How Using an Editor Can Save You Time and Money

Perhaps you've had a vision that's been tugging at your mind for years, and you've decided it's time to write your book and bring it into the world. Or, maybe you've already written a rough, rough draft, but it needs a lot of work. The book is your brainchild, your baby, but you're not sure where to go from here, and you know you need help getting the final product out into the world. You don't know how readers will receive your ideas, or if they'll understand them at all. You know you don't want a book riddled with errors or one that doesn't have a clear message. You may need an editor.

How Using an Editor Can Save You Time and Money

You may be thinking, "Well, I can just Google articles on how to do my own editing." That's fine, and that works for many people. Many writers successfully edit their own books. Do what works for you, and balance your options based on your needs, budget, and timeframe.

However, there are many reasons why you might not want go it alone:

1. Trust--Getting the right editor will make your writing better and build trust with your readers and followers. When you book is well-written, has a clear central message, and targets that message effectively to the correct audience, you build trust with your audience that you're an expert in the field. A book is a shortcut to help build that trust with potential followers and readers. If your book is full of errors and says nothing new, this can ruin your chances of building trust with readers and followers.

2. Credibility--The right editor will help you build credibility with your readers after fact checking, correcting grammar, and ensuring your central message and audience are effectively focused. A good editor can also save you hundreds of hours trying to edit your own manuscript, and they have skills you may need to ensure credibility in your genre.

3. Authority--Getting your message out there clearly isn't enough. Do you know your audience? Do you have something new to say to your audience? How can your message position you as an authority in your field? An editor can help you answer these questions and ensure the writing follows through with the best answers, which can help you build authority in your business and message. Having an editor with this can save you hours of time pulling your hair out trying to figure out the answers to these questions.

4. Followers--If you build these first three with your audience, you'll get more readers and attract loyal followers who are excited to read you next book, buy your product, and tell others about your work. It can take years to attract enough followers to have a successful audience and business. Think about why you follow the people you do. What makes you trust them? If the roles were reversed, what would it take to earn your trust?

5. Potential Clients--Trust takes time, but it can be done. A powerful message can fast track potential paying clients in your direction. Trusted readers become followers, and followers become potential clients. Do you see how the pieces all start to fit together?

6. Saves Time and Money--Finding the right editor from the beginning can save you thousands of dollars and months of time. We've all read Kindle and e-books that were riddled with errors, were poorly organized, and had nothing new to say. I've put some down because they were so bad. I've also heard horror stories of people who hired a bad editor and had to go back and and hire another editor to clean up the mess. More readers, clients, and followers is also more money. That's why it's important to do your homework, and equally important to hire the right editor. Trust your instincts.

Additionally, no matter how much time you think editing takes, it will take longer.

No matter how difficult you may think editing is, it's usually more difficult. This may seem harsh, but it's important to know what you're getting yourself into. Editing is a lot of work, but having a professional take you through the process and do much of the work for you is a burden off your shoulders that smoothes out the process, so you can focus on your job, family, business, or whatever is important. This allows you to focus on other areas of your life where you can save even more time and money.