You need an editor. You may be able to imagine the greatest stories ever told. You need an editor. You may have such mastery of language that you never make a spelling or grammatical error. You need an editor. You may be able to craft your story with the perfect structure every time.
You need an editor.
I feel like this was such an invaluable part of bringing Dig Down to life. It gave it that polish that it needed so that it actually looked like it was professionally written, instead of something just slapped together and thrown onto Amazon.
Without an editor, the line spacing and format would’ve been so difficult to read, because I would’ve kept the margins the same as everything I typed in Word, with a once inch margin along a page meant to be 8 ½ x 11. How many books do you read that are that size?
Do you know how many times the word “towards” was originally in Dig Down, even after multiple drafts? No, you don’t, because a) my editor corrected the word to “toward”, and b) after seeing how many times I used that word I took started taking some of them out.
In the final version of Dig Down, the sicarios explain that the reason they knew where to find Rob in the end was because Vicky called one of their dealers looking for a fix. It was a logical reason for how they arrived at a home in another state, and also, for the little Vicky is in the story, reinforced she was a junkie. Originally, I had them just showing up.
As you can see, I’m not any of the things I mentioned in the first paragraph. It’s beyond presumptuous to believe the first book I published is among the greatest stories ever told. I clearly am not a master of spelling and grammar. And I’ve outlined over the past few weeks the amount of changes the structure to Dig Down went through.
I’m not perfect. And neither are you.
That’s why an editor is so vital. They’re a fresh, and second pair of eyes on a story. They’ll see things you’ve turned blind to, (like the number of times I incorrectly used “towards”), and because it’s not their story, they’ll spot gaps in logic or notice when things need an explanation and clarification (the sicario example wasn’t the only time I had characters just show up when they were needed).
So if you’ve finished writing a story, and think you’re ready to publish it, do yourself a favor. Hire an editor first. You’ll still be close to the finish line. The last leg of the race will just be a little more uphill than you were thinking.