You’ve completed your book and are ready to upload it to your chosen platform and finally deem yourself a published author. Many people are just so excited after completing their novel, workbook, or self-discovery book that they are ready to hit publish as soon as they type the last word.
However, if you haven’t had your book edited you could be setting yourself up for some pretty harsh book reviews!
Indie publishing or independent publishing is no small feat and something you should be exceptionally proud of, so always take the extra step to polish your work with an editor.
How much do editors cost?
My editor charged a flat fee of $600 to edit my book and also assisted me with uploading it to Amazon KDP. However, the answer varies widely as many editors will charge by the word or page and others by the hour. Usually between $3-$10 per page or 0.024-0.16 cents per word. On average, an editor will probably charge about $1500-2000 for a 200-page book, but again this is a ballpark figure.
Where can I find an editor? 4 Places
Editors are literally everywhere! But here are a couple of common places to find a good one
1. WebsiteS
Most editors have their own websites where you can view the books that they have edited and any reviews of their work
2. Social Media
Doing a quick social media search for editors will always bring up a ton of editors. This is great because you can go to their page and see what they are working on and if you find one on Facebook see if they have reviews
3. Job Marketplaces
Check job marketplaces like Freelancewritersden, UpWork, and Fiverr for editors. The great part about this is that many times they will have reviews
4. Ask for referrals
If you are in a writers group don’t be afraid to ask for referrals. Also, see if any of your friends have self-published a book, it’s so easy to do that you may be surprised at how many have.
3 ways to CHOOSe A Great Editor
1. Find an editor in your niche
Or someone that is familiar with editing Christian books. Choosing someone in your niche is helpful because they are usually fairly aligned with what is needed for the readers. It personally helped me because my editor was able to catch issues with the Bible verses that I used. For instance, I had Bible verses from different versions of the Bible and she informed me that I should probably stick with one version. It may have been common sense but it hadn’t occurred to me.
2. Check the reviews
If the editor has their own company they will most likely have reviews either on their website or social media. If not, you can ask for references, if you have to ask for references some great questions to ask are:
- Were you happy with the outcome?
- Was he/she upfront with the final cost and did it match the initial quote?
- Would you hire them again?
3. Know the type of editor
There are many different editors (I didn’t know this when I went in search of one). There are those that proofread and those that check the structure and content of your work. While there are plenty of other types of editors if you can find someone that can do these two, proofreading and content, you should be in good shape. Many editors will do multiple types so choosing one person that can do both would be great.
How to edit your book if you can’t afford an editor
If you can’t afford an editor here are a couple of alternative suggestions
Ask family and friends
This works best if your book is short and more of a workbook. If you do decide to go the friends and family route choose at least 3 people as some will go more in-depth with their editing and some will miss some errors. Keep in mind that you aren’t paying them (unless you are) and this isn’t their job (unless it is).
Join writers groups
You can often find people that will critique and edit your work for free if it is a subject that interest them. You can find groups everywhere there are a plethora on Facebook and also look into MeetUp if you want in-person meetings
HIRE a newBIE
When I was on the search for an editor there were a couple of people that were just starting out in the business and needed to get their feet wet. Some offered to critique my work for free in exchange for honest reviews and others offered a discounted price. Again, I found them on Facebook
I hope these tips help! You can check out my self-published books on Amazon. If you are interested in learning more about the editor I chose you can find her here.
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