It's almost too easy to self-publish these days. Finish your manuscript in the morning, and by afternoon it's an ebook. I'm aware of authors who've done that.
They're responsible for some of the harsh criticism that's been leveled at those who self-publish.
Before you publish …
Edit!
And before you edit … set the manuscript aside for at least a couple of weeks – or longer. What you need is a cooling-off period, some time for your brain to forget what you've written – time so that, when you pick up your manuscript again, what you read is what you've actually written rather than what you meant to say.
The side of the brain we use in the white-heat of creation isn't the logical side of us that sees the flaws in our work – the misspelled words, the punctuation errors, the continuity errors and plot holes big enough to hide the Grand Canyon …
If you're reasonably good at writing and editing, you can do some of that work yourself. But … a caveat here … I've got more than 30 years experience both writing and editing – and I will not be the sole editor of my own work. I want other people to read it, people whose judgment I trust – and by that I mean people I can trust to tell me, with brutal honesty, what needs to be fixed in my manuscript.
If at all possible, you want a professional editor. You can find them with an online search … by checking out ads in writers' magazines. You may even find an editor in your local writer's organization. You'll want an editor who's a good fit for the kind of writing you do – someone familiar with fantasy, for example, if your book is in that genre.
In the absence of a professional editor, seek out other authors. Connect with a local writer's group if you can. And … friends and family can help a lot – if you can trust them, again, to be brutal in their assessment of your work. Without an editor – or even with one – the more sets of eyes that see your work, the better.
But you don't want Mom to be one of your readers unless you know she'll tell you that every page is full of misspelled words, or that the person you killed off on page 39 shows up again alive and well – without benefit of flashback – on page 240.
The need to edit before you throw your book up for the world to see cannot be over-emphasized. Especially if it's self-published. Sure, we all know there are books published by the big East Coast companies that are as error-riddled as many of those that are self-published.
But here's the truth: The reading public will judge you more harshly if you're self-published.
Besides, as a professional author, don't you want to give potential readers the best product you're capable of producing? Not just a book that's exciting with a grab-em-and-don't-let-go plot, but one that's written to the highest and best standards possible?
The odds are that your book won't be perfect. Perfection is a high mark to reach.
But you should want it to be the best that you're capable of producing.
By P.L. Blair
A native of Tyler, Texas, P.L. Blair spent nearly 30 years as a full-time newspaper reporter before writing Shadow Path, book 1 in her Portals fantasy/detective series. Now semi-retired – and still writing (part-time) for a newspaper in South Texas – Blair divides her year between Sheridan and Rockport, Texas, where she has family. She is companion to two basset hounds, a long-haired dachshund and a cat – all rescues. She writes a regular column and is a book reviewer for myshelf.com, and writes occasional articles for the Wyoming Business Journal.
