Authors & Reviewers discussion

For self-publishing, I feel like the norm is for authors to edit their own work--and that's usually to the detriment of the finished book.

That being said, for the vast majority of self-pub authors, the book will never sell enough to offset the cost of a professional editor. When I read self-published titles, I usually keep that fact in mind and try not to flinch at every misplaced comma.

In my opinion, it's worth learning grammar inside and out to get your copy as clean as possible without needing to pay for external help, but consider that a long-term solution to your short-term problem

Most self-published books get a bad reputation for being unedited and full of errors (formatting or grammatical). From what I've seen depending on the genre, some readers are more lenient. Like Romance, if the story's good enough, most readers will note it but keep it moving if they enjoy it as opposed to Sci-Fi or Historical.

Editors can be so expensive, but it's always best to let another set of eyes look over your work (even if it's just beta readers or a friend), especially if you plan to continue putting out books.

Learning how to self-edit also helps cut down the cost too! Reading your work out loud or having your computer read it back to you helps you catch a lot of things as well.

For your first book, it could be worthwhile having a proofreader, but the first is always a learning experience. Don't pay for more than you're comfortable