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 ...

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​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 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 do 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.

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​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 or developmental 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 technical 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, what I call stylistic line editing might be called something else by others. It’s therefore advisable to discuss what you want and what the editor can offer before the editing starts.
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Below is a broad guide on the different stages of professional editing and what they include. As you can see, I’ve allowed for a fair degree of overlap.

Stage 1: substantive (aka structural, content or developmental) editing

• 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​

Stage 2: Line editing

• 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​

Stage 3: Copyediting

• 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​

Stage 4: Proofreading

• 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

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​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 child was publishing their own stories on WattPad before they were 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
These 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
These offer a wealth of guidance on commissioning third-party assistance – the whats, hows and whys.

Critique or manuscript evaluation
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.

Good-fit professional support
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.

Mimic the mainstream publishing industry
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.

Then enjoy the green zone!

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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.

• Get in touch: Louise Harnby | Crime Fiction & Thriller Editor
• Connect: X @LouiseHarnby, Facebook and LinkedIn
• Learn: Books and courses
• Discover: Resources for authors and editors

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