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Here are 6 tips that will help emerging indie authors make informed decisions about their editing and writing process during NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) and beyond.
1. Understand the different types of editing
Regardless of whether an author’s doing their own editing or working with someone like me, I always advise them to make sure they understand the different levels of editing and the order of play.
The first draft of a book is unlikely to be ready for proofreading. Instead, focus on structure first – so how the story hangs together as a whole. Next comes stylistic line work that focuses on the flow and rhythm of prose. Copyediting comes after that. This is the more technical side of the work that looks at consistency and clarity. Only then is it time for the quality-control stage: proofreading. Writers who want to know more can watch a video, listen to a podcast episode or download a booklet. 
2. Top tools and methods for writers on a budget
To make the most of your budget, focus on the five Cs:
Community Take a look at the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) and the Society of Authors. They’re two fine examples of organizations who are dedicated to supporting writers at different stages of their journey. Membership includes access to free and affordable paid-for events and resources. But they offer something else that’s incredibly valuable too – a network of like-minded people. Trying to make your mark in the publishing world can feel overwhelming, so being able to get advice and inspiration from others on the same journey is priceless. Content There’s a ton of useful – and free – guidance about the craft of writing online, so it’s worth budget-sensitive writers spending time digging around in the search engines. However, those interested in sentence-level guidance can visit my resource library as a first port of call. I also recommend The Creative Penn, a superb knowledge bank through which Joanna Penn guides aspiring authors on how to write, how to get their books published and how to make their work visible. I love Joanna’s genuine and approachable teaching style, and how she makes self-publishing accessible to everyone. Craft books Books are the most affordable way I know of accessing high-quality guidance. There are lots – too many to mention here – but I recommend fiction writers start with The Magic of Fiction by Beth Hill because it pays attention to structure and helps writers create a great first draft. My own Editing Fiction at Sentence Level focuses on line craft that helps writers refine the flow, rhythm, mood, voice and style of their prose. 
For non-fiction writers, Andy Maslen’s Write to Sell is an excellent tool for any content creator who wants to craft a compelling message, something that’s critical for authors when they’re promoting their books.
And Joanna Penn’s How to Write Non-Fiction takes authors step by step through the whole book-creation process – from mindset to marketing and everything else in between. Courses Love learning at your own pace? Online courses are an affordable and convenient way to study in a multimedia environment. There are lots to choose from. For starters, take a look at Joanna Penn’s business-focused author courses, and for craft-based tuition for fiction, try Narrative Distance: A Toolbox for Writers and Editors and Preparing Your Book for Submission, two courses from my own training stable. The National Writing Centre also offers online training that aims to build authors’ confidence. Some of their courses are even free. The NWC also partners with the University of East Anglia to provide more in-depth premium creative-writing courses that come with tutor support. Conscious language Anyone who’s aware of the events surrounding Kate Clanchy’s Some Kids I Taught and What They Taught Me will understand the importance of reviewing their work through the lens of representation. I’m not for a minute suggesting that a work of fiction or non-fiction has to follow a set of prescribed ‘rules’ about what can or can’t be written, but rather that writing means applying the same mindfulness to the words we put on a page as those that come out of our mouths. When we write, we’re building a relationship with our readers, even though we don’t know who most of them are. And so consciously considering whether our words are helping or harming is just good human practice – one that means our books function as we intend them to, whether that’s to teach or to entertain. For authors who want a little more guidance on this, I have a free booklet on inclusive and respectful writing. It doesn’t prescribe, just helps writers make informed decisions. 
3. Manage your first draft appropriately
The first draft isn’t usually something that should be sent to an editor. More often, the first draft is where the author lays down the story just as it comes.
Once that’s done, put the book away – just let it sit for a while – then revisit it and decide what’s working and what isn’t, what needs refining, amplifying or deleting. Perhaps follow Sophie Hannah and Jeffery Deaver’s lead and create detailed outlines that help keep you on track even at first-draft stage. You can read more about Hannah’s method in ‘Why and how I plan my novels’. If you do decide to work with an editor, invest time in finding someone who’s a great fit for you: someone who gets you and is engaged with what you’re doing with your writing. That person should also be offering the right level of editing (see 1. Understand the different types of editing). And tell them if you’re nervous about being edited; it’s perfectly normal to feel that way. Just bear in mind that they’re on your side and are working for you, for your book and for your reader! 4. Understand the difference between style, convention and peevery
I'm sometimes asked: 'What’s your biggest writing pet peeve as an editor?' My answer is: There’s no room for pet peeves in professional editing – or at least there shouldn’t be.
Do I have preferences? I do – everyone does – but that’s all they are and they have no business in the work that editors do for their clients. Our job is to focus on a client’s goals, the world of their story, and the readers who’ll come along for the journey. There are stylistic and grammatical conventions in writing, and a professional editor should understand those and be mindful of them, but editing requires a malleable mindset that respects voice and rhythm as much as anything else. It’s about sense and sensibility, not prescriptivism and pedantry. Listen right here to this collection of episodes from The Editing Podcast on language, grammar and style: 5. Recognize the pros and cons of being your own publisher
The main advantage of being an indie author is that you get to control everything.
The main disadvantage is … you get to control everything! You’re the publisher as well as the writer, which means you decide which books to write and publish, what the cover will look like, which levels of editorial help to commission, which channels to distribute your book through, what the price will be, what formats the book will be available in, and how your promotion strategy will play out. That’s a lot of work – work that costs you time and money. Publishers will do some of it for you. Still, that will come at a cost because you’ll be taking a royalty that’s likely lower than the return from selling direct. Being your own publisher isn’t everyone’s wheelhouse, but for those who want to be in control, there’s never been a better time to wear that hat because of all the technical solutions available to authors. Any writer can use Amazon. It’s the biggest bookstore on the planet. But you might want to sell direct via your website, too, because that’s your very own shop window. Platforms like Payhip and BookFunnel have made that possible, and it’s made it easy … not just for you but for your customers too. And for authors who are not only writing but also teaching about writing, there are multiple platforms that support that too – LearnDash (Wordpress plugin), LearnWorlds and Teachable for example. 6. Take control of cramped and communal work spaces
Having a dedicated work space means you're not shifting two large monitors and a hard drive off the dinner table every evening. For those working from home, having a place where your business ‘lives’ helps you separate writing from family life.
I realize that everyone’s situation is different, but I hope at least one of the following tips will speak to anyone trying to carve out a dedicated work space.
Summing up
There’s a lot to think about when you decide to become your own publisher – not just what you write but also who supports you during that process, the ways you’ll invest in developing your craft and how to manage the space in which your books are written.
You’re not alone. There’s a ton of help available to help you … whatever your budget and whatever subject or genre you’re writing in. These 6 tips barely scratch the surface, but I hope they at least inspire you to take the next steps of your indie-author journey with confidence. About Louise Harnby
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.
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Want to copyedit fiction for indie authors? Even if you have extensive experience of working for publishers, there are skills and knowledge you might need to acquire before making the shift.
Publishing has its own language
Fiction copyediting means something specific in a publishing company. It’s usually (there are always exceptions to the rule) the corrective work that focuses on spelling, punctuation, grammar, consistency and logic.
It’s important work – meticulous and detailed. It stops a character giving birth two months before she got pregnant; it spots when your protagonist’s eyes have changed colour; it flags up the trigger safety that doesn’t exist on the model of gun being described. In the wider world, ‘copyediting’ can mean all sorts of things. It will include all of the above but might include a deeper level of stylistic work. Some editors will use different terminology to describe their services, such that this middle-level editing – further down the chain than developmental or structural work but higher up than the prepublication proofread – is more intense. Some editors even include developmental/structural work in their ‘copyediting’ service because their target clients fall into one or both of the following categories:
The mismatch between language and need
Some editors work only for publishers. Some work only for indie authors. Some work for both.
That messy publishing language becomes problematic when everyone’s using one term – ‘copyediting’ – to mean different things. Plus, none of us knows what we don’t know. If an editor has copyedited fiction only for publishers, and then moves into the indie-author market, there’s a risk that their knowledge and skills match the needs and expectations of mainstream publishers, but not those of indie authors. Many indie authors are self-publishing for the first time. They’ll expect a professional editor to know what they don’t. But a fiction copyeditor, just by virtue of having done something called ‘fiction copyediting’ as defined by publishers, might not know how to handle the stylistic issues in a book. That doesn’t mean they’re a bad editor. It means they have a specific skill set that might not be what the indie author needs or asks for. Case study: Good editor but bad fit
The author
Jo Pennedanovel is navigating the independent publishing world for the first time. She’s never gone it alone so she’s working from scratch – writing, finding editorial support and a cover designer, building a promotion strategy, and learning about sales and distribution platforms. The brief Jo knows that more than a proofread is required, but she’s happy with the big-picture aspects of her novel. She needs something in the middle: ‘copyediting’, she’s heard it called. So that’s what she looks for. Jo goes online and searches for a copyeditor, finds someone who has over a decade’s worth of experience of copyediting fiction for some of the big-name publishing houses. If that editor’s good enough for them, they’re good enough for Jo! Jo hires the copyeditor for her book. The outcome Jo’s a professional and takes her writing seriously. She knows there will be outstanding glitches that were missed at copyediting stage, so she hires another editor to proofread her book. All well and good so far. The editor fixes the outstanding proofreading glitches but notices the following:
The fix The proofreader could ignore all the line-craft issues. After all, he’s not been commissioned to do this work and it will cut into his hourly rate. And anyway, shouldn’t the previous editor have fixed this stuff? Still, he’s committed to editorial excellence, wants a cracking book in his portfolio, and would like to work with that author again, so he decides that ignoring these problems isn’t an option. He could do one of the following:
I’ve done all three in my time. My choice was based on the author, my schedule, and the connection I felt with the project. There’s no wrong or right, just informed decision-making. What’s gone wrong in the editing process?
So what went wrong in that case study? This problem arises because of flawed assumptions about language and responsibility.
Language
The author and the editor are using the same language to describe different outcomes.
What Jo needed was an editor who recognizes that ‘copyediting’ could mean something different in the author’s head – something like: Do what’s required to make my prose sing! I don’t know what those things are, but that’s why I’m hiring you. What she got was a traditional high-quality copyedit as defined by a different client type. It’s work that she needed, but not all the work she needed. Responsibility
A frequent fallback position on the editor’s part is this: it’s the author’s fault because they didn’t hire the right service. Jo shouldn’t have commissioned a copyedit when stylistic work was required.
That’s flawed. She hired a professional editor precisely because they’re a professional editor. She wanted them to show her what she didn’t know. The situation is complicated further by the fact that editors define their services differently. I offer ‘line-/copyediting’. Some of my colleagues offer the same level of intervention but call it just ‘copyediting’. Others offer two distinct services: ‘line editing’ and ‘copyediting’. Yet others don’t even call line editing ‘line editing’. It might be called ‘substantive editing’ or ‘stylistic editing’. It is any wonder that an indie author chooses to ignore the tangled terminology and focus on collating a shortlist of editors who have extensive experience of working for traditional industry gatekeepers – publishers? That works splendidly when the editors have the skills and knowledge to go beyond what a publisher might expect from a fiction copyedit. But it can fall of a cliff when the rigidity of the terminology restricts the depth of editing required. How can editors help fix the problem?
Editors must take responsibility for the language they use and the skills they have so that they’re fit for a diverse indie-author market. That means learning and educating.
Learn line craft
Fiction editors serving indie authors should learn line craft – the stylistic sentence-level editing that might be required. If we don’t understand the likes of show and tell, narrative viewpoint, tense, holding suspense, dialogue craft, and so on, we should question whether we’re ready for this market. And if we do still want to serve this market with publisher-defined copyediting, we must be explicit about the fact that we don’t offer solutions to stylistic problems in prose. Still, being able to say we don’t offer those solutions means understanding what they are in the first place. Not recognizing them is not an option.
Educate authors
We must go the extra mile to ensure that our online and direct communications with authors explain the different levels of editing and how we define them. A website that boasts of our achievements but doesn’t show our understanding of the craft of fiction editing doesn’t help a beginner author make informed decisions. It serves only us, not them. That can lead to disappointment on the author’s part. And disappointment leads to mistrust, not just with the editor who did the work but with the global editorial community in general. Editors frequently report that editing is ‘undervalued’ and ‘underpaid’. But value and worth have to be earned. So does trust. When an editor works with an indie author, but doesn’t have the skills to offer what’s required, or is ignorant of the fact that they don’t have those skills, it’s they – not the author – who is bringing down value and worth in the editing industry. How can authors help fix the problem?
Writers can help themselves too. If you’re an indie author, and you’re not one hundred per cent sure about what you need, do the following:
Author checklist: Finding a good-fit editor
CLICK IMAGE TO ACCESS BOOKLET AND FREE WEBINAR
Summing up
What publishers expect from a fiction copyeditor is often very different to what indie authors will want or need.
If you’re an editor who wants to offer sentence-level work for indie authors, think about the following:
Even if you have an extensive fiction copyediting background by virtue of having worked for a ton of mainstream publishers, there might still be a mismatch between what’s required or what’s asked for and your own definitions and experience. Be prepared to learn, and to show what you’ve learned when you communicate with indie authors. That’s how we build trust, value and worth. About Louise Harnby
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.
There are different types of novel editing: developmental editing, line editing, copyediting and proofreading. Revising in the right order is essential if you want your book to be in the best shape possible.
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Feel free to enjoy this article, or watch the complementary webinar and download the free ebook.
Developmental editing
Developmental editing comes first. This is big-picture work that involves looking at the story as a whole.
You’ll also hear it called structural editing, perhaps even content editing, and the base components always include plot, structure, characterization, pace, viewpoint, narrative style, and tense.
3 things you should know about developmental editing
Line editing
Line editing is the next step in the revision process and it is stylistic work.
A strong sentence elevates story; a poorly crafted one can bury it. This level of editing revises for style, sense, and flow. You might also hear line editing referred to as substantive editing or stylistic editing. Editors will be addressing the following:
3 things you should know about line editing
Copyediting
Copyediting is the technical side of sentence-level work. Editors will be addressing the following:
3 things you should know about copyediting
Proofreading
Proofreading is the last stage of the editing process prior to publication. Every novel, whether it’s being delivered in print or digitally, requires a final quality-control check.
A proofreader looks for literal errors and layout problems that slipped through previous rounds of revision or were introduced at design stage. Authors preparing for print can ask a proofreader to annotate page proofs. These are almost what a reader would see if they pulled the novel off the shelf. Others ask proofreaders to amend the raw text, either because they’re preparing for epublication or for audiobook narration. Proofreaders are more than typo hunters. They check for consistency of spelling, punctuation and grammar, but also for layout problems such as (but not limited to) indentation, line spacing, inconsistent chapter drops, missing page numbers, and font and heading styles. The remit is extensive (download a free checklist). The art of good proofreading lies in knowing when to change and when to leave well enough alone. A good proofreader should understand the impact of their revisions—not only in relation to the knock-on effect on other pages but also to the cost if a third-party designer/formatter is part of the team.
3 things you should know about proofreading
Which type of editing do you need?
Authors need to take their books through all the types of editing. That doesn’t mean hiring third party professionals for each stage. Writing groups, self-study courses, how-to books, and self-publishing organizations are all great sources of editorial support.
If you decide to work with a professional, invest in one who can help you where you’re weakest. You might be a great structural self-editor but prone to overwriting. Or you might have nailed line craft but need help with story development. And pay attention to the order of play when it comes to revision. Fixing plot holes at proofreading stage might damage previous rounds of editing. That’s a waste of time and money that every writer wants to avoid! About Louise Harnby
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.
Story-level critiques focus on the big picture – plot, pace, characterization, voice. Line critiques evaluate a book at a micro level, focusing on sentence construction, word choice, and readability. Here’s an overview of what to expect.
First step: the story
Think of your book as a construction project.
First you lay the foundations and build the walls – writing and redrafting to ensure the structure of your storytelling is sound. It’s where you and your editor (if you have one) focus on the big-picture stuff such as:
At this macro stage, you might end up adding, deleting or shifting sections of your prose. Some authors do their own structural editing because they’re good at it and have studied story craft via writing courses, groups or books. Others seek professional help, either because they’re at an earlier stage of their authorial journey or because they feel they’re too close to the book to see the problems. One thing’s for sure – there’s no right or wrong way. Every writer has to make their own choices. If a full, done-for-you developmental (or structural) edit isn’t the path you take, you might still decide to work with a specialist editor who analyses your book and provides a detailed report on its strengths and weaknesses at story level, and offers suggestions about how to improve your writing. That’s where story-level critiques come into play. You might also hear them called manuscript evaluations and manuscript assessments. Second step: line level
Once the foundations and walls are in place, it’s plastering time – smoothing at sentence level to ensure that a reader’s journey through the pages is satisfying. In a sense, it’s still structural work but at a micro level. This is where you (and your editor if you have one) focus on nuances such as:
Again, some authors do their own line editing because they’re good at it and have studied line craft via writing courses, groups or books. Others seek help. If a full, done-for-you line- and copyedit isn’t an option, a line critique could be just the ticket. A line critique, like its story-level sister, is an assessment or evaluation of your story but at sentence level. Your report will include examples from your novel that show what’s holding you back. You’ll also be offered suggestions on how you can fix any problems identified. Then you can implement what you learn throughout the rest of your book. Critiques are about learning, not being criticized
Some authors are nervous about critiques. Pro editors get it – it can be tough to put your book in the hands of another and ask them to tell you what’s working and what’s not, especially when you’ve put in so much hard work.
The thing to remember is that a critique (whether at sentence or story level) is not about criticism. It’s about identifying strengths and weaknesses, and offering solutions so that you can move forward to the next stage of your publishing journey with confidence. And critiques are a long-term investment. They enable you to improve your self-editing skills. That’ll save you time and money further down the line because anyone else you commission will have less to do. The line critique: the process and the report
What follows is an overview of the way I handle line critiques. Every editor has their own process, but the basic principles will be similar.
1. The service: Mini line critique Authors email a Word file comprising, say, 5K words of their novel. It’s in a writer’s best interest to include a section that includes both narrative and dialogue. That way we can assess whether both are working effectively. Furthermore, if there are multiple viewpoint characters in the novel, and different viewpoint styles and tenses have been used, a sample that represents these choices will enable us to provide a report that evaluates the success of those decisions. 2. First readthrough The first stage of the process is a complete readthrough of the 5K words. It’s not about micro-level reporting, not yet. Rather, we’re getting a sense of the author’s writing style, the characters’ voices, and the flow of the narrative. 3. Second pass: Identification tagging We go back to the beginning and start the analytical process, identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the author’s line craft. We work through the sample, tagging sections of the text with Word’s commenting tool. The author won’t see these tags – they’re just a tool that allow us to locate the sections we’ll pull from the text and into the report for demonstration. The text in the image below has been blurred in order to respect confidentiality, but you can see the tagging process in the margins of just one page of one of my reports. 
TAGGING IN A MINI FICTION LINE CRITIQUE
4. Writing the report
Now that we’ve tagged the sample, we can create a report. Line critiques are usually between 20 and 30 pages long, depending on the length of the text samples the editor is pulling in and offering recasts for. Each report is divided into sections that address the strengths and weaknesses of the following: NARRATIVE
DIALOGUE AND THOUGHTS
TECHNICAL ELEMENTS
FORMATTING
The tags in the sample allow editors to search for and locate the text we want to use as examples of good practice and to highlight areas with improvement potential. 5. Wrapping up and emailing the report When the report is complete, we save it as a PDF and email it to the author. PDF is the tool of choice for many editors because it can’t be edited. If the client wishes to refer back to it during future writing projects, they can do so safe in the knowledge that nothing’s been accidentally removed. Example of one section of the report
Here’s an example of one of those sections (I’ve disguised the identifying traits of the original in order to respect the author’s confidentiality):
CLARITY OF NARRATIVE VIEWPOINT What worked You held narrative viewpoint well and I commend your decision to separate the two viewpoint characters with chapters. This ensured the narrative voices remained distinct. Using a present-tense second-person POV for your transgressor and a past-tense first-person POV for your protagonist worked extremely well. Have you read Complicity by Iain Banks? He does the same thing! It’s effective because it makes us wonder whether that first-person narrative is reliable, though you don’t give the game away until the denouement, which I loved. The second-person POV also lent a rather creepy voyeurism to the transgressor chapters, and though these were demanding to read, you did give your readers plenty of breathing space with the contrasting protagonist chapters. Nicely done! What could be improved Your protagonist narrative was laboured at times because of the abundance of ‘I’. Overusing this pronoun can lead to an overly told narrative in which the reader is forced to experience everything via the character’s experience of it. This can be distancing. I’m not suggesting you remove every instance of ‘I’ plus the verb – not at all. Instead, consider toning it down and removing some of the filter words so that the reader can experience some of the doing with the character rather than through the character. Here are two examples and suggested fixes:
Notice how I’ve suggested removing ‘I saw’, which feels redundant given that we already know that Marcus is looking up, and only tells us of more seeing being done. Instead, you can focus the reader’s attention on the immediacy of what’s seen once the looking up’s happened: the movement of the shooting star. That allows you to show readers what Marcus sees rather than telling them.
Notice how in the original there’s a lot of telling of what ‘I’ did. I like your use of a strong verb to introduce tension – ‘scuttled’ – but that tension dissipates with the more distant told narrative that follows. There’s telling of sound, smell, and realization. I’ve suggested you tighten up the paragraph by retaining the original anchor in which Marcus hides; perhaps follow that with a shown narrative that, again, allows the reader to experience the sounds and smells at the same time as Marcus rather than through his ears, nose and brain’s doing hearing, smelling and realizing. Recommendation Bear in mind that a first-person narrative, by definition, puts the reader in the character’s head. If you keep that in mind, you’ll save yourself a lot of work because you’ll need fewer words on the page. Have a read through all the protagonist chapters and consider where you can tighten up the prose in order to limit some of the telling of doing being done. You can still anchor the first-person viewpoint with ‘I’ in places, of course, but you might recast some of writing that follows with shown action. Summing up
If you want to hone your line craft and polish your book at sentence level, but a full line- and copyedit is beyond your budget, consider a more affordable alternative: the line critique.
Think of a critique as another form of authorial development, of book-craft study. And what you learn from your critique won’t be something you can apply just to the current book. It’s a tool you can use with every story you write thereafter. And here’s a free booklet that outlines the various levels of editing. 
About Louise Harnby
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.
If you're a first-time writer, working out which editorial services you need help with and what you can do yourself can be tricky. Is proofreading enough or do you need additional assistance? A key question is: How does your reader dance?
This free PDF booklet covers the key issues. In it, you'll find guidance on:
Visit the Books and Videos page in my resource library to download this free booklet. 
About Louise Harnby
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.
If you're thinking about self-publishing a book, there 's something you need to know about prepping your prose before you go public: Proofreading is the last thing you need.
Begin on the starting blocks
When I say proofreading is the last thing you need, I mean it literally. Proofreading is the final stage in the editorial process prior to publication.
The self-publisher who moves straight from writing to proofreading is trying to win the race by starting on the finish line. And unless you’re an extraordinary self-editor, you’ll be disappointed because it’s likely your book won’t be ready for market. Retain control but mimic the mainstream
The beauty of self-publishing is the control you have over the process – you get to write the book you want on your terms. This means:
Still, the mainstream publishing industry knows a thing or two about producing books, and so they should – they’ve been doing it for long enough. And in their production world, proofreading comes last. This isn’t because it’s less important than the previous stages of editing, or easier, or quicker, but because it’s the final quality-control check to pick up what the interior designer, copy-editor, line editor and even a developmental editor missed – anything from an inconsistent character’s name to a misplaced apostrophe, a missing page number to a misspelled word, a rogue paragraph indent to an incorrectly formatted reference. This staged approach to editorial production, carried out by fresh, specialist sets of eyes, increases the likelihood that when the book hits the shelves – even the digital ones – most of the errors will have been fixed. If you mimic the mainstream publishing industry when you self-publish, you reach for the same bar. The different stages of editing
When it comes to the different stages of editing, things are complicated by the fact that there are no universally applied terms used within the publishing industry or by the thousands of independent editors and proofreaders. However, what the industry doesn't disagree on is the order.
Here's a framework to help you visualize the process: 1. SHAPING
This is the big-picture work that focuses on stuff like structure, plot, pace, narrative point of view and characterization. Terminology varies but look out for the following: developmental editing, content editing, substantive editing, story editing or structural editing.
2. SMOOTHING
This is sentence-level work that focuses on flow, form, readability and engagement. You might hear it called line editing or stylistic editing.
3. CORRECTING
This is sentence-level work that focuses on correct and consistent spelling, grammar, punctuation and layout. It might include fact-checking, too. It’s usually referred to as copyediting.
4. VERIFYING
This is the quality-control stage that picks up anything missed beforehand. This is where proofreading comes into play. If working on designed page proofs, the proofreader will also be checking that the layout matches the brief.
Be realistic: artistry versus wizardry
Some new writers think that hiring a round of proofreading will be enough to make their book ready for market. It comes as a shock, not least to the wallet, when they realize what mimicking the mainstream publishing industry will entail.
However, I promise you this – a proofreader will not be able to fix 14,000 spelling, punctuation and grammar errors, strengthen the narrative arc, and omit all the wordiness – all in one pass – and hand the file back to the writer with a guarantee of perfection attached to the invoice.
8 tips for self-publishers on a budget
Here are some ideas that will help you make the tough decisions. Click on the image to save and download your own copy of the infographic.
Last but not least … the proofreader
One pass is not enough. Proofreading is an essential part of the self-publishing process, but it’s only one part. Staged editing isn’t cheap – ask any mainstream press – but it’s the surest way to professional self-publishing that turns discerning readers into fans.
And fans won’t just buy this book; they’ll buy every book you’ll ever write. Related reading
About Louise Harnby
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.
Many independent authors want to see a sample of an editor or proofreader's work prior to signing a contract for editorial services. This post discusses sample edits, why they're useful, and what they cost.
What is a sample edit?
Sample edits are tasters. They give the author the opportunity to compare the work of several different professionals and to assess the editing or proofreading against the price being quoted.
The editor needs to be sensitive to the author’s style, the characters’ voices and the mood of the scene such that the soul of the writing remains intact. Samples help the author to compare editors’ technical competence and their emotional responsiveness to the text. In this case, the question is not so much 'Who’s the best?' but 'Who’s the best fit?' What’s in it for the editor or proofreader?
Samples are beneficial for the editorial pro, too. Here are some of my reasons for doing sample edits:
Tangled terminology Definitions of the different levels of editing vary widely from client to client and editor to editor. What X calls proofreading, Y would call copyediting. What Y calls copyediting might be called line editing by Z. And where definitions differ, so do expectations. Working on a sample enables me to assess what’s required – regardless of the word(s) being used to describe that service. Time: How long does it take? Doing a sample edit shows me how long it takes to work through, say, a thousand words. That means I can estimate how many hours the project will take to complete and whether/when there’s an appropriate slot in my schedule. A 100K-word novel that needs copyediting for spelling, punctuation and grammar errors and inconsistencies, and only a little tweaking for clarity may take 35 hours (one to two weeks in my schedule); a novel of the same length that requires a deeper line edit may take 100 hours (four to six working weeks in my schedule). Appropriate pricing Once I know roughly how long the project will take to complete, I can price it accordingly. Am I a good fit? I usually find that the process of immersing myself in the author’s words comes easily. In the case of a deeper line-editing sample, the work will certainly be time-consuming but I can feel my way through – mimicking the author so that my edits (or suggested recasts) improve and complement the original writing rather than rubbing up against it. This isn’t always the case, though. Sometimes I’m just not a good fit – it’s not obvious how I can put the ooh! into the writing. It’s not that the amendments I’m making are technically incorrect but rather that I’m not able to find that emotional responsiveness that the client needs. When that happens, it’s time to thank the author for the opportunity to do the sample and provide a quotation, but recommend they work with someone else. Why I charge a fee for samples
I usually charge a set fee of for a sample of 1,000 words. Some of my colleagues offer free sample edits, so why do I charge?
My professional time has a cost to it Every minute that I spend doing free editorial work is a minute I could be spending on paid-for work for clients or maintaining my business’s visibility (which is what leads clients to me in the first place). Scheduling problems Because I’m visible, I have little spare time in my schedule to fit in additional work, and certainly not free work. It’s not as off-putting as you might think I was curious as to whether potential clients would object to my charging for samples. In fact, since I introduced the policy, most enquirers have reacted to my fee positively – ‘Of course, not a problem’ is the standard response. This allows me to treat sampling like any other job I’m commissioned for. Filtering There have been cases, though they’re rare, where a client has asked 20 or 30 editors from my professional editorial society for a sample edit, and the chapters offered are all different. It appears that the enquirer is looking for a backdoor to a free complete book edit, farming out bits and pieces here and there. Charging for samples enables me to filter out the cheats. The benefits of the gratis option
Charging for sample edits may not be the best course of action for all editorial freelancers.
While I’ve encountered little objection to date, there are some perfectly legitimate clients who expect a small sample to be edited for free on the understanding that an hour or two of gratis work is acceptable given the reasonable odds of securing the full project. Here are some reasons why you might decide that free sample edits are the best option: New entrant/low visibility If you’re a new entrant to the field and are still building your discoverability, you might well decide that you want to take every opportunity possible to secure paying work. And if that means doing a few small freebies here and there, that’s a price you’re willing to pay. In this case, you’d be justified in regarding free samples as part of your marketing strategy. I think this is a valid argument. In my start-up phase, I didn’t charge for samples for this very reason. Scheduling If you’re still building your business, you may have space in your schedule that more experienced and visible colleagues don’t have. In that case, the opportunity cost of doing a free sample will not be as high. Continued professional development (CPD) You could view the opportunity to do free samples as a way of developing your experience. You can apply what you’ve learned in training to live test cases. By tracking whether these sample edits convert into commissions, you’ll be able to glean whether what you’re doing is appealing (or not) to potential clients. If you’re a new entrant to the field, sampling can be an invaluable teaching tool that gently introduces you to texts that need very different levels of attention. The safe space When I started up my business, the one thing that worried me was the element of surprise. What if the proofread I’d been commissioned for turned out to be a complete nightmare? What if in only reading the text, rather than actually working on it, I’d vastly underestimated the speed at which I could work and therefore undercharged? Doing samples is a great way for the new starter to get a good sense of what they’re taking on, but in a safe space with no obligations. And because no money’s changed hands, there’s no chance of complaint because of misunderstandings over what’s on offer (from either the editor or the client). It's not worth charging Our international editing community is diverse, and we do a lot of different things for many different client types. Sometimes charging is more effort than it's worth. Here's Erin Brenner: 'I do free samples of up to 1,000 words. This allows me to show my value and ease any concerns about the edit. However, I work for corporate clients with ongoing work and multiple stakeholders. Charging for a sample edit would also mean getting the accounting department involved, which is more effort than its worth for both sides.' Make your own choice
I charge for sample edits (most of the time); others offer freebies. Some of my colleagues don’t offer sample edits at all, free or paid-for. There’s no right or wrong choice. How you decide to handle the issue should be based on what’s right for you, not on what others are doing.
Consider your availability, your stage of editorial business ownership, whether free sampling could be a marketing or CPD tool, and how comfortable you are with the possibility that some legitimate clients could be discouraged by charges. Think about doing a test over the course of a year – commit four months each to offering free samples, paid-for samples and no samples, and track your conversions. The results may surprise you! Here's something to help you decide whether free, fee or test is the best approach to handling sample edits. Hope you find it useful! And if you want a flavour of what other editors are doing, take a look at the lively discussions on LinkedIn and Facebook that emerged when I posted links to this article. 
About Louise Harnby
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.
Not sure where to invest your editing budget prior to contacting a literary agent? Here’s some guidance to set you on the right path.
Most of the writers who ask for my help have elected to self-publish. Our conversations don’t leave me feeling conflicted. The writer has a problem and we focus on whether I can solve it, when they want me to do this, and what it will cost.
But every few months or so, the discussion becomes complicated and my initial response is novel-length. Why? Because my writer wants me to copyedit or proofread prior to agent submission. If you’re a writer or an editor (especially a beginner) who’s feeling flummoxed, here’s some direction. Editing prior to submission: First principles
Here are four things that writers and editors should be mindful of at the outset:
What problems do editors solve?
An editor, broadly speaking, is someone who helps prepare written material for publication. However, that prep doesn’t happen in one hit.
Think of it like a Sunday roast – if you start cooking the carrots at the same time as the meat, you’ll end up with a tender joint and a pile of orange mush … or sweet veg and something that belongs in a field not on your plate. The editorial process is not so different – there are lots of things to do but the order and timing of each stage is critical. If you’re a writer and you’re considering hiring an editor prior to submission, think first about what’s worrying you and what might scupper your submission:
Editors, and their intentions and outcomes
All of the following are types of editor but their intentions (and the outcomes) are different:
Some editors offer all of these services, some only one or two. Those who offer multiple stages might do a couple at the same time (e.g. line editing and copyediting) but I know of none who offer all four simultaneously.
What kind of editor fits?
Let’s revisit our list of seven problems and match them with an editor:
Bear in mind that editors customize their services – what one person includes in a copyedit might be restricted to another’s line edit. Don’t be afraid to ask for specifics so that you have a mutual understanding of what’s included. ‘But I don’t know what my problems are’
It’s all very well for experienced agents and editors to say you need X but not Y, but that doesn’t necessarily help the author.
Imagine the writer decides not to commission a copyedit because they’ve heard it’s the big picture that counts, not a few typos.
Fair enough, but what if we’re not talking about a few typos? What if we’re talking about a novel that has a wonderful plot, is beautifully paced and features enthralling characters but, line by line, the narrative is overwritten and so fraught with grammar, spelling and punctuation mistakes that it’s frustrating and unpleasant to read? All the good stuff is buried beneath the blunders. On the flip side, let’s imagine that a writer decides to make sure the book’s in tip-top condition at sentence level but the characters are one shade of grey and the plot’s plopped. In both cases, there’s just too much for an agent to do. And that’s why the yes/no approach to the question of whether a writer should seek professional editorial help prior to submission is problematic. Agent Steve Laube sums up the issue nicely:
Finding out whether you’re ready – the order of play
So how do you find out whether you’re 90% there? I had intended to visit my Sunday Roast metaphor but Jane Friedman says it so much better:
I couldn’t agree more. Recall the types of editors I listed above in ‘What problems do editors solve?’. I deliberately staged them because there’s a hierarchy. The hierarchy isn’t based on importance but on logic.
There’s no point in having a line editor and copyeditor tighten up your narrative if the point of view is a catastrophe; nor is it worth spending hundreds of pounds to ensure that your dialogue is punctuated according to industry standards if the characters giving voice to those words are under-developed. With that in mind, start with the big picture – a manuscript evaluation, critique or a mini developmental edit. This kind of work involves a specialist editor reviewing your book and identifying strengths and weaknesses. It’s not a full-on fix but it will show you how to move forward so that you can improve the book before you submit. As editor Sophie Playle points out:
Sarah Davies of Greenhouse Literary concurs:
The right mindset to working with an editor
If you’re an experienced writer, that might be enough. If the evaluation identifies major problems, you might decide to invest in a full developmental edit, but at least your decision will be informed.
Editor and writing coach Lisa Poisso offers three additional reasons to hire an editor prior to submission:
Literary agent Rachelle Gardner has the following advice on mindset:
Gardner’s referring to big-picture work here – developmental editing. She nails two important points:
And here’s Nicola Morgan (Write to be Published, p. 179):
Gardner and Morgan remind us that if you hire an editor for book one, submit and get a publishing contract, you’ll need to do it for your next book, and the one after, and so on. Over time, you’ll become less dependent on an editor as your novel craft grows, but it won’t happen in one book.
Summary so far ...
So, let’s take a quick breather and summarize:
Finding the right editor – what to tell and what to ask
Talk to more than one editor so you can get a feel for what’s on offer and whether they’re a good fit. An editor will need to know the following:
This information will help the editor work out whether their services are appropriate for you.
Answers to these questions will help you to work out whether their service offering matches your goals. Through the editor’s lens – mindful pre-submission support
Should editors work with writers submitting to agents even though a publisher will likely take a book through the editing process? It depends.
If you’re a specialist developmental editor who understands story craft and what makes a book attractive to agents and publishers, then yes, absolutely. You can be part of that learning process that Gardner and Morgan discuss, someone who helps the writer put their best foot forward in a competitive market. What about if you’re a sentence-level specialist like me? I think we need to tread mindfully.
I don’t take a yes/no approach to this. Sometimes I accept the work and sometimes I advise the author to take another path. Here are four short case studies featuring writers who asked me for copyediting prior to submission.
Case study A
The sample was beautifully written (to my copyeditor’s eye) – engaging from the get-go. I could see clearly how I’d amend the minor spelling, grammar and punctuation errors but they in no way impeded the book’s readability. I would have loved to copyedit that book but I cautioned the author to hold off, do some research into her chosen agents’ requirements and consider a critique first. She took my advice. Case study B The sample was gorgeous – moved me to tears, in fact. However, English was the author’s second language and the book was severely impaired at sentence level. I was able to identify how I’d smooth and correct the narrative but advised her on the order of play and recommended higher-level editing first. She insisted that the structural work was complete, that she’d gone as far as she wished, and that she’d self-publish if she was unsuccessful in securing representation. I did a sample edit, we agreed terms and I spent a blissful month line editing and copyediting for her. Case study C The sample was problematic – I couldn’t get under the skin of the thing. The writing seemed flat, like a textbook rather than a work of fiction. The spelling, grammar and punctuation needed a little work though the errors didn’t impede readability. I could have copyedited that book but it wouldn’t have made any difference – even though I’m not a developmental specialist, I knew the book wasn’t agent-ready. I gently advised the author of my concerns and suggested some structural-level options (and colleagues who could assist him). Despite my advice, he expressed a preference to go ahead with copyediting. I declined, wished him well and walked away. Case study D The sample was strong – the author had worked intensively with an agent to knock the book into shape. He was looking for a once-over to check for howlers, sloppy punctuation, gaping plot holes and a general tidy-up. His agent had recommended he commission a copyeditor to give him the best chance of securing a publishing contract. I didn’t hesitate to quote. But I'm an indie author. Why is agent submission relevant?
Even self-publishers can benefit from agent submission. The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) partners with Toby Mundy Associates (TMA) agency to sell translation and other subsidiary rights for self-published authors.
Says Mundy:
Even if you're self-publishing, the right agent will be able to help you with specialist support.
Summing up
There’s no right or wrong when it comes to an editor and an author working together prior to submission.
What’s crucial is that the decisions made are informed – based on an understanding of the different levels of editing and the order of play. That applies to authors and editors. Authors need to focus on the big picture first, then follow up with sentence-level work if the problems are severe enough to frustrate an agent or a publisher. Editors need to be transparent about their specialist skills and mindful of the author’s preferences, but also be prepared to walk if they believe that their input would be without purpose. Free booklet
Think you might like to revisit this advice? Visit the Books and Videos page in my resource library to download this free booklet.
About Louise Harnby
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.
How do mainstream publishers produce novels? And should you mimic them? Help for self-publishers15/5/2017
Unsure how mainstream publishers manage the editorial process? This post provides an overview and shows you why novels take so long to get to market and what some of the costs are (to the publisher and even to the author!).
A note on scheduling
In the mainstream publishing industry, novels are commissioned and scheduled for publication often up to a year and a half in advance, sometimes longer!
That time frame isn’t down to the publisher being busy with other stuff; rather, it’s about giving the relevant team members the necessary time to take the book through a rigorous editing process and carry out a staged prepublication marketing campaign. Every press’s editorial production chain is slightly different but the broad principles apply.
When the key members have agreed that the correction stage is complete, the raw-text files are handed over to a typesetter (if the book is to be printed). This is where the first proofs are created.
The typesetter formats the book so that the layout conforms to the agreed house style and is designed so that maximum use of the page space is made. Printing is very expensive so minimizing wasted white space is a key factor in the process. The typesetter needs to balance costs against aesthetics.
This is the FIRST PROOF stage. The first proofs are essentially a first draft of what the finished product will look like when it’s picked off the shelves in a bookshop. The completed first proofs are delivered back to the production manager.
KEY MEMBERS: Author, production manager, typesetter 4. Proofreading
The production manager sends the first proofs (perhaps a chunk of paper but increasingly a PDF) to the author and the proofreader (usually a freelancer).
Both will check them carefully. The proofreader may be asked to proofread blind or against the original raw-text files worked on by the copyeditor (the latter is much slower). The proofreader’s job is not to make extensive changes, but rather to draw attention to any final spelling, punctuation, grammar, consistency or logic problems missed at earlier rounds of editing or introduced during the typesetting stage. Every change the proofreader makes or suggests needs to be handled carefully in case it has a knock-on effect on the design, the page count and, consequently, the printing costs. It’s demanding work that requires experience and judgement about when to change and when to leave well enough alone. Some publishers even pass some of these costs back to the author – eek!
This is the QUALITY CONTROL or CHECKING stage. The proofreader does not amend the raw text but annotates the paper or digital pages, often using proof-correction markup language (a kind of shorthand that looks like hieroglyphics to the untrained eye!).
KEY MEMBERS: Author, production manager, proofreader, typesetter 5. Final revision: Design #2
Now the proofreader’s corrected file and the author’s version go back to the production manager, who has to collate all the final amendments and instruct the typesetter to make the necessary corrections.
The typesetter creates a revised file and returns it to the production manager for sign-off.
This the SECOND PROOF stage. We’re nearly there!
KEY MEMBERS: Author, production manager, typesetter 6. File creation and distribution (print, digital or both)The final countdown! The production manager works with the typesetter and printer to create the final print book that will be delivered to the relevant distribution channels. In the case of e-books, the production manager will commission a digital formatter to create e-Pub files that are compatible with the market’s major e-readers and other digital devices.
This is the PUBLISHING stage. The book is delivered to market!
KEY MEMBERS: Production manager, digital formatter, typesetter, printer The elusive publishing deal and the editorial process
As you can see, there are a lot of stages and a lot of people involved. And that’s why it takes so long and why it’s so expensive to publish.
It also explains, in part, why writers can find it so hard to get a mainstream publishing deal; if the book bombs, there’s no return on all that investment. For publishers, novels that need a lot of work, or that don’t fit neatly into an obvious and currently popular genre, are difficult to sell (the high-street bookshops don’t know where to place them to grab readers’ attention). Should you mimic the mainstream publishing industry's editorial process?
Mimicry will bring you quality – there’s no doubt about that. It’ll also require a major investment in time and money.
We all have to make difficult choices about what we do to make the things we create the best they can be. But there are limitations. I’m passionate about the independent author’s right to write, and I know that your pockets aren’t bottomless. If you're budget's limited, focus on investing in support for your weakest areas. About Louise Harnby
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.
Developmental editing, line editing, copyediting, proofreading ... what on earth is the difference and what's best for you when self-publishing?
A potted guide to the different levels of editing ...
If you’re a beginner writer and you’re planning to self-publish, you’ll be thinking about getting your book fit for market.
Some of you might not realize that there are different levels of editing. And even if you do, you might be fuzzy about what distinguishes each service or what it’s usually called. No shame in that, believe me – even among professional publishers and independent editors the terminology differs. Consensus be damned! The irony that this lack of clarity and consistency exists in a profession that prides itself on, well, clarity and consistency isn’t lost on me or my colleagues! The basics
Think of the editorial process like a play with several acts: writing, drafting, sourcing feedback from beta readers, self-editing, developmental editing or manuscript evaluation, line editing, copyediting, proofreading, publishing. The elements in bold are what we’re focusing on today.
Basically, there are two levels of work going on – the macro and the micro.
MACRO
This is where developmental editing (also sometimes called content editing, substantive editing or structural editing) and manuscript evaluations (sometimes known as manuscript reviews or editorial critiques) are to be found. It’s big-picture work that looks at the novel as a whole. Editors who specialize in this level of service focus on how your book works – stuff like structure, plot, flow, point of view, characterization and pace.
MICRO
This is where line editing, copyediting and proofreading are to be found. It’s sentence-level work that looks at the text on a line-by-line and word-by-word basis. Editors who specialize in these levels of service ensure your readers don’t trip up. Standard grammar, spelling and punctuation are focal points, but at copyediting and line-editing levels, clarity and readability are in play, too. Basic proofreading is usually the final prepublication check to catch any snafus that have been missed during the previous rounds of extensive professional revision. What terms should you use when sourcing editorial help?
There’s a question! My advice is that you explain what you want rather than worrying too much about what it’s called. This is because different editors define their services in different ways. So what should you do?
Key points to remember
About Louise Harnby
Louise Harnby is a line editor, copyeditor and proofreader who specializes in working with crime, mystery, suspense and thriller writers.
She is an Advanced Professional Member of the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) and co-hosts The Editing Podcast.
Sophie Playle explains what a manuscript critique is and how it benefits fiction writers.  What is a manuscript critique?A critique sounds a bit daunting, akin to the word criticise – but it's not a harsh deconstruction. Essentially, a critique looks at the big-picture elements of a manuscript (plot, pace, characters, voice, etc.) and offers a constructive analysis. The critique is offered as a report, which is usually between 5 and 15 pages (though I have written reports of up to 25 pages) depending on how many issues I feel need to be addressed, or depending on the length of the manuscript. It doesn't include any sentence-based editing, though if there is a recurring issue throughout the manuscript, I would flag it up within the report as a general area to look at. The aim is to show where the writing succeeds and where it could be improved, to better inform the writer's next step. What else is a manuscript critique called?It's often called a manuscript appraisal or manuscript review, but I favour the term manuscript critique because what I provide goes beyond an assessment, also offering possible ways to address the issues I might highlight. Who are the clients? Most of my critiquing clients are writers on a journey to self-publication, or writers who want to increase their chances of representation for traditional publication. Generally, a client will be interested in making sure the core of their novel is as good as it can be, and looking for external professional confirmation and/or suggestions for development. This type of assessment comes before any copy-editing or proofreading, and can be used to test ideas (with a sample of the novel plus a synopsis) or strengthen complete novels when the writer feels there is more work to be done but is not sure how to go about it. The benefits of a manuscript critiqueA critiquing service is not needed for everyone, but it can help a writer:
Those next steps might be:
Is hiring a professional necessary?Often, beta readers (friends, colleagues, etc.) can give a writer a useful big-picture perspective on their writing. However, a professional critique goes much deeper – with the added benefit of an honest appraisal (something that might be skewed by kindness from friends!). Impact on the writerWriters are often told that they need a thick skin – and that certainly comes in useful with a critique. Though I attempt to critique with the utmost sensitivity and respect, I feel the biggest injustice to a writer would be to offer them hollow advice and empty praise. Sometimes the assessment can be a bit of a shock to the writer, so it's important to remember that the critique is designed to improve the project, and not to negatively criticise the writer as an individual. It's often very difficult to accept that there might be some fundamental issues with a manuscript that will need substantive work, so when a writer sends their novel to be critiqued, I would say: be prepared for some more hard work ahead! Ann Hudson explains what indexing is and what skills you need to do this work.  ‘Any simpleton may write a book, but it requires high skill to make an index.’Rossiter Johnson 1840–1931; from Hazel K. Bell (ed.) Indexers and Indexes in Fact and Fiction. London: The British Library, 2001 The skills that make you suitableDo you enjoy reading? Do you have a logical mind, and take pleasure in creating order out of chaos? Can you encapsulate a complicated concept in a succinct phrase? If so, you may be suited to indexing. What other types of editorial work do indexers do?Many indexers also do proofreading and/or copy-editing, and some of the requirements overlap, such as good language skills, methodical working habits, meticulous attention to detail and a good eye for spotting errors. Computer skills are also vital. Most indexers use dedicated indexing software, which deals with the more mechanical aspects, leaving the indexer to do the brainwork. And as electronic formats develop, indexers have been required to create linked indexes for ebooks and websites using html and xml tagging, or embedded indexing systems. Have search engines made indexing work redundant?Indexers are often asked whether search engines have made their work redundant. This is far from true. A search engine will find mentions of the exact words that you type into it, but will not find alternative spellings or synonyms. Effective indexing is not just a question of extracting words from a text and putting them in alphabetical order. The skill is in:
The ability to organise material clearly, so that readers can easily find their way around, is also essential. Indexers rarely receive praise, because when an index works well it's taken for granted – though people are quick to complain about an inadequate index! How to index effectivelyIn order to index effectively it is essential to understand what you are reading, and to know what sort of information will be useful and relevant to the likely readership. All indexers should be capable of indexing popular texts aimed at the general reader, but more specialised and academic books demand detailed knowledge. Many indexers offer specialisms, often in subjects studied to degree level or beyond; in particular, medical and legal books require detailed subject knowledge and skills. There are also indexers who specialise in cookery books, children’s books, technical manuals, and many other fields. Entering the indexing fieldIndexing is usually a second (or third or fourth) career, and many indexers started out as librarians. Others come from careers in publishing, academia, IT, education and many other areas. The first port of call for anyone interested in indexing in the UK is the Society of Indexers (SI). Other indexing societies include the American Society for Indexing, the Australian and New Zealand Society of Indexers, and the Indexing Society of Canada. Details of other indexing societies worldwide can be found through the SI website. Training courses for indexersThe Society of Indexers runs a distance learning course that provides a thorough training in the fundamental principles of indexing. It is web-based, with detailed study materials to download, practice exercises and resources online, four formal tests, three online tutorials, and a practical indexing assignment. Successful students become Accredited Members of the Society of Indexers, and are entitled to an entry in the online SI Directory of Professional Indexers, widely used by publishers. After two years’ experience, Accredited Members can apply to become Advanced Professional Members of SI. How the Society of Indexers supports membersThe Society of Indexers works hard to support professional indexers in many ways:
There is plenty of support available from other indexers, too. SI members are a friendly bunch, with a lively discussion list and local groups in many parts of the UK. These meet regularly for indexing-related talks and discussions and social activities. Recommended rates for indexersThe Society of Indexers recommends rates on an annual basis. These are applicable to straightforward texts. Experienced indexers working on specialised and complex projects can command higher rates. To find out the latest recommendations, visit Indexing fees. Is it easy to find work and do the work?Inevitably work is harder to find when global economic pressures are impacting on everyone, but well-established indexers are continuing to get regular work, and a good proportion of the newly Accredited indexers each year are managing to establish themselves.
However, it may take several years to acquire enough regular clients to give up the day job. As with any freelance work, you need good business and communication skills, flexibility and a lot of persistence to get a career off the ground. The work is mentally demanding and you must be willing to work long hours to meet urgent deadlines, especially when you're building up your business. It can be lonely work, and to some it would be pure drudgery. However, for me and many others, indexing is a dream job, the culmination of all our previous working experiences, and the ideal way to earn a living. |
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