Meet Kathleen Loxton - a professional editor, PR specialist in marketing and book advertising, as well as a proofreader, publisher, and promotor at Aurora House International Book Publisher
Have you just finished writing a book? After spending countless hours successfully piecing together your work, the next big step you’ll want to take is to get your book published. Now you are probably wondering what the next step is. Book cover? Professional editor? Proofreading?
Today, a special guest on our book club is Kathleen Loxton - a professional editor, PR specialist in marketing and book advertising, as well as a proofreader, publisher, and promotor at Aurora House International Book Publisher, and last but not least a fashion journalist. Kathleen is a woman of many talents, and I sincerely admire the productivity and enthusiasm with which she works to help authors in their writing careers.
Today's topic is:
Should I hire a professional editor for the book I publish? How much does this service cost? What is vital to know when looking for the right editor for your book?
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Kathleen, could you please tell us 5 reasons why the book needs to go through the hands of a professional editor? What are the pros that an author will gain from this process?
1. You need a publishing family, not just an editor
That is a great question! The first, and perhaps most important, reason is that by the time an author has completed a manuscript, they would have spent many hours creating this work, pouring their heart and soul into making it the best it possibly can be – that is just the first part of the journey of a book, though. If you want it to truly be a polished novel that reflects the efforts invested, you need a team to help you get the rest of the way, and you don’t want to be disappointed when you reach the last hurdle. That’s where professional editing, proofreading, and promotional work comes in – it takes a publishing family to make a manuscript a success, you can’t do it alone.
2. See your work in a new light
Secondly, as a writer you can get too close to your work, so sometimes it takes other sets of eyes to raise the work to a higher level and different opinions to see the work in a new light with all its potential.
3. Publishing trends and best publishing practices
Thirdly, a professional publishing team can assist with fact-checking, publishing trends, best publishing practices, and are privy to the latest editorial industry discussions and rules.
4. Knowledge how to be competitive in the marketplace
Fourthly, when it comes to getting your book under the nose of readers in this extremely competitive marketplace, there’s simply nothing that beats the knowledge of a professional publishing team that know exactly how to do just that.
5. Support system
Finally, writing a novel can be a lonely process, and when you have a team in your corner that loves books as much as you do, they act as an all-round support system (which, when you’re creating something, is key).
How much does such a service cost approximately, and what determines the price? Also, I wonder how long it takes to edit a book, and does the genre matter?
Cost is something that can vary widely as is the length of time it takes to get published. The scope of the work as well as your overall goals for the piece contributes a lot to this – for example, if you just want the work printed for posterity versus a work you want to get on a bestsellers list. With genre too, each has its own considerations and particular areas that need attention.
Other key elements in publication are also factors to consider, for example: does the work need illustrations? Are there special considerations for typesetting? What’s needed for the cover and blurb? None of this can be overlooked, whatever the end goal is.
My advice would be to invest in promotional elements if you’d like the book to sell; the journey doesn’t end when you’re holding your book for the first time, you want to shout it from the rooftops.
You are absolutely right. Please tell us what is essential to know when looking for an editor for your book for the first time? Is there a criterion by which one can choose the right editor to work with?
Look for someone – a team of people – that really understands what you want to achieve; you should be on the same page figuratively and literally. Ask about anything you’re unsure of (especially prior to starting the process) and ensure you make the most of all the talent and resources available to you. That includes really working with the publisher, editor, proofreader, designer, and promotor – communication is key and don’t be shy to get involved, that way your publishing team can garner more from your feedback. When a great author and equally great publishing team works together, and listens to one another carefully, magic happens.
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Thank you, Kathleen, for the comprehensive answers. I look forward to our next topic, related to the processes of publishing a book.
For all our readers, I leave the coordinates of Kathleen under the post if you need a great book editor or any additional questions related to book publishing.
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