You may know that your book needs editing before publishing - I certainly hope so - but do you know the answer to the question, 'What does book editing involve?' You may not know what having your book edited actually means. I've seen books by authors who swear that they have had their books edited, but all they've had done is a proofread! A PROOFREAD IS NOT AN EDIT Having your book edited isn't just finding someone to check that there aren’t mistakes in grammar and punctuation. The story, characterisation, dialogue, world building and so on has to be checked as well to make sure there are no plot holes and continuity problems. And (unless you're an experienced author who writes excellent prose) the prose needs to be worked on to make sure that it reads well - to make sure your book doesn't look like something a teenager might write. Most authors become too close to their work to see it clearly, and they can never see it from the perspective of a reader who has never read it … [Read more...]