• TRWCBlogger
• Leave a Comment on 5 Things to Keep in Mind When Hiring an Editor

The art of writing is different for everyone;
writing comes easily to some people, and as a result, they are eager to share
their work with others. For other people, writing could be a burden. The
combination of words to form sentences that can entertain, educate and inspire
could jar the senses of this set of people. This makes them hesitant to share
their work with the public, especially with editors, because of the
vulnerability involved in having someone spot their mistakes and bring their
imperfections to their attention. Despite the vulnerability involved, it does
not take away the grave importance of an editor to the writing process.

Thus, here are 5 things you might want to keep in mind when hiring or working with an editor, in order to feel less vulnerable.

• Share Your Goal with the Editor

When you hire an editor, share your editing goal
with him or her. Do you want the editor to help you become a better writer or
do you want him to help you edit your work to be ready for publishing? When you
share your goal, the editor would know exactly what to look for and would be
guided by the kind of feedback to offer.

• An Editor Would Be More Invested in
  the Areas He Loves

It is important you take note of this when
hiring an editor for your writings. An editor would be more willing to invest
time, energy and skills in an area he/she is most interested in. So, before you
hire an editor, make sure the candidate’s area of interest and expertise match
your own writing aspirations.

• Don’t Give Your First Draft to an
  Editor

There are times you need to write and send it to
an editor for review and for immediate publishing, but there are other times
that immediate publishing is not necessary. So, if you know that publishing
your work is not a matter of urgency, after you write your first draft, leave
it for some time, like 2 or 3 weeks, then do a personal review again, before
you send it to an editor for a final review. This would help you spot mistakes
that you might have omitted when you wrote the first draft and would help your
work come-out finer.

• Not Every Editor Will Agree with
  Your Perspective

When you write, not everyone will agree with
your perspectives; and your editor would be no different. So, when your editor
does not agree with what you have written, do not give in to despair.

• Great Editing Doesn’t Equal to a
  Great Book

Just because you have given your work to an editor for review doesn’t necessarily mean you have written a great book, or that the world will love it. Despite the editing, there will be people who will dislike what you have written. So, don’t be disappointed in yourself, or in the editor. Above all, be your own editor first; learn some editing skills and look at your work critically before you send it to an editor for a final review