Another Step Toward Publication for Three of a Kind

I just received the first batch of content edits from my publisher Aisling Press for Three of a Kind. Publication date is August 28th, 2008. Whew, those 20-plus rewrites and hiring someone to do editing seems to have really paid off. So far, the changes are minor, but they're good and applicable.

If you're a first time author, or even second or third, paying someone to edit your work before submitting it anywhere is necessary. I say first, second, or third because Three of a Kind was not my first effort, it was my second of three. No one seemed to be interested in my first novel, so about 2/3rds of the way through editing, I had my professional editor switch to Three of a Kind, which was getting a lot if interest from agents and publishers. A rewrite and completion of the first novel Tweakers however, has given me something that there is interest in. Therefore, Tweakers may be my next book out before the sequel to Three of a Kind.

Anyway, I digress. I do not have a background in journalism or literature, and maybe someone who did would feel confident enough to submit his or her first efforts without having a real editor proof it first. I think that even for those people it would be a mistake. If you've been through a re-writing process you know how amazing it is to continue to find errors, even on your twelfth re-write, and those are usually simple typos, not content, continuity, readability, and all around good story. You're an author, and you're human. What you wrote looks good to you because you wrote it. Another pair of experienced eyes is so important before you send your baby off to the world to see. If they're any good, your editor will not only teach you proper form, they'll point out parts of the story that don't work as written or don't belong without changing your voice.

If you're a first timer author, it is imperative that you have your work professionally edited before you begin to submit it.

Finding the right editor for you can be difficult, and expensive. Shop around and you can find good people who charge a lot less. If you need some help, let me know. I have a few good names and email addresses of professional editors who are inexpensive.

Don't let pride, shyness, or money get in your way of having your first works professionally edited, even if the best you can do is a local critique group. Hubris will doom you to a continual string of eventual rejections.

A word on critique groups

Be warned, good critique groups are hard to come by since they are almost all made up of unpublished beginners or persistent people with little or no talent. You'll know when you've found the right one.