What struck me? Thanks for asking! I have learned that while I may be a good writer, I am not a good editor or formatter. Not surprising, in retrospect, but there it is. I spent literally days trying to figure out how Smashwords or Creatspace wanted a document formatted for each book. After child-birth like efforts, I produced acceptable or marginal product. Recently, it occurred to me to check and I found out I can afford to have someone do it for me! In a day or two, someone who likes formatting and does it perfectly zips my book back with a ribbon on top. Of course, caveat emptor. The price range is fairly insulting, so I had to find someone willing to work for a fair price, but they are out there - thank goodness.
More painfully to ego, I have discovered that, with zero doubt whatsoever, I am a terrible editor. My their and there's stay scrambled, along with my your and you're's (I know, I probably abbreviated that wrong, but, hey, it's my blog! I can even say its my blog if I want!!). For my last two books I tried as hard as I could to catch all my mis-edits, and it turns out I left enough to choke even a patient reader. The problem - or issue - with hiring an editor is that it can be very expensive. A standard novel cannot be proofed for less than $250 and a more typical rate is $500+. Fortunately, I don't need story editing - ie, help composing the story and keeping names consistent - otherwise the price doubles. In the indie world I find myself in, I have to weigh the minimum costs of around $350 for production versus the small amount I'm likely to make. Fortunately, I can afford the ticket, but not everyone can. Then again, it is hard not to afford the cost if you are going to release a poorly prepared book.
Ah well, welcome to the brave new world of authorship...
No comments:
Post a Comment