SimpleMarkup #142 – First Editor

Woohoo! Do you know what today is? It’s the last day of school in Hawaii. No more whiny tantrums about WebEx meetings and writing and math and reading.

Now I can just focus on feeding my child every half an hour.

(You think I’m joking, right? Hahahaha…)

Here we have a common conundrum. Sometimes I’ll see people post on Facebook or Twitter and say they just finished their book, so now they want to hire an editor. Great! Editors are often booked well in advance. Good thinking!

But no. They want someone to start ASAP.

And no, why would they need to revise the book? They did the hard part! It’s done and ready for an editor.

In short, no again. BIG no. Editors don’t want to work on first drafts, and honestly, authors shouldn’t want them to work on first drafts either. For one, it’s expensive for the author. For two, it’s aggravating for the editor, because as editors we take heart in people truly caring for their work, and having a first draft dumped on our lap does not give that impression. Plus, it’s so much more work, and we’re not always told something is an untouched first draft.

It’s like giving birth to a baby and then paying someone else to raise it. It’s costly, and in the end, the baby ends up being not quite yours anymore.

And if that is what you want? That’s called a ghostwriter.

By the way, sorry this is being posted so late. I’m having bad WTF-Day-Is-It-itis.

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