When we open ourselves to creative collaboration with beta-readers and editors, we not only greatly improve the book we're currently working on, but we learn a lot and hone creative skills that we can take into the next. It’s common among beginner authors to want to get this stage over as quickly as possible to get the book out. So choose an editor like you would choose a spouse! And give yourself sufficient time for the editing process, first self-editing, then working with an editor. It benefits you both if it can be a long-term relationship, a creative marriage. ![]() Whatever you do, don’t be one of those indies who skip over the editing. ALLi recommends that you hire the best editorial assistance you can afford and that you take great care and a sufficient amount of time to find the right editors and develop a good relationship, work flow and process with them. You will recoup this, and move into profit, if your book is good and you market it well. If you absolutely can’t afford professional editing, you will need to invest much time and call on your writer friends for help. This does represent an investment upfront, that you may find challenging. The ideal is three rounds: developmental, copyedit, proofread.Įach of these processes is different and even if someone is trained to do both, it’s best to have a fresh pair of eyes during each of these stages. At ALLi we recommend that every book receives at least two rounds of professional editing: a developmental/copyedit followed by a copyedit/proofread, and ideally these shouldn’t be done by the same person. ALLi RecommendationsĮnsuring that your book is well edited is vitally important to its success. Some readers may be forgiving, especially if you’re a talented storyteller or you’re imparting great information or inspiration, but this approach to publishing is bad manners to your readers, marks you out as an amateur and leads to poor reviews that reduce your ratings. Books are not software, best refined by users. There is a movement in certain corners of the indie world that emulates software creators by putting out what’s known as minimally viable product-effectively a raw manuscript that has had little or no editing. Experienced authors welcome this process that so improves on their own efforts, knowing there is lots about their book that they don’t see when they’ve just finished, as they are far too close to the words and the sentiments. In third-party publishing, every manuscript is brought through a number of rounds of editing. This makes it expensive, in terms of time and money, and so beginning self-publishers are inclined to minimize its importance, and give it a skip. You can use editing software like ProWritingAid or Grammarly to help, but it still takes human input-often that of several humans, each reading and correcting the full manuscript. A good book is a large undertaking that requires close attention if we want to put the reader at ease, and ensure our words deliver the impact and influence we seek. The more ambitious your project, and the earlier you are in your development as a writer and publisher, the more editorial work your manuscript will need. What is the Editorial Process?Įditorial is the process of turning raw typescript into publishable text. If you're looking for an editor, you can use ALLi's approved partner member directory by logging into the member website and navigating to APPROVED SERVICES. Log in and navigate to PUBLICATIONS > GUIDEBOOKS. Members enjoy free access to the ebook by downloading it from our member website. ![]() This book is available for purchase in multiple formats in our bookstore. If you're more interested in fiction editing specifically and story edits, read this post: Editing Fiction.Ĭreative Self-Publishing is a comprehensive guide to every step in the publishing process, written by the director of the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi), and drawing on the experience of thousands of ALLi members. The book's focus is how to apply your creativity to publishing, as much as to writing. If you want to learn more about how to self-edit, then read our Guide to Self-Editing. The Alliance of Independent Authors also has a number of posts on its blog on editing. The first process of publishing is editing.Īn overview of the seven processes can be found in this post. The rest of the processes can be found here: ![]() ![]() The Alliance of Independent Authors is going to examine these processes in detail. In order to bring a book to readers and publish it, you have to follow a series of seven processes.
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