EditR

In case you didn't know, if you're a writer, you're going to need an...

Editor

Why? Here are three good reasons:

1. You know your story too well

Really. You do. Even if you don't think you do. You know your characters and their quirks, you know what's going to happen -- you know everything, because you wrote it. The problem here lies in the fact that if there's something missing, you're less likely to catch it. See, if there's some hidden question in your book, you probably know the answer already. But the reader doesn't. And if you didn't answer it anywhere, you probably won't be able to catch it.

An editor, on the other hand, will.

2. You can't see your own typos

Even when they're staring you in the face. It annoys me too, don't worry. I'll look at a page and see perfect pristine writing... and then when someone else reads it they come back with a list of typographical errors that I hadn't even noticed.

I guarantee it's the same for you. Editors fix that, too.

3. You're not perfect

Really, this is the crux of the matter. Of course, editors aren't perfect either. But they're an extra set of eyes in your story, an extra mind put to the task of polishing it down and making it as beautiful as can be.

And here's the big secret that so many writers don't want you to know about their editors:

All your editor wants to do is help you. They don't want to berate you and push to down into the depths of depression. They want your writing to succeed in this world, and they're doing their best to get it there.

You hating them doesn't help matters any.


Spoken from an editor, who sometimes has a hard week.

[love and homemade cookies]

{RD}