Need Some Editing Before Editing?

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In Need of Editing before Editing! 

AUTHORS- WTH???

Just sharing a brief excerpt of an email to me from one of our 21st Street fabulous editors...

"There are a LOT of problems with this manuscript. I am almost done fixing up the grammar and such, but stylistically, with the plot errors and the way the story is laid out, it's going to need some major overhauling on the author's end.... " 

and 

"There was literally almost no sentence punctuation throughout the whole manuscript, few paragraph distinctions made, no quotation marks anywhere to indicate dialogue, and no chapter headings at all...."

and

"....there are major issues that need to be addressed before this goes to print. I don't want to make any of major changes myself because I don't know what the author intends (especially as far as chapter headings and such) and I don't want to put my voice in this author's story...."

This is not the first time I have got an email such as this, nor will it be the last. For the first time recently, I had to TURN DOWN a PAYING customer because the manuscript was so poor- we would have had to re-write almost every single sentence and that is not what we do. 

The editors we have are TERRIFIC- however, it is up to you as authors to research and learn how to write a book if you are serious (and paying for editing indicates to me that this is something you are taking seriously.) 

Research via reading, the library, the internet if FREE. Utilize these free outlets and at least try to develop your writing. We are an EDITING SERVICE, not miracle workers. Research what an editors ACTUAL job description is. Our editors go ABOVE and beyond their job description for 7 out of 10 scripts without complaining (and I GREATLY appreciate them and their dedication and hard work.) 

We will do are very best to polish and assist you in putting out a great story. The better you give us to work with, the better the end result can be. We can also refer you to some great developmental editors if need be. When it gets to the point that there aren't even periods or question marks at the end of a sentence- that's a little ridiculous. If you're in need of an editing service, please check out our site for more information. www.21StreetUrbanEditing.com. I am also always available for questions via email at Niccole@21StreetUrbanEditing.com. 

Come on writers. Respect your chosen craft.

Self-Publish - Getting Your Book Ready To Print

So you have completed your manuscript and you want to self-publish. There are many steps that now need to take place. A lot of the steps in order to successfully  self-publish properly you are probably not even aware of. There is more to it that just getting an ISBN number, book cover and printer. 

In this particular post, I am just going to go over the things necessary to get your book to the printer. In future posts, I will elaborate on each of these steps I am referencing, as well as additional helpful tips and information. I am going to share with you what has proven to work for us. This was definitely learned via lots of money, frustration and research along with trial and error.

Let me get started...

The first thing I suggest after completing the manuscript is to get your book cover if you haven't already done so. This is so that while you are completing the rest of the steps, you can begin advertising your book and getting people familiar with the title to your book as well as your name as an author. There are hundreds of terrific book cover designers out there. One of them is Vonda Howard with Cupcake Creative Studios www.cupcakecreativestudio.com/. She has done a phenomonal job on our book covers and we have been very happy with her work.

The next step is to have your manuscript edited. Of course, I suggest our editing service, 21st Street Urban Editing & Publishing www.21StreetUrbanEditing.com however even if you do not use us, USE A PROFESSIONAL! This is not a service you want to skip or try and find the cheap way out of. Make sure you get a sample edit from the editor, references that you ACTUALLY CHECK and a contract that has a confidentiality clause included.  There is no committee that governs editors such as the American Medical Association for doctors or The Bar Association for attorneys. Anyone can throw a website together and start claiming they are an editor. There are no tests to take and nobody regulating their conduct. It is very important to check their references as well as view their published work. Friends and references are two different titles so make sure the person verifying is actually a reference and not just a friend. Also, it is imperative to hire more than one editor AND a proofreader if you want it done professionally and correctly.

Now that your book is off to the editor, the next steps are easy. It is at this time we apply for the Copyright, www.copyright.gov ISBN Number www.myidentifiers.com and LCCN Number http://pcn.loc.gov/. All of this can be accomplished in an hour or two via online and you will feel totally accomplished when it is done. The copyright certificate will arrive quite some time later. The ISBN Number you will be able to get immediately upon applying for it and the LCCN Number they say takes up to two weeks but usually is sent via email with in a week.

Upon your manuscript being completely edited, you should then have it typeset. By this time, you should have all of the required numbers and information for this process to be completed. (Remember, I will be posting individual blogs about each of these steps later on.) Once your manuscript is typeset, you are ready to find a printer.

These are just the steps we take to physically get the book printed. There are lots of other things we do that make for successfully publishing the book. Stay tuned to find out what those other things are.