If you’ve spent much time researching the dos and do-nots of Publishing, you’ll probably have read a number of different perspectives on editors and the work that they do in helping generate a polished, ready-to-publish manuscript. In fact, you might have read several dozen perspectives, or several hundred. There are, quite simply, thousands of authors and publishing professionals with strong opinions on the matter.

So: how do you know what’s real? And how do you know if you need to hire an editor yourself?

In self-publishing, the burden of editing is on you. Which is to say: it’s up to you to edit your work, or to track down and engage with the professionals who can take care of the various editorial processes for you. Spell check and grammar tools in your word processing software can only get you so far, as their algorithms lead authors astray as often as not. They are fundamentally incapable of recognizing some typos and misused words, and they often “autocorrect” perfectly correct sentences into something mangled and unreadable. They also have no way of noting inconsistencies, plot holes, and continuity errors. Word processors are not, in point of fact, insightful humans with decades of experience and an eye for sense and detail.

The only way to ensure that your manuscript becomes flawless (or even remotely near-flawless) is to hire a professional editor. This individual will be capable of editing your manuscript and providing a fresh set of unbiased eyes to double-check your work. In addition to correcting spelling, grammar, and stylistic bungles, a good and experienced editor will lend a good dollop of professionalism to your manuscript and iron out all glaring errors. These days, it’s entirely possible to find editors with decades of experience within the self-publishing industry. Outskirts Press has a team of experienced editors that we can set you up with.

Every author benefits from using an editor. After all, we all make errors, and it’s fundamental to your future success as a self-publishing author that you be willing to face that fact and take the necessary steps to address your need for an extra pair of unbiased, expert eyes.

So, how do you get started? Easy, visit: www.outskirtspress.com/p/editing and add professional copy editing services to your cart. Or, if you would like help identifying the right publishing options for you and your book, call us at 1-888-672-6657 to speak with a publishing consultant.