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When it comes to editing your book — my thought is that editing your book should be a matter of desiring to walk in excellence . It may seem over the top but in everything we do , we should be working as unto the Lord . Your publisher should be stressing the importance and necessity of editing to you .
There should be at least 3 stages of editing for your book . Sometimes more is needed .
Stage 1 – This is the main stage where major cuts and / or rewrites are done . This may be your hardest stage . This is where you must really dig deep . You have to decide what parts of the book must stay , to ensure that the vision is accomplished and the readers will have a lasting takeaway . You also must decide what must go ! You don ’ t want to overwhelm your reader and cause them to miss the point .
I remember my first big chop with my second book Hurt to Healing .
It was my first Best Seller but my hardest writing project . I was a wreck ! Not only was I new to the editing process but it was like reliving this story all over again . Don ’ t let that scare you though . I made it through and so can you .
My publisher literally had to walk me through this process because again , this was “ my ” story and I felt like “ everything ” should be included . Needless to say , the chop was done and the end result was excellent but it was a major lesson learned . She helped me to maintain the integrity of my story and give the readers what they needed .
Stage 2 — The Grammar Edits !
If you know that you ’ re not the best with grammar , hire an editor and work closely with them . This will ensure that any changes made won ’ t change the meaning of your words .
This is a critical part of your process . Producing an excellent product means you ’ ve checked and re-checked your grammar . This includes punctuation , spelling , the voice that you write in ( that ’ s a whole article by itself ) and more .
Do NOT skip this part . This part could determine if your readers continue to read your work or don ’ t make it beyond the first page because they can ’ t understand it . There are many writing tools available to you if you don ’ t
Living With More
hire an editor . You can still produce a great book .
My first book , Life ’ s Experiences , was edited horribly ! It was absolutely unacceptable . But guess what ?
I had a lovely cover but a not so lovely inside . And even worse than that is that I had no clue . The publisher that I used for that book simply said – send us your book and we ’ ll take it from there . Wrong , wrong , wrong ! If a publisher says this to you – RUN !
You need to be an active participant in all parts of your book . – especially editing .
This book only produced a royalty check of $ 7.00 . I mean $ 7 in 13 years ! Although that was very humbling , it didn ’ t have to be that way . As I said , I had a lovely cover and the story line was good but there was major development that was needed to make it a great product .
When I compare that to the editing of Hurt to Healing , which was done with a publisher and Articles of Encouragement , which I edited and published myself , there is a major difference . Both in the product and the sales !
E m p o w e r i n g , E n c ouraging & S trengthening