It really should say ALL authors need an editor, self-published or otherwise. It’s so true! I’m glad Dick wrote this so I didn’t have to (because if I’d written it, some of my authors might think I was targeting them even though that couldn’t be farther from the truth).
No one’s manuscript is perfect, not even my own. I’m not afraid to admit that, being an editor myself. Sometimes my eyes see things the way I meant to type them and not as I actually typed them. My editors are on my team. An editor’s goal is to present the author’s work in the best light possible, making the author look that much better! Sometimes an editor will give the author advice about additional points that could be made that the author might have overlooked. They work hard even though it’s likely that their efforts won’t be credited within the pages of that book. It doesn’t matter.
Editors may attempt to teach authors ways to improve their writing, but we are not your high school English teacher, as Dick says, “[rapping] your knuckles for forgetting some arcane rule.” So don’t fear the editing process; embrace it!
Excellent advice! I like when you said "My editors are on my team." That could be the title of your post....Editors are on your team! If someone thinks they can write without an editor (or a proof-reader, before the editor) they are nuts. I'm not an author, but I do a lot of proof-reading in my job, before newsletters and press releases go out. It is important for anything written for public view to have a 'double check'.
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