Let’s get this out of the way right at the start. I’m an editor. I’m going to be biased, but I’ve seen this scenario so many times over the years.
As an author, you spend months, sometimes years, perfecting your novel, carefully considering each word, crafting every sentence, and polishing every paragraph.
When you’re finished you read through it only to find tons of typos and a multitude of grammatical blunders.
You edit as you go. You get rid of all those errors, and you rewrite and you rewrite. You sit at your computer and, to paraphrase Hemingway, you bleed. And you perfect.
You send your manuscript to some friends and beta readers, and they come back with a few issues and a few more spelling mistakes. And you edit and rewrite some more till you get your manuscript into the best shape you can possibly make it.
At this point, all the best advice says you should you send your manuscript to an editor. Let’s assume here that you do. And not just any editor. You’re diligent. You’ve searched the web, asked for recommendations, and found a well-qualified professional. Maybe you send a sample first. That’s always a good idea.
When the revision comes back, you read the body of the editor’s email first. It’s usually full of positive feedback and general encouragement. “Not too bad,” you think, “it could certainly have been worse.”
And then you open the document, and all you see is red—literally and figuratively. [Read more…]
