The more I edit, the more I realise a fundamental truth about editing. Most of the time, an author engages a professional editor only after he/she/they have finished writing the whole book. They have slogged away for months, if not years, to write their first draft, their second draft, and so on. The writer is often following sound advice to keep writing until you have finished the whole book. ‘My first draft is always crappy,’ is a common statement, almost a badge of pride.
The ’just keep writing’ advice neglects some of the realities of writing a long piece of work. It is a time-consuming and expensive process to edit a complete book even one at the fifth draft or more stage. All of the faults, flaws, errors and omissions are spread across up to 200,000 words and consequently structural editing and copyediting will take weeks. Even a clear, clean-looking manuscript generally requires a multitude of corrections and alterations to bring it to a high standard. Issues of sequencing, over-use of certain words and phrases, content repetitions, passive rather than active voice, word choice, mixing up tenses, sentence length and variety, too much dialogue, not enough dialogue, point of view disparities, and the list goes on.
At Lloyd Moss Publishing, we recommend having your writing edited before you have written the whole manuscript. By editing say three chapters, most of the faults, flaws and mistakes will be picked up by the editor and you will be equipped with this knowledge and precisely guided on how to write the rest of your book – usually the 80%. You won’t have to guess; you will know what to do and what not to do. Engaging a professional editor in the early stages of your writing project is guaranteed to save a lot of frustration, time and money.
Talk to us about arranging a Mini Edit of your work-in-progress. Our Mini Edit includes a comprehensive edit of a small number of chapters, a written feedback report and a personal debrief with you. How much does it cost for a Mini Edit with Lloyd Moss Publishing? Depending on the number and length of your chapters, it is from $300
Contact managing editor Lynne Lloyd today to discuss the option of a Mini Edit of your work-in-progress. Text or telephone 0421 998749 / email lynnejlloyd@outlook.com or complete our Contact Form.
Best wishes
Lynne
Lynette Lloyd Moss
LLOYD MOSS PUBLISHING
0421 998 749
lynnejlloyd@outlook.com
www.lloydmosspublishing.com