WHY YOU SHOULD HIRE AN EDITOR

Editing is an important part of book production and it should be done on the original manuscript before the process of producing book pages starts.

Most computer programs have spelling and grammar checkers but these are not foolproof. For instance, a spell check program will only pick up collections of letters that do not make words, but it will not pick up on misspellings that still result in words. So it would pick up the word "book" if it was misspelled "bok," but it would not pick it up if it was spelled "back."

It is a common misconception that anyone who is a competent writer or who is reasonably well-read can do an adequate job of editing a manuscript. The best editors are those who edit text for a living. They will diligently look at every word, phrase, sentence, and punctuation mark to make sure there are no spelling or grammatical errors.

The author is always the worst person to edit the manuscript because he or she is much too familiar with the text to look at it with a critical eye. 

A professional editor's services will be the least expensive part of the book production and will be well worth the outlay of cash. It is very disappointing to sit down with your newly-printed book and discover spelling and typographical errors scattered across the pages.

Most editors will be happy to give you an estimate of the full cost of their services before they begin work. Here is a list of the different levels of editing that are available.

Substantive Structural Edit
Includes: clarifying for meaning and reorganizing content and structure where needed; checking for consistency in point of view, voice, style, usage; correcting grammar, spelling, punctuation. ($4CAN – $6CAN per page).

Stylistic Edit
Includes: all of the above except clarifying meaning and reorganizing content and structure ($3CAN – $5CAN per page).

Copy/Mechanical/Line Edit
Includes: correcting grammar, spelling, punctuation and checking for consistency in spellings, capitalization, numbers ($2CAN – $3CAN per page).

Proofreading
This is done on the page proofs after the pages have been laid out. Includes: checking for keyboarding errors against original copy ($1CAN – $2CAN per page).

(prices are approximate and are based on double-spaced typed pages)