It can be tricky to decide when it’s time to hire a professional editor to work on your manuscript, especially if you’re a debut author, or you’ve never worked with an editor before. Here’s a few tips on how to tell when you need an editor.
When it feels like you’ve self-edited and proofread your work a million times, and you can’t possibly find any more errors yourself, it’s time to hire an editor. So often we overlook even the smallest of mistakes that a fresh set of eyes can pick up on in an instant.
When you’ve had a friend or family member (or multiple) read your first few drafts and provide feedback, it’s time to hire an editor. It’s always a good idea to have someone you trust read your manuscript before it’s submitted to a professional editor, as they can help catch big picture issues that affect the flow of the story from a reader’s point of view.
Once you’ve had industry-experienced alpha and beta readers read your manuscript, submitting it to a professional editor is the next step. If you’ve had a friend or family member read your manuscript and provide their own feedback, you don’t always have to hire alpha and beta readers, as an editor will often point out all remaining errors. The bottom line is, before you submit to an editor, it’s important to have someone else read your work.
If you’re publishing traditionally (i.e. submitting your manuscript to literary agents or directly to publishers who accept submissions), you may wish to hire a professional editor first. This not only allows you to submit your absolute best work to agents and publishers, but also increases your chances of being accepted.
If you’re self-publishing, it is very important to hire a professional editor. Unlike traditional publishing, self-published authors have no one else to take care of the manuscript refinement process in the lead up to publication, so hiring an editor is essential in making sure you’re ticking every editorial box.
Crossbones Editing 