Plan on paying at least 0.009 per word for a quality editor. I’ve seen author clients make back all of the money they spent to get their self-published books to market, plus more. But to do that you have to have a quality product.
And if you want your second book to sell, you’ll want to do all you can to make sure your first one sells enough for you to build an audience and momentum.
To sum it up…
Editing is one step of the self-publishing process you cannot afford to skip. Authors have hired me, after their unedited books were published, to edit their books for re-release, minus the errors. The shame of it is that the scathing reviews are already there and associated with the book. It’s hard to “unring” that bell.
GUEST FEATURE IWACA
12 | IWACA
Nikki Busch is a seasoned “word pro” who runs a successful freelance editing business: Nikki Busch Editing Services.
She holds a BA in English from Rutgers University, has studied copyediting at the University of California-San Diego, is a member of the Editorial Freelancers Association and Golden Crown Literary Society, and is a published poet.
She’s been working with words for thirty years and is dedicated to making every book shine, while retaining each author’s original voice.
I have the pleasure of knowing, Nikki, because she edited my upcoming novel "Waiting".
So a massive thank you for taking time out of her busy schedule to write this article for the summer issue.