There’s nothing like being able to unload all your thoughts or feelings onto a manuscript, and see it published and recognised as one of the best; poetic, fictional, self-help, informational, inspirational, motivational and spiritual books many get to read. It’s basically sharing a piece of you with the world and making an impact while you do it.
As a writer though, it’s quite likely that you rarely focus on the details that go into writing a book. As you sit on your desk late in the night or early in the morning, or even all day, you can get caught in the zone and write whatever’s flowing out of your heart or mind for hours straight, with no break. You don’t even notice the time pass. Then, the crash comes once you’ve finished, and your body shuts down after the last of your creative juices are exhausted. Many, if not often times, the result can be a document full of words, sentences, arguments, stories, you name it, that are disorganised and may make little to no sense to anyone but you. That’s not a bad thing, but that’s why editors are needed, and are available at W2K (word-2-kindle.com) to season, polish, and put the finishing touches to your next bestseller.
Editing organises and clarifies your writing, improving your work to the best quality possible. And, it comes in 3 phases:
Developmental Editing: which focuses on the bigger picture; the best structure, the quality of the stories/events/arguments/teachings/opinions, and the overall sequence of the book.
Copy Editing: which dives into the details after the book has been developed; the sentence structure, grammatical and spelling errors, inconsistencies in font, syntax, punctuation and alignment of tenses.
Proofreading: which is the last scan of the book, for minor spelling and grammatical errors that may still be present.
The reason for editing is to make sure your book is at a standard fit for everyone; to ensure that:
- it makes sense and is easily understood even when big or uncommon words are used.
- the sequence flows from beginning to end.
- to ensure that the right words are used to engage the mind and/or emotions of the reader.
- to ensure that the reader stays compelled to read every next chapter.
All the above is done without compromising your (the author’s) voice. You, the author, have a deep intellectual and emotional connection with your manuscript, which is a necessary ingredient for a good book, because on it are your deepest expressions and most thoughtful insights. However, it’s never a bad idea to have an editor bring them to life in the best way possible.
The world is full of people looking to have their minds picked and hearts touched, and your next bestseller will do just that, with Editing.
