Monday, January 28, 2013

Be Careful for What Editor You Wish for


Book editors range from not only from proofreading, copyediting, content editing to critiquing, but also from perfect to terrible. Some of the editors I’ve had had changed something active in my writing to passive. Those editors aren’t good ones, and if they have a sample edit choice, and you see an active phrase in your work turned into a passive phrase… don’t use that editor.
Another important rule for choosing an editor is if you totally agree with your writing style. You have to be careful with that; otherwise, you might as well have wasted your money. I recently chose an editor whose style I didn’t agree with a hundred percent in the sample edit. Big mistake! When I got my manuscript back, I regret choosing that editor. Half of each chapter had been deleted and too many changes had been made. It was so overwhelming that I stopped making changes after the fourth chapter. From then on, my new rule was to try a sample edit and fully agree with the style before paying for the service.
Of course, sample edits aren’t totally necessary. It all depends on different authors. And, as always, it’s okay to reject some of the changes and suggestions. Just be wise when choosing an editor. They’re not all the same.

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