I just read a blog post by a well-known indie author who says that one of the stupidest things am indie author can do is hire an editor.
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@clacksee I've worked as an editor a few times over the years, once editing a magazine with national newsstand circulation. But I stopped reading self-published novels after reading a review copy sent by an author who had written an underground classic that was quite good. His follow-up novel was so bad, with an ending that felt unfinished. I was like, did he have an editor? Did he just run the novel past family and friends who told him what he wanted to hear. Trust the editorial process.
@chuck
I’ve worked as an editor. I still know I need multiple rounds of editing. I cannot see my own mistakes – never mind my own awkwardness or repetition. -
@clacksee I didn't realize how important editors are to my reading experience until I read books published without the benefit of editing.
There were books I wanted to like, but were too incoherent to finish (in one case I mapped out the action locations and dates in a notebook in order to form a timeline). I am grateful to editors every day.
@teresa_athome
I’ve read some that were riddled with typos, some where the authors clearly didn’t understand the meaning of some of the words they used, and plenty that read like first drafts. -
@clacksee Oh wow, that's a red flag.
@Rhube
Right? -
@Rhube
Right?@clacksee Yeah, it's one thing to not be able to afford an editor, but if you genuinely believe you're better off without a second set of eyes, you are too overconfident to spot your own mistakes.
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@clacksee Yeah, it's one thing to not be able to afford an editor, but if you genuinely believe you're better off without a second set of eyes, you are too overconfident to spot your own mistakes.
@Rhube
If someone can’t afford an editor, I’d encourage them to swap services or beg for favours. -
I just read a blog post by a well-known indie author who says that one of the stupidest things am indie author can do is hire an editor. He also says not to use beta readers.
I, erm… Please don’t be like that guy.
@clacksee I just read the post and, uh...
There are a couple of subtler errors but these three are the most glaring.
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I just read a blog post by a well-known indie author who says that one of the stupidest things am indie author can do is hire an editor. He also says not to use beta readers.
I, erm… Please don’t be like that guy.
Eep. Yeah, that's... a whole lot of Wrong right there.
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I just read a blog post by a well-known indie author who says that one of the stupidest things am indie author can do is hire an editor. He also says not to use beta readers.
I, erm… Please don’t be like that guy.
Geeze. I not only use beta readers, I use alpha readers as well! Every pair of eyes that reads my manuscript and gives me feedback improves the book!
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@clacksee I just read the post and, uh...
There are a couple of subtler errors but these three are the most glaring.
@chaucerburnt
Yeah. He definitely doesn’t need an editor, eh. -
Geeze. I not only use beta readers, I use alpha readers as well! Every pair of eyes that reads my manuscript and gives me feedback improves the book!
@juergen_hubert
According to him that’s writing by committee and actively making your books worse. -
@juergen_hubert
According to him that’s writing by committee and actively making your books worse.As someone with scientific training who has had experiences with peer review, this attitude is actively _painful_ for me.
