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How to Improve Your Writing: Editors

Most writers admit to this one thing without any worry.  They have no problem with telling people who helped them with their writing.  Most writers work with an editor.  Having a truly good editor this is another great way to improve your writing.  After all, if you want people to buy your book, or if you want to publish more books, you need to improve your writing.  This means that you have to work with editors.

It is a simple answer to give for someone’s question of: how to improve your writing (or how can I improve my writing)?  Get a good editor.

I belive that what I need from an editor is this:

1) Tell me in simple terms what I have said does not make sense, and how I can make it clearer.

2) Care enough to recommend that I read other’s writing.  For example one of my editors encouraged me to read blogs for writers to see how those authors write a blog.

3) Be friendly and at the same time help me focus on improving my business.  After all, it is not only one person who writes a book.  My book would not be as good as it is without the team of people working hard to make it good.

4) Encourage me to keep my focus on writing and getting a book published.  He or she should be willing to tell me when a passage doesn’t work or something I think is good really isn’t.

5) Have some experience editing.  Most editors are good with only one type of editing, such as content editing, or grammatical editing.  I don’t think my book would be where it is if I didn’t have two editors.  Jane is great with grammar, language structure and continuity, but I also had another person look over the content — the historical facts.

6) Keep the schedule that the publisher asks for. This is important for a good editor. If they can not complete their work for me on time, then I am not only faced with unhappy publishers, but also an unhappy editor.

In my mind that is what editors can do for you:  improve your writing — easily.  It is all a part of publishing and marketing your books.