Editing Your Own Work Can Be Bad for You...

Writing to your heart's content is commendable, but should you edit your work as well? The final product should be read by another person to catch mistakes in grammar and synthesis. You must let go of the manuscript so others can make intelligent remarks and perfect your paragraphs.

Your project can easily turn into a work of two or more people. Many writers count on their editing abilities, but that could be a bad habit. You cannot always catch your mistakes, even if you read paragraphs several times. The brain's tendency to fill-in what is not written is well known. It does that in order to make sense of what is being read. It is always disheartening when errors are pointed out by readers, but it should be appreciated.

Paying for editing services is expensive, some publishing companies charge a fee per word, some individuals on the internet charge per page, and some others charge per work submitted, but the cost of publishing your book to the general public is even higher if you do not fix mistakes. People complain they do not have money to do this or that, but then expect an agent or a publisher to love their work...with mistakes. It does not make any sense.

You can put off the purchase of a few pairs of shoes or a great name brand purse, but do not skip your editing costs.

ElenaMartina 01.11.11