When you self-publish, you must edit your own books. (unless you choose to hire and pay someone to do it for you)
As I have donned my 'editing hat,' it has taken me much longer than I anticipated to edit my books. I recently received my second proof copy of Lancaster House. So far, I’ve found about ten mistakes. That’s not too bad considering it’s a 90,000 word novel. I’ve debated about fixing the mistakes. They are small mistakes, and a few of them are subjective—comma use, paragraph formatting, etc. It’s not as easy as simply making the changes on my computer screen anymore. Now I have to re-submit my manuscript, re-check the formatting, have my manuscript approved for printing, and re-order another proof copy. Yikes!
But in the end I’ve decided to fix each of them. I want to put the best book out that I possibly can. Will there be mistakes? Sure. I’m not an editor. An editor would catch the mistakes that I simply don’t see. Still, I’m working hard to make it as flawless as I can—with my knowledge, and my understanding.
That’s all I can do. It makes my publishing date push even farther in the future, and I hate that. In the end, I know I’ll be glad I took the extra time to make my book as perfect as I humanly know how to do. It doesn't happen by magic. It's hard and tedious work. And it's certainly not the FUN part of writing. Good thing I love my stories. I love to read them over and over. That makes it all worthwhile.
Happy editing!
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It will all work out! You want to put out your best work, and I don't think you'll regret that!
ReplyDeleteYou are so very right. In the long run, I won't regret the extra effort. Thanks for the encouragement.
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