is perfect. Well, there was One...

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PS - Today's post was meant to illustrate a point. How many errors did you find?

Comments

  1. This is brilliant. My editor's skin just about broke out in HIVES as I read through it. What a relief to realize (I hope) the humor that's behind it. I mean, the humor thats be hind it. Well done!

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    Replies
    1. Thank you, Lori! I had a lot of fun putting it together. And yes, that is humor behind it. ;) I hope everyone finds it two be as funny as you did.

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  2. Ack! Those mistakes here are like nails on a chalkboard! I had to force myself to finish it. :)

    Oh, & sign # 11 that you need an editor: You wrote something. Period. Everyone who writes needs to hire an editor.

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  3. Excellent advice. Too bad so many authors do not understand the value of a qualified editor. Thank you.

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  4. I enjoyed the humor in the post. It made me think of the novice writers (and a few of the experienced ones) that I've worked with.

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