By Val Breit (@ValBreitEditor)
Who doesn’t want to save a bit of money when they self-publish a book? Today’s guest post by Val Breit offers many cost-saving tips and resources for authors editing their books before sending them to a professional editor. If you’re not ready to have your book edited, you may want to bookmark this post and come back to it later. Enjoy!
You want to write (and sell) an amazing book, but you don’t want to spend a ton of money doing it. If you aren’t careful, the costs of self-publishing a book could run your bank account dry.
In fact, the average cost of self-publishing a book can be between a couple hundred dollars to a couple thousand dollars.
And one of the most expensive parts of publishing is editing.
Editing is not something you want to skip. With a weak storyline, the reader won’t read past the second chapter. And a book littered with grammatical errors and typos screams amateur.
So what can you do to have a professionally edited book without spending thousands of dollars?
Here are the best frugal tips for getting a talented editor to polish your book for less money.
1. Use Three FREE Editing Tools
Believe it or not, there are a handful of useful editing tools available for completely free. While they cannot replace a professional editor, they can help you find common issues. Use these tools to find habit words you overuse, run-on sentences, passive voice, sentences that are hard to read, misspellings, typos, and more.
Here are three of the best free editing tools any author can use:
- Grammarly
- Hemingway
- ProWritingAid
Grammarly
Grammarly is an online grammar checker that will find and show your grammar errors, spelling mistakes, and clichés in your writing. When you go to Grammarly.com and create an account, you can upload part your manuscript and let it get to work.
Grammarly will highlight potential mistakes, explain what the error is, and make a suggestion for correcting it. Add a comma where one is not needed? Use the wrong preposition? Forget to capitalize a proper noun? Grammarly will catch most of those errors.
You can even add the Grammarly Extension to your internet browser, and it will edit as you type WordPress blog posts, emails, and more. This can help make all of your writing sound more professional, like the emails you send your email list.
The best part?
It’s free! Like most tools, there is a paid premium option. But since we’re trying to save money here, the free version will work. While Grammarly is not perfect, and it definitely does not replace a human, it is one tool you can use to check and improve your writing before handing it off to an editor for a quote.
To learn more, here’s a complete Grammarly review to learn more its features.
Hemingway Editor
Another free editing tool online is the Hemingway Editor. When you copy and paste your work into the Hemingway Editor, it will highlight complex and lengthy sentences for you to rectify.
This tool is also great for identifying passive voice and the overuse of adverbs, something many of us authors and bloggers are guilty of. Hemingway highlights each type of error in a different color. This allows you to easily check all the adverbs at once, then see your uses of passive voice next, and so on.
Hemingway can conveniently be used online or downloaded onto your desktop.
ProWritingAid
The third online editing tool is my favorite. ProWritingAid has a free editing tool as well as a premium version. You can use ProWritingAid as another check for grammar mistakes, spelling errors, overused words, readability, and use of clichés.
ProWritingAid is unique because it gives you detailed reports about your writing style and habits. This makes it easier to improve your writing fast.
You’ll see ProWritingAid also identifies “sticky” sentences that include unnecessary filler words. This is another way you can make your writing more clear and easier to read before handing it off to an editor.
If you get the premium version, you can use ProWritingAid within Microsoft Word, Scrivener, or Google Docs.
2. Read Out Loud, Different Version, Different Location
If you typically write on your laptop in your office, then edit in a different format, in a different location, and by reading out loud. You need a different frame of mind for editing than writing, so these physical changes will help you do a better job of revising your work.
To get into the editing mindset, you could edit a printed version or use an e-reader instead of your laptop. It also may help to edit in a different room, outside, at the library, or in a coffee shop.
And yes, you’ve heard it before and that’s because it’s true: you need to read your entire book out loud for the most comprehensive self-edit. Even a whisper will work.
You will be surprised how many errors you catch by hearing your words with your ears instead of reading them with your eyes. For a good example of this editing hack, read this.
3. Make a List of Any Unusually Spelled Words
If there are any words, acronyms, character names, or places with unique spellings, create a list of them and give the list to your (potential) editor. If you spell a town’s name as Dewsbury half the time and Dewsburry the other half, that’s more work for an editor to figure out which one is correct.
Likewise, if you’re adamant that a certain word or phrase be in all caps, like in Simon Sinek’s Start With Why, tell your editor this ahead of time. That way your editor does not waste time “correcting” those words, and you aren’t unhappy with those suggestions.
4. Use Find and Replace in Word
Even editors use Microsoft Word’s Find feature when copyediting books. To correct some of the most common errors, use the Find tool (shortcut is Ctrl + F on PC or Command + F on Mac) to find mistakes you can fix yourself.
Look for things like:
- any uniquely spelled names, places, or things in your book
- double spaces after periods
- technology terms, such as smartphone and smart phone
- words like ebook, eBook, or e-book
- words like accept and except
With words like e-book or e-mail, multiple spellings are accepted. Choose one and stick with it. You want to be consistent with how you spell, capitalize, and hyphenate words throughout your book, and Find will help you do this.
If you’re in the habit of striking the space bar twice after every period, you or your editor will need to change these to a single space. Luckily, this is something you can easily do yourself by using Find and Replace in Word. Just Find [two spaces] and Replace with [one space].
If you’re skilled enough to inspect how you use words like except and accept, then search for these words with the Find shortcut and check the context. Here are commonly confused words to search for. It will help you determine which word is the right one.
If you don’t know how to fix these type of errors yourself, no worries. Of course, your editor will do this for you. But if you can figure out how to do some of these corrections yourself that’s less money you’ll have to pay an editor.
5. Ask Family, Friends, and Beta Readers For Feedback
There are some people who cannot help but proofread. Even if you ask people to read your book for their overall thoughts, they will find typos and errors. These people can be incredibly useful when you’re trying to save money on editing (if they know what they’re talking about).
Your beta readers will give you lots of feedback on your book. The best case scenario is someone with excellent proofreading skills will find most of the typos and grammar mistakes you missed.
While family and friends should not replace a pro editor, they can help make the workload easier for you and your editor.
6. Research Several Editors
When you compare several editors, you have a better chance of finding the right editor for your book.
Here are things to look for when searching editors:
- cost may be per project, per word, or per hour
- timelines
- expertise
- communication style
- recommendations and testimonies
There are several ways you can find editors who other authors loved working with. Facebook groups for authors are an excellent resource. Many authors in these groups are happy to recommend editors who helped them improve their books.
You can check out editors’ credentials in marketplaces like Reedsy or Upwork.
There is also a massive list of book editors who were recommended by fellow self-published authors. That list includes all the editors’ rates, favorite genres, and the type of editing they provide.
When you’re researching editors, note their posted rates and which levels of editing they perform. While some editors don’t have it listed on their website, others do. If you see an editor’s projects begin at $2,000, don’t waste time contacting her if your budget is $150. Likewise, don’t contact a developmental editor if you are looking for a final proofread.
Use the above resources to find an editor with the type of editing you need and whose rates fit in your budget.
7. Write a Thoughtful Email Inquiry
After you’ve done the previous steps, it’s time to send inquiries. You will stand out from other authors if you send a thoughtful email that shows you’ve researched the editor.
Include the following information about your book:
- genre
- word count
- which type of editing you want
- when you want or need your book edited
These are helpful things for an editor to know up front. If you’re set on publishing your book in three weeks, but an editor is booked for 6 months, you know right off the bat that it’s not going to work (or you’ll have to pay a hefty fee for speedy editing).
Optionally, include this information too:
- the working title
- where you are in the writing process
- your author history
- anything else you’d like the editor to know
Write your email but don’t send it yet.
8. Proofread Your Email Before You Send
Take an extra minute to proof your email before you send it. Why?
If it takes an editor two seconds to spot five errors in a brief email, she’s going to charge more because she sees a LOT of work in her future.
It’s true that editors love books and authors. It’s also true that editors want to work with authors who are easy to work with, who care enough about their book to read your website information first, and who can type a few sentences without several errors.
If you struggle with grammar or English that much, then ask someone else to proofread your email. A well-written email can show you are an awesome writer to work with (and your book won’t require an outrageous amount of time).
Get Editing For Less
These are things you can do to correct the smaller errors in your book first. Your editor can then focus on higher-order editing tasks and edit your book a lot faster, for less money.
This is how you can share a book with the world that makes you proud, without spending a fortune on editing.
Resources
Do you have questions about saving money on editing? Let me know in the comments!
Val Breit is a frugal word nerd at heart. She combines these passions by running TheCommonCentsClub.com. She loves figuring out how to turn writing into multiple streams of income and helping authors live their dreams without going broke.
Photo: BigStockPhoto
