editing for ebooks

[Harbinger]

I'm hoping to have the project I'm working on done and on Amazon by the end of the year. I was curious as to how most people go about getting their work edited, or if they do at all. Do you submit to companies or pay people who do it on the side? How long does it take?

 

[Ankari]

I have an editor that charges me per page to do line by line editing and content editing. I wonder how much such a thing should cost, as I never shopped around to make sure I'm getting a great deal.

 

[ALB2012]

I didnt, but that is because I can't afford it. I asked my friend, she did it then me and another person went over it again. I would say if you can afford it do so. Or at least find someone else to look at it. If you are like me you see what is meant to be there not what is there.

You will still need to edit and format e book or not. Just be careful when you submit it as the formatting can be a little odd. You can get to look at it and do so. Also buy a copy and try and check it on kindle as well as Kindle app as it can look fine on one and odd on another.

I can't speak for how long an editor takes. Keep in mind it is easy to resub it without unpublishing and it's pretty quick. So if you do suddenly realise OMG that looks awful you can clean it up and pop it back up. I think it take 12-24 hours to catch up.

You may want to consider KDP select. If you are ONLY likely to be wanting your book on Amazon then it is probably worth it, as you get the promotional "free" days where you can put your book as free for up to 5 days. there are mixed reviews as to whether this helps or not but it is a good way of getting your name out there. It also puts you in the Kindle Lending Library and you get a share of the Select fund then if people borrow your book. They do need to be in Amazon Prime though.
If you are thinking of other platforms than Kindle dont sign up for select as it locks you in for 90 days. You could always try it and see, you can untick the box and it won't roll over if needed. That is basically what I am doing, I am locked in until September, then I will probably stick it on smashwords as well and put book 2 on both if I managed to edit it.

Good luck

 

[T.Allen.Smith]

In my opinion, you should employ editors. You don't want your work to look amateurish (this goes for cover design also - hire an artist with publishing experience if you're able).

Researching to find the right editor for you is important.

I'd start here:

http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/writer-beware/editors/

The information here can help you weed out people that are unqualified to provide a professional edit. Really good editing can be expensive though.

Before you take that step, I'd recommend trying to find a local writing group to join. Most decent sized cities have writing groups. Trimming the fat before editing helps.