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RUINED MANUSCRIPTS! The Very Real Dangers of Hiring a Cheap Editor for Your Book

April 12, 2024

RUINED MANUSCRIPTS! The Very Real Dangers of Hiring a Cheap Editor for Your Book
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I can’t even count the number of authors who have told me they hired an editor who actually screwed up their book. At BookLocker, we have published more than 16,000 print and electronic titles over the past 26 years. So, we’ve worked with a LOT of authors. We do not offer in-house editing services but we do have a list of professional editors we refer authors to.

TIP #1: If your publisher offers editing services, I recommend STRONGLY getting your own editor. First, there are tons of complaints about those types of publishers. They’re editors aren’t always good (i.e. they are like the ones I describe below). Second, most of those so-called publishers then claim ownership of the edited manuscript! YOUR MANUSCRIPT!!

I always recommend all authors hire a professional editor. Why? Once you’ve written a book, and gone over it dozens or even hundreds of times, you’re not going to see the errors anymore. Confusing text, plot errors, and, of course, misspellings, punctuation, and grammatical errors can slip right past your eyeballs. Why? After you’ve read your own words that many times, it turns into a rote activity (“proceeding mechanically and repetitiously” – Dictionary.com).

It may be tempting to get on a website that offers cheap service providers. However, if they screw up your manuscript, you’re never getting your money back.

There is no licensing agency for editors. Anybody who can half-way read can put up a virtual shingle on the Internet, and call themselves a professional editor. If you ask for references, they can simply make them up. If you ask for titles of books they’ve published, they can simply send you to Amazon to review an excerpt from a book they’ve never worked on. Worse, they can speak very little English, make up an English-sounding name, and trick you that way, too. I’ve heard these types of horror stories many times over the years.

A few years ago, we launched WritersWeekly Marketplace. We then put out a call for professional editors, illustrators, book publicists, and much more. We rejected the vast majority of folks who contacted us. We have very stringent guidelines, and we required proof that their testimonials were real. We also reviewed manuscripts we had proven they edited. No “fake” service providers made it past the vetting process.

To this day, we’ve never received any complaints about any of the professionals we have featured there. Authors can read about each editor to see which one(s) they’d like to receive quotes from. Those editors then contact the author directly. The author works directly with the editor every step of the way to ensure his/her book is edited exactly the way he/she wants. The same thing goes with the illustrators (authors can see tons of samples) and everyone else featured there.

If you’re looking for an editor, I highly recommend you check them out! Again, the quotes are always free.

TIP #2: After your book is edited, it’s going to be tempting to go in and make “just a few more changes and/or additions.” I would advise you to NOT do that. Only send your final manuscript to the editor. Why? Whatever editorial mistakes you typically make when writing will more than likely show up once again after you start making changes/additions to the edited file. The editors’ services do not include editing a manuscript twice. So, please remember that tip! 🙂

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About The Author

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Angela Hoy is the publisher of WritersWeekly.com, the author of 19 books, and the co-owner of BookLocker.com (one of the original POD publishers that still gets books to market in less than a month), PubPreppers.com (print and ebook design for authors who truly want to self-publish), and Abuzz Press (the publishing co-op that charges no setup fees).

Angela has lived and traveled across the U.S. with her kids in an RV, settled in a river-side home in Bradenton, FL, and lived on a 52 ft Irwin sailboat. Angela now resides on a mountaintop in Northwest Georgia, where she plans to spend the rest of her days bird watching, gardening, hiking, and taking in all of the amazing sunrises.

WritersWeekly.com - the free marketing ezine for writers, which features new paying markets and freelance job listings every Wednesday.

BookLocker.com - According to attorney Mark Levine, author of The Fine Print, BookLocker is: "As close to perfection as you're going to find in the world of ebook and POD publishing. The ebook royalties are the highest I've ever seen, and the print royalties are better than average. BookLocker understands what new authors experience, and have put together a package that is the best in the business. You can't go wrong here. Plus, they're selective and won't publish any manuscript just because it's accompanied by a check. Also, the web site is well trafficked. If you can find a POD or epublisher with as much integrity and dedication to selling authors' books, but with lower POD publishing fees, please let me know."

Abuzz Press offers FAST and FREE book publication, but only accepts a small percentage of submissions, and only works with U.S. authors.

PubPreppers.com - "We Prep, You Publish!" Print and ebook design for authors who truly want to self-publish. Offers formatting and design services only, and then provides simple instructions for authors on where to sign up to have the print and ebook editions printed/listed/sold. Cut out the middle man. Keep 100% of what bookstores pay for your book!

Angela's POD Secrets Revealed Series can be found HERE.

Have a POD Book with another publisher? See if BookLocker can give you a better deal. (BookLocker offers "disgruntled author discounts" to those who want to move from other POD services.)


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One Response to "RUINED MANUSCRIPTS! The Very Real Dangers of Hiring a Cheap Editor for Your Book"

  1. Richard McHenry  April 13, 2024 at 10:57 pm

    I have a very small niche book, so it was hard to find anyone interested in publishing it. Then, finally one fellow did. I was overjoyed. I signed a book contract with him, and he proceeded to edit my 480,000 word rms. within 30 days time, which I thought was remarkable. I had already done it on my own about ten times, and had had a college English professor got through it twice. Nonetheless, I had the shock of my life when 1/3 of the ms. was literally cut. Not only that, but this guy also had my characters saying and doing things I never did, and literally ruined who they were!! I was in shock and told him this was impossible: not the book I wrote. Finally, thank God, he allowed me to get out of the contract, and NOT pay the $1,000 fee to do so. I am super poor and could never pay the high fees most editors charge. I went through it again, two more times, and finally came to Booklocker.