Do you even need an editor? What types of editing are there? How do I know if someone is right to work with? Here are the answers and here are all the reasons why you need it more if it is a multicultural book…

“I can edit my own book!”

So many people I know do not even know the kinds of editing they need as they step into the world of publishing. They have a book idea and they just run with it.

With no idea about milestones their book needs to go through in order to hit the finish line (which in this case is the illustrating phase only).

Yup! Your book should be finalized with a capital F before you reach the illustration stage. Sure, you may find some proof reading issues but those are minuscule compared to any glaring pot holes that you may miss.

So first, why do you need an editor?

Strategy for Your Story Arc

Not every story can be written in the same way. The beauty of self publishings is often that you are telling a story that has never been told before, in a way that is not the traditional way to tell story. It still needs to abide by the guidelines of good storytelling. A good editor (someone like me who is experienced in multicultural stories) will be able to help you present your lived story in a engaging way that does not completely put off reviewers, bloggers etc who are used to seeing books in a certain format.

A Fresh Perspective

Yes! Your book idea is wonderful (maybe) but don’t you want it to be the best version of it possible? That’s what an editor does. Hiring an editor does NOT mean that you are a bad writer. It just means that you are smart enough to know that you do not know everything and someone else may have an input that could make your manuscript shine.

Oops! How Did I miss that?

Yup! Hiring one, maybe two editors helps you avoid this simple moment in your book publishing journey. So many times when writing, we have our blinders on and an editor will see simple things that you assumed a reader would understand.

Avoid Shifting Language or Point of Views

I cannot tell you the amount of times, I have edited a book that has gone from present to past to present continuous tense. Also, often the authors in their zest of writing books will just flow through the content not realizing the first person changed to third. It happens to everyone but it is an essential reason why you need an editor to shape your language and make it uniform through out.

Writing to Market

You wrote the book from your passion. Your editor knows the market. They know what works. What does not. They know which word is right for what age of child and what stories need to be shaped in what way to make them palatable to the targeted audience.

Grammar and Flow of Sentences

Not every sentence, word or way of writing fits your story. Often, you fall so much in love with a sentence that you cannot see that it has no place in the story as it doesn’t carry the story forward. Your editor ensures all this is done in the right way. And yes, editor checks for grammar but not a 100%, that’s where proof reading comes in.

Now let’s get down to types of editing because this is something you need to keep in mind –

Editorial Assessment/Critique — to give you feedback on your story

Developmental Editing — to finesse your story flow and fix plot holes
Line Editing– to make sure your story is strong structurally
Proofreading — This is to ensure the grammar and spellings are perfecto!

You will possibly find people who do comprehensive editing of your book and you will hopefully find one person who you LOVE working with. In the case of diverse books, I always say it is paramount to remember that editing takes on a new dimension as many current editors are not aware of the diverse representation flooding the market and have an old school outlook per the traditional industry standards.

None the less, the more editors aka professional eyes you have on your book, the better it is for your book’s long term future. And don’t we all want that for our book babies?

Follow me for the next post on dos and don’t of hiring an editor and the mistakes to avoid when editing a multicultural book. You can check out my services on — RaisingWorldChildren.com/services