Book Publishing: My Two Cents

 

I’m not perfect. No ONE is. Seriously. You’re not. I’m not.

That said, let’s talk about publishing books. There are many independent publishers now (self-publishers), and I don’t have a problem with that. My books were independently published before I started my own publishing company, Get It Write Publishing. (**We don’t take royalties, by the way.)

I’m also an editor. I’ve made mistakes in my own books but went back to fix them and republish. I’ve made a few mistakes, even with editing—it happens!

BUT!!

We have to accept constructive criticism.

Here’s an example: Long story short, a woman (a former friend) published her third book and asked me to read it and let me know what I thought. Sure! I’d love to help a friend—excuse me, a “friend.”

I downloaded the book and read three pages. Then I stopped.

It was not edited. At all. There were so many errors in punctuation and grammar... but not only that, sentences didn’t flow. Sadly, I couldn’t read further.

I pulled the book up on Amazon again and read the blurb. Not edited either. Oof. Well, from author to author, friend to friend, and editor to author, I decided to be honest with her.

Perhaps I was too straightforward. I told her honestly that I couldn’t get past the first few pages—it wasn’t edited, etc.

She didn’t take that well at all. She not only insisted that it was edited (by a professional?), but also that “it was a shame” that I felt that way... blah, blah, and so on.

Such a shame.

I’ve been a professional editor for over seven years. Am I perfect? Noooooooooooooooo. I make mistakes too. But if someone calls me on it, I FIX IT.

In the business world (or life in general), you cannot be proud. We need to have teachable spirits. We need to be able to take constructive criticism and help from others. Otherwise, what happens?

We PUBLISH CRAP.

Such a shame.

Again, my two cents. Put away the pride and fix your mistakes. I’ve done it with my own books. If you want to be successful, hire a professional editor, have it proofread (maybe even twice), and do the best you can. Even if it ends up being published with a mistake or two, everyone did their best.

If you think the “top dogs” in publishing are perfect, think again. I’ve seen errors in Stephen King’s books. Heck, I’ve seen errors in several books I've read lately that even have “NY Times Best Seller” stamped on the cover.

If you want to publish a book, make sure it’s done right!

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