Well, it depends. Do you want to sell your book, or do you just want to spend money? Because there are an infinite amount of "author services" you can spend on before you even see a sale. Cover design, line-edit, copy-edit, developmental editing, blurb writer, book designer, marketing... You might as well be paying someone's mortgage.
Hiring a professional beta reader with editorial experience who will tell you if your manuscript needs a developmental edit can be useful if you are on a tight budget. The need for a developmental edit can vary from essential to minor, and given the expense, you have to weigh up the 'bang for buck' aspect.
Hi! I actually have an agency of amazing editors who offer developmental (and line!) edits, book coaching, and more. You can find a ton more info here: laurenkaywrites.com/developmental-editing
What if I don't want the book to be a commercial success? What if I'm not planning on a career as a writer? I have one book in me, at least for the time being. I want it to reach an audience, and be significant to people, but I don't care about publishing deals (indy is fine), and don't plan on making any money on it anyway (if it somehow still sells well, there's a charity I want all the proceeds to go to). What I do want and care about is making the most of the book's potential as a literary work, to get the closest to making it a literary masterpiece as I possibly can. Old school, I know. Are there editors out there who care about these things, and can really help with achieving this goal?
Hi! Most "literary masterpieces" begins with either a big book deal or a lot of revenue later on :) In other words: your goals sound like most writer's goals. They want to be great writers. To share great stories. And, yes, I absolutely think there are editors who also care about these things! But editors and agents all have their livelihoods tied to their work, so they will also care about marketability and sales.
@@laurenkaywrites For agents and publishing house editors, I see your point. But freelance developmental editors don't get paid based on book sales. They're paid by authors. So how and where can I find one who'd be willing to thoroughly set marketting considerations aside? I'm not saying a high-quality book can't also sell well, or have features that would potentially make it popular, but in places where there is a clash, my priority would be quality, not sales, and I'm wondering if I can find an editor who'd share the same order of priorities.
I'm sure you would be able to! But maybe finding a freelance editor would be a better way to go. That way it's just strictly between you and them, without anyone else's ideas or business goals or whatever getting in the way. Like I've done some editing for a friend whose book is in progress, and he does wanna make money off it and hopefully a career, but I'm constantly bringing out points where I think the story or characters could be improved, and going over the pros and cons of different options regarding that, so he can make a better-informed decision about what to, do... sort of at the intersection between wanting to reflect things he values vs how an average person might connect (or not) with that choice. Ultimately it's his decision but I do let him know things like that. I'm also often pushing for quality when he feels like just letting something be bad cos he feels it's emotionally challenging to rework something 😛 It'd be similar for someone editing your book, I'm sure, and I bet you could find an editor willing to work within those parameters.
@@whycantiremainanonymous8091 what genre do you write in? I am a freelance editor (developmental, line, and copy) for fiction writers with a Specialized Certificate in Copy Editing from UCSD and an MA in English from NYU, and I care very much about helping an author write a good, moving story-not only about genre standards. That being said, most of my colleagues in the industry would say the same thing, especially to their clients who want to self-publish.
For me, I need help in the brain storming process and making sure ideas make sense and get advice on what avenues I should be taking with the plot haha who's that person :)
You're better off using ProWriting aid or Grammarly. While it's technically still using AI, they are programmed to see, fix, and change your mistakes. With that said even both programs make errors so it's important for you to know some form of grammar, puncuation, etc. There are tons of books out there that help authors self edit their books. Edit your book as much as you can and use beta readers (they are free) after beta readers the cheapest from what i have heard for editors are line edits and profreaders.
You should definitely do as much as you can on your own, then consider AI or other assists like PWA to varying degrees as opposed to paying another author money to do the same for each book. If you have the money, on Lauren Kay’s site it’s $1,800.00 minimum for a junior developmental editor. Not sure what the ballpark $1k for a fantasy novel she refers to in this video, I went off her website 🤷. If you have a fantasy novel expect that number to be much more is all. And hey that’s great if you want to pay for that service but a junior editor isn’t an expert, it’s just another set of eyes. AI and PWA and countless other “pay once or not at all” tools can do the same thing and there’s no risk or downside. It comes down to your income level, really, and what you personally choose for your book. I’ve been blown away by the AI in PWA as it knows my genre age category and even extremely fine tuned things like motivation of characters all within 1 second. No human can do this and the technology is only going to improve.
Hi! Do not use ChatGPT to edit your novel :) It's not at a level yet where that would be helpful. What it can be helpful for, sometimes, is coming up with a word or phrase, but definitely not for editing an entire novel.
What is your advice if you have written a book; and you are considering getting an editor, but you like doing everything yourself and feel like how the editor might want the book to appeal to people will take away from how you want it to be read? For example, let's say the story is based "in the hood". The editor might have no idea how a conversation between my characters should sound, or events that would be realistic to my story.
I'm open to editing on some level, but when I hear that developmental editing is working on character development and stuff like that. That is literally the fun part a out writing it yourself.
@murrmusic7793 If you want your book to be read, you're going to have to get an editor to edit your book. There's no way around it. You'll just have to find an editor that understands your vision for the book.
@murrmusic7793 It's not limited, it's realistic. Editors aren't there to change your story, they're there to make it readable. If an editor is changing your story then you picked the wrong editor.
@@TristanODea I get it may be very useful for getting your book a bigger audience, but to say that there is no way around it is a gloomy statement for creativity as if there is no one capable of making their own book completely by themselves that people will want to read
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Looking for an amazing developmental editor? Check out my team of editors and book coaches! www.laurenkaywrites.com/developmental-editing
Thank you; it look several years for me to learn several types of editing. I also found an excellent editor via The Editorial Freelancers Association.
First here, I can't wait to watch the rest of the video and it was so inspiring to talk on the consultation call a few days ago. Thank you 🎉
Yay! Thanks so much for watching and for our great chat!
Well, it depends. Do you want to sell your book, or do you just want to spend money?
Because there are an infinite amount of "author services" you can spend on before you even see a sale.
Cover design, line-edit, copy-edit, developmental editing, blurb writer, book designer, marketing...
You might as well be paying someone's mortgage.
Hiring a professional beta reader with editorial experience who will tell you if your manuscript needs a developmental edit can be useful if you are on a tight budget. The need for a developmental edit can vary from essential to minor, and given the expense, you have to weigh up the 'bang for buck' aspect.
Where can we find one?
@@Paikoun22 I hired one on Fiverr. I was able to connect with someone who had editorial experience.
Hi! I actually have an agency of amazing editors who offer developmental (and line!) edits, book coaching, and more. You can find a ton more info here: laurenkaywrites.com/developmental-editing
What if I don't want the book to be a commercial success? What if I'm not planning on a career as a writer? I have one book in me, at least for the time being. I want it to reach an audience, and be significant to people, but I don't care about publishing deals (indy is fine), and don't plan on making any money on it anyway (if it somehow still sells well, there's a charity I want all the proceeds to go to).
What I do want and care about is making the most of the book's potential as a literary work, to get the closest to making it a literary masterpiece as I possibly can. Old school, I know. Are there editors out there who care about these things, and can really help with achieving this goal?
Hi! Most "literary masterpieces" begins with either a big book deal or a lot of revenue later on :) In other words: your goals sound like most writer's goals. They want to be great writers. To share great stories. And, yes, I absolutely think there are editors who also care about these things! But editors and agents all have their livelihoods tied to their work, so they will also care about marketability and sales.
@@laurenkaywrites For agents and publishing house editors, I see your point. But freelance developmental editors don't get paid based on book sales. They're paid by authors. So how and where can I find one who'd be willing to thoroughly set marketting considerations aside?
I'm not saying a high-quality book can't also sell well, or have features that would potentially make it popular, but in places where there is a clash, my priority would be quality, not sales, and I'm wondering if I can find an editor who'd share the same order of priorities.
I'm sure you would be able to! But maybe finding a freelance editor would be a better way to go. That way it's just strictly between you and them, without anyone else's ideas or business goals or whatever getting in the way.
Like I've done some editing for a friend whose book is in progress, and he does wanna make money off it and hopefully a career, but I'm constantly bringing out points where I think the story or characters could be improved, and going over the pros and cons of different options regarding that, so he can make a better-informed decision about what to, do... sort of at the intersection between wanting to reflect things he values vs how an average person might connect (or not) with that choice. Ultimately it's his decision but I do let him know things like that. I'm also often pushing for quality when he feels like just letting something be bad cos he feels it's emotionally challenging to rework something 😛
It'd be similar for someone editing your book, I'm sure, and I bet you could find an editor willing to work within those parameters.
@@whycantiremainanonymous8091 what genre do you write in? I am a freelance editor (developmental, line, and copy) for fiction writers with a Specialized Certificate in Copy Editing from UCSD and an MA in English from NYU, and I care very much about helping an author write a good, moving story-not only about genre standards. That being said, most of my colleagues in the industry would say the same thing, especially to their clients who want to self-publish.
For me, I need help in the brain storming process and making sure ideas make sense and get advice on what avenues I should be taking with the plot haha who's that person :)
Can I use chatgpt to edit my novel?
That’s a big no no
Thank u ☺️. I was thinking of doing that 😅
You're better off using ProWriting aid or Grammarly. While it's technically still using AI, they are programmed to see, fix, and change your mistakes. With that said even both programs make errors so it's important for you to know some form of grammar, puncuation, etc. There are tons of books out there that help authors self edit their books. Edit your book as much as you can and use beta readers (they are free) after beta readers the cheapest from what i have heard for editors are line edits and profreaders.
You should definitely do as much as you can on your own, then consider AI or other assists like PWA to varying degrees as opposed to paying another author money to do the same for each book. If you have the money, on Lauren Kay’s site it’s $1,800.00 minimum for a junior developmental editor. Not sure what the ballpark $1k for a fantasy novel she refers to in this video, I went off her website 🤷. If you have a fantasy novel expect that number to be much more is all. And hey that’s great if you want to pay for that service but a junior editor isn’t an expert, it’s just another set of eyes. AI and PWA and countless other “pay once or not at all” tools can do the same thing and there’s no risk or downside. It comes down to your income level, really, and what you personally choose for your book. I’ve been blown away by the AI in PWA as it knows my genre age category and even extremely fine tuned things like motivation of characters all within 1 second. No human can do this and the technology is only going to improve.
Hi! Do not use ChatGPT to edit your novel :) It's not at a level yet where that would be helpful. What it can be helpful for, sometimes, is coming up with a word or phrase, but definitely not for editing an entire novel.
What is your advice if you have written a book; and you are considering getting an editor, but you like doing everything yourself and feel like how the editor might want the book to appeal to people will take away from how you want it to be read? For example, let's say the story is based "in the hood". The editor might have no idea how a conversation between my characters should sound, or events that would be realistic to my story.
I'm open to editing on some level, but when I hear that developmental editing is working on character development and stuff like that. That is literally the fun part a out writing it yourself.
@murrmusic7793 If you want your book to be read, you're going to have to get an editor to edit your book. There's no way around it. You'll just have to find an editor that understands your vision for the book.
@@TristanODea I wouldn't say there isn't a way around it. Very limited way of thinking.
@murrmusic7793 It's not limited, it's realistic. Editors aren't there to change your story, they're there to make it readable. If an editor is changing your story then you picked the wrong editor.
@@TristanODea I get it may be very useful for getting your book a bigger audience, but to say that there is no way around it is a gloomy statement for creativity as if there is no one capable of making their own book completely by themselves that people will want to read