Why an Editor with No Publisher?

Someone asked me why I have an editor if I don’t yet have a publisher?

Good question.

I once read somewhere that it is a good idea, as a writer, to hire an editor before you turn in your first draft to anyone. When I read that, it really resounded with me and I took it to heart.

I have not written a book before and I do not have the time to go to writing school. It just made sense to me to take the initiative myself and do what I could to make it better. Sure, it’s costing me a chunk of change, but I feel it’s a necessary expense to make up for my deficiencies as a writer. So whether or not I end up self-publishing, it would not be a waste.

I started my search for an editor about six months ago. I was very fortunate to find one that I connected with,  connected with my idea, and had tons of experience. He is the one that edited the intro and first chapter several months ago that you will be reading soon. That was my trial run with him and I really liked his work.

He took my ideas and made them better. He did not rewrite them into what he thought they should be. He trimmed and slimmed the content, moved a few things around, and did overall clarifications of what I had written. It’s similar to what a producer does to a song. It’s the last 10-15% of outside input that makes it 10-15 times better overall. The difference was night and day even though essentially no content was changed.

So in whatever endeavor you set out on, I highly recommend an outside voice to bring a fresh perspective and make your goal in to what you really want it to be. Just make sure the person has experience and credibility in that particular area. Having your mom take a look at what your doing might not be all that productive.