Although I’ve been working on my current WIP, Wildflowers, I couldn’t stop thinking about my completed novel, The Gift of Death. The two books are in two totally different genres and I think I’ll have to use a different pen name for each novel but that’s beside the point! I had sent query letters to many agents last year to try to get an Agent to pick me up for The Gift of Death. After having no luck, I knew my next step would be to have the book edited and then either self publish or find a publishing house that takes independent writers.

Editing is not cheap! If you want a good editor, you better be prepared to dish out some serious money! I struggled with this. Not because I don’t have the money but because I just wasn’t sure if “I’m” worth it. I mean, I think my novel is good, my beta readers loved it, but that doesn’t mean that it’s good enough for “the market.” If I pay for an editor, I may never make that money back in book sales. In fact, I’m pretty sure I won’t even come close. The sad thing is that if a friend came to me with the same issues, I’d tell that friend to go for it and you have to at least try.

So, with some pushing from my husband and my youngest brother, I decided to go for it. Like my husband said, if you dish out all that money to get the book edited, publish, and you don’t sell one book, at least you can say you tried. That’s better than sitting around wondering what if. So I put my big girl panties on and began looking for an editor.

A friend on Facebook connected me with an editor that she knows but after reviewing her website, I didn’t feel what she offered was what I was looking for and I didn’t think my book would be an interest of there’s. Then a good friend (Hi Celeste!) got some information from someone she knew. In that information was a website, Editorial Freelancers Association, which is basically a database of editors. I was leery on choosing someone I didn’t know so I knew I had to be careful.

I made a list of five editors that I thought might be good for me and emailed four of them. Two of them got back to me right away, the 3rd one got back to me two days later, and I haven’t heard back from the fourth one yet. After researching their company and services and emailing back and forth, I ended up going with the first one who responded to me. I can say that TODAY I signed the contract with them! I don’t want to name them just yet…I’ll save that for after I receive my services from them. I will say that the owner has been quick to respond, has answered all my questions and wasn’t once pushy. What really turned me on to them was that it’s not just one editor, it’s a group of editors. This worked out in my favor. When having a book edited, you need one editor to do the developmental editing (the big picture) and then a different editor to do the copy editing (spelling, grammar, punctuation, etc.). They had two editors who were willing to take on my novel. You can’t imagine the relief I have of not having to find a second editor! Phew! And on top of that, it’s all one package and I only pay one price total!

The developmental editing will start sometime around May 4, 2021 (which is such a quick start) and it will take between five to six weeks. Then, it gets sent back to me with suggestions. I make the changes I feel are necessary then send back to them for the copy editing, which takes three to four weeks. Then….well, then I have another decision to make. Do I try to self publish, try to find a publishing house without an agent….OR, I could try an agent again now that it’s been edited. I’ll make that decision once the editing process is over….

Wish me luck!! I’m so nervous sending my book off to professional strangers to read and edit and pick it apart….my backbone is strongly in place!

Thanks for following!!