How do I avoid bad reviews and retain reader engagement? A guide for new self-publishers and indie authors

If you're unsure about why proofreading, copyediting, line editing and structural editing are different, and how you might allocate your self-publishing budget, here's some guidance ...

Polishing your text and building fans
Readers who've enjoyed your book are more likely to leave positive reviews and come back for more.

Readers who've been frustrated with aspects of your book are more likely to leave negative reviews and reject further opportunities to engage.

One way of thinking about these groups of readers is in terms of zones. The happy readers are in the green zone, the grumpy ones in the red.

Thinking in terms of these zones can help writers to decide which editorial services to commission, when and why.

Readers have different expectations and levels of knowledge. If there are problems with the text, some won't realize. Or they will realize but won’t care. Others will care very much and be frustrated by the lack of polish.

​Copyright Louise Harnby | Proofreader 2017

​It's about putting your readers front of mind because they're your fans, the people who'll rave about you and tell everyone to buy your book. Fans hang out in the green zone.

​Let’s assume for simplicity that the readership is split evenly between those who don’t know or care that there are problems in the book and those who do know and care. Who’d want to alienate 50% of their readership?

If you’re self-publishing, you’ll want to stay out of the red zone. That means getting your book in the best shape you can before you publish.

Mimicking the mainstream publishing industry
What you need to do to stay out of the red zone will depend on whether you’re a mature, developing or emerging writer and the degree to which you've mastered your self-editing skills.

• It may be that you’re a superb world-builder but that structure and pace are your sticking points. In that case, you’ll need help from a substantive editor.
• Or you might have honed these aspects but your description tends towards repetition and wordiness. In that case, a line editor will help you make the text leaner and clearer.
• Then there are the micro elements of spelling, punctuation and grammar correction and consistency. If these are non-standard, a copyeditor will be able to knock the text into shape.
• Finally, you might decide you want a pre-publication proofread – a final quality-control check prior to publishing.

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These are the stages, broadly speaking, that the mainstream publishing industry takes its books through to keep its authors in the green zone. In reality, the production process varies from press to press, but it gives you an idea of the traditional approach.

It’s not just publishing-house processes that vary. The terminology that independent editors use to define their levels of service provision differs widely too.

​For example, my pre-publication proofreading service is called Proofreading Standard. My copyediting service falls under the rubric of Proofreading Plus (and I include line editing when required). It’s therefore advisable to discuss what you want and what the editor can offer before the editing starts.
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The table below gives you a broad idea of  the different stages (S1, S2 etc.) of professional editing and what they include. As you can see, I’ve allowed for a fair degree of overlap.
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Substantive (aka structural, content or developmental) editing

​S1: book​ (the big picture)

Structure: chapters and scenes help readers' understanding

Relevance to intended audience

Completeness: no missing core information

Plot: engaging, makes sense

Characters: authentic and engaging

​Point of view: consistent, unambiguous and navigable

Pace: comfortable reading experience

​Logical and coherent narrative flow: drives the novel forwards​

Line editing
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S2: sentence​
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Appropriate paragraph and section breaks

Appropriate grammar and syntax

Authentic phrasing

Avoiding repetition of words or phrases

Clarity of meaning

Clear dialogue expression (incl. tagging)

Conciseness

Consistency in minor plot, timeline or character details

Correct word choice

Elegant sentence flow

Flagging similarities in names or events

Readability​

Copyediting

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S3: sentence, word​

Appropriate paragraph and section breaks

Avoiding repetition of words or phrases

Clarity of meaning

Consistency in minor plot, timeline or character details

Correct word choice

Correctly punctuated dialogue

Flagging similarities in names or events

Standard and consistent spelling and punctuation

Standard grammar and syntax

Standard paragraph indentation​
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Proofreading
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S4: sentence, word, layout ​

Correct word choice

Correctly punctuated dialogue

Consistency in design of text and image elements

Properly formatted paragraph and section breaks

Removal of extraneous letter and line spaces

Stacked hyphens highlighted

Standard and consistent spelling and punctuation

Standard grammar and syntax

Standard paragraph indentation

Widows, orphans and short lines flagged up

Artistry versus wizardry
Gandalf isn’t an editor or a proofreader; he’s a wizard! If he did my job, he’d be able to carry out all of the editorial stages above and find every single niggle, error and inconsistency in just one pass.

That’s because he has magical powers – unlike publishers and independent editors!

In the real world, though, you’ll have a budget, and some of you will have to make difficult decisions about which services to commission and which to omit (or how you're going to save up for everything your book needs).

It’s not for me to tell you here where to invest your budget – universally applicable advice is impossible given the number of factors to consider. What I can tell you is that I've never been able to undertake a final proofread for a book that hasn’t been copyedited first.

Proofreading is the stage where 90% of the sentence- and word-level problems (and 100% of the big-picture work) should have been fixed – it’s a final level of quality control. Furthermore, I've never finished a copyedit and told the author, 'That's it. It's perfect!'

In a nutshell, good to go is unlikely to be where you’re at if you hire an editorial professional for just one pass. Good enough will have to suffice.

I'm not being grouchy, just honest about what's possible. I'm a genuine advocate of the independent author's right to write and publish. I think it's brilliant that anyone can put their storytelling out there. My young daughter was publishing her own stories on WattPad before she was celebrating a birthday with double digits! How marvellous is that?

As long as you understand what's achievable, that's fine with me!
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Guidance on making the tough decisions

• Writers’ workshops and groups afford the self-publisher a safe and supportive space within which to work and learn from fellow writers and instructors. Groups like these are not just useful in terms of developing skills related to either the macro elements of writing (book-level issues) or the micro elements (sentence- and word-level problems); you’ll also be able to connect with others who are taking the same path as you, and join them in seeking advice on how to structure the journey of writing, drafting, putting aside, rereading and redrafting.
• Online self-publishing forums and blogs offer a wealth of guidance on commissioning third-party assistance – the whats, hows and whys. See my Guidelines for New Authors for links to some of these.
• You might invest in a critique or manuscript evaluation before you commission any third-party editing. This is a niche service provided by specialist editors and writing coaches. A critique can help you to understand where your strengths and weaknesses lie so that you can make an informed decision about how best to invest the rest of your book budget.
• Once you’ve decided which services you want to commission, get quotations from several editors or proofreaders . Find the professional who’s a good fit for you, even if it means waiting for them. It may be that your preferred person is booked up for a few months. It can feel frustrating to have to wait, but bear this in mind – if they’re in demand, perhaps they’re worth your patience.
• Consider saving up so that you can mimic the mainstream publishing industry and commission multiple rounds of editing. Think of it as an investment rather than a cost ... and of all those raving fans!
• See the resources below, some of which will help you with self-editing and reducing costs. All of these are free and instantly accessible – no strings, no email signups. Just stuff to help you out!

That's it for this week. I hope you've found the advice here useful. Enjoy the green zone!

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Louise Harnby is a fiction copyeditor and proofreader. She curates The Proofreader's Parlour and is the author of several books on business planning and marketing for editors and proofreaders.

Visit her business website at Louise Harnby | Proofreader & Copyeditor, say hello on Twitter at @LouiseHarnby, or connect via Facebook and LinkedIn.

If you're an author, you might like to visit Louise’s Writing Library to access my latest self-publishing resources, all of which are free and available instantly.

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