Self-publishing can be expensive. Between editing, cover design, formatting, printing, and marketing, you can spend a small fortune if you aren’t careful. Even if you’re a DIY author who controls every aspect of the process, there are many (expensive) costs associated with bringing your work to the world. Finding ways to cut those costs can become an important part of your learning curve as a self-publishing author. (And no, skipping the professional editing isn’t one of those ways.)
Estimates for the whole self-publishing enchilada range from several hundred to several thousands of dollars—and one of the biggest expenses is typically the editing. But professional, quality editing doesn’t have to put a huge hole in your wallet. The best editing money can buy is available at a fraction of the cost many writers pay when you use the B.E.S.T. system.
B is for Beta readers
E is for Editing your own work
S is for Sample edit
T is for Talk to your editor
The B.E.S.T. system of editing and how it can save you money #editingtip Share on X1. B is for Beta readers who can give your constructive feedback on what is and isn’t working in your manuscript. This is an opportunity to see how others interpret your work—how readers will respond. You get so close to your work that you cannot be as objective as you need to be. Patterns of error, plot holes, undeveloped characters, run-on sentences, subject-verb disagreements, and punctuation gaffes are all fair game for a beta reader or writing workshop buddy. Correct the grammar and punctuation errors, and use the suggestions that make sense to you. Don’t feel compelled to make a change that doesn’t respect your authorial voice or one that doesn’t improve your work.
2. E is for Editing your own work. After you receive feedback from your beta readers, writing workshop partner, or other writers, go back and re-edit one more time. Anything you can fix before turning your manuscript over to an editor will save you time and money in the long run. Self-editing techniques like printing out your work and editing on paper, or reading backward from the end of your manuscript to the beginning, are just two ways scores of writers edit their work and catch mistakes. Check out the related articles below for some other great ideas.
3. S is for Sample edit, which you should get before you decide on an editor. Blindly hiring someone because he’s inexpensive or she knows your mother isn’t a wise business decision. Reviewing a sample edit will give you a huge insight into a particular editor’s knowledge and ability. Every editor has a slightly different approach to editing, and this is a quick way to see if your expectations and his or her style are a good match. “He charged a small fortune but I hated what he did to my work” is something no author should ever have to say.
4. T is for Talk to your editor. The relationship between a writer and his or her editor is based on communication and trust. When editing is a collaborative effort, you learn what works and what doesn’t in your writing, which will allow you to make your own corrections on this manuscript as well as build your writing skills going forward. Make it clear to your editor that you are on a tight budget and want guidance on self-editing; for example, if your sample edit indicates you use commas incorrectly, go back through your manuscript with a style guide or other reference material in hand and correct as many of those commas as possible before turning the manuscript over for editing. One missing or incorrectly placed comma won’t make a difference in your editing bill, but dozens and dozens of them in addition to everything else can really add up in a novel-length manuscript.
When you follow these four points, your manuscript will be in the best shape you are able to make it and your editing dollars will go much farther. Even when you’re on a tight budget, there’s no excuse to publish your book without having it professionally edited and proofread. You have to be smart about how you spend your money; develop a plan and follow the B.E.S.T. points to make sure your manuscript is the best it can be!
What other way have you found to save money on professional editing? Have you traded critiques with another writer, or hired an editor to coach you through a rough spot? Please share your stories, which might even help a fellow writer save a few editing dollars!
Happy Writing,
Candace
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Great insights as usual. I want to tack on a thought to your self-editing comments: Turning over a manuscript to a professional editor before it is ready will cost a writer quite a bit of time and money, because lots of corrections and rewrites will lead to new errors being introduced, which requires another pass on the part of the editor. That is, it’s hard to fix commas when whole paragraphs need to be rearranged.
As always, your comment is spot-on, Eric. That IS a huge waste of time and money.
glad you mention beta readers!!! mine have proven invaluable! they’re never afraid to tell me, “you’re dumping too much information on me too fast here,” which is a flaw I have in early drafts. Beta readers are wonderful for helping to identify your troublespots.
A good beta reader is a gold mine, and having several can give you valuable insights about your writing. I have a tendency to overuse adverbs, which my beta readers are never shy about pointing out!
Great suggestions, Candie. Your blog is full of great tips!
Thanks so much, Brooke! That means a lot coming from you.
Excellent post, Candace! I have to admit to some ignorance, though, as much as it pains me to do so. What are beta readers? I’m thinking they can be anybody from members of your writing group (if you belong to one) to a gaggle of your best friends, but is this accurate? If you don’t belong to a writing group or you want to maintain good relations with your friends (will my best friend to tell me that my novel was too boring to finish), how would you go about getting beta readers? Thanks, Marie
Great question, Marie! You’ll usually find the best beta readers are other writers and readers. You are correct that your best friend might have a hard time being honest with you! What you do want is someone who might be part of your target audience, someone who is thoughtful and articulate enough to give you constructive criticism without crushing you, and someone familiar with your genre. Here’s a great article with more specific ideas: http://www.smallbluedog.com/what-makes-a-good-beta-reader.html. Great places to find beta readers include writer blogs, writing workshops, and online critique groups. I hope that helps you get started.
Thanks a bunch!
Thank you for this! I’m on track with all of these things, but I still worry about being able to afford a good editor. Thinking about the costs is almost enough to push me toward traditional publishing just to avoid the up-front costs, but I’d really rather do it on my own (with a professional editor and cover designer, of course). Here’s hoping it doesn’t end up costing thousands of dollars I don’t have.
Do most editors offer free sample edits as a way to attract clients, or offer to do a sample of x-number of pages at their regular per-page cost? I’ve seen both. I’m sure both are fine, but I can see it getting expensive having the first chapters edited several times before a person found the right editor.
Hi Kate, and thanks for visiting. I cannot speak for every editor, but like you, I’ve seen other editors who offer a free sample like I do, and some who charge for a sample edit (usually for a more extensive amount of text). From the editor’s perspective, it can get expensive to do free editing–I usually offer a sample that takes me between 2 and 3 hours–so I understand why some editors charge for that. Personally, I want the author to be comfortable before committing to spending hard-earned money, so I consider that free sample an investment as much as a job interview.
Great reminders on how to save money. I use beta readers for my work and it has helped tremendously.
This is great information, Candace! I’m glad the question was asked about Beta Readers. I’ve always been fuzzy on the term…it sounds more “official.” So they’re basically a critique partner?
Yes, beta readers might be critique partners, but not always. I’ll cover this in more detail in an upcoming post; thanks for asking, Jill!
Great advice. Although I’m unsure how one finds beta-readers…
Great advice. How exactly can you find a beta reader…? Are we talking friends and family or writing workshop partners?
Ahhh . . . another blog post topic, and thank you! Usually, beta readers are not family and friends, but they might be workshop partners. I promise I’ll address this topic soon.
Yay! I would love to find beta readers who are just readers and not writers, too.
Great post, thanks for this. I’m just going through the editing stage for a short story I’m going to self publish. It’s taking an excessively long time but I think it is definitely worth it. I do have a question though, how do you find beta readers? And how many do you need? Thanks!