Passing this along from BookDaily.com. A good editor is critical for a writer who wants to improve, and to give readers their best effort.
by Tracy Lawson
Poor Editing
We all need an editor from time to time. It’s not something we outgrow. One very intelligent and literate adult I know had to be convinced that it was “together” not “togather.” I married him anyway.
Another acquaintance, also a writer, regularly puts out blog posts that say she’s “suppose to” or “use to.” Where did those d’s disappear to? Gah.
We split our infinitives and misplace our modifiers. We can’t get it through our heads that we only use the superlative “my oldest son” when there are more than two sons in the picture.
Writers often tell ourselves, hey, we’re artists. We can’t be bothered with the mundane when we’re crafting an exciting story. But it matters.
That’s why we all need an editor from time to time.
As the founding member of the GES, I embrace my own grammarly shortcomings and put my trust in my editor.
Susan is awesome. She makes me correct my mistakes. She’s like a human thesaurus when I just can’t come up with the right word. She reels me in when I fall in love with the sound of my own voice and a scene starts to drag. I consider her an objective critic and I take her opinion seriously.
This morning, she referred a prospective client to me for an endorsement.
Gladly!
My editor has made me a better writer.
End of story.
Check her out! Susan Hughes at www.myindependenteditor.com
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Tracy Lawson has wanted to be a writer ever since she learned to read. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Communication from Ohio University, and though she embarked on a career in the performing arts as a dance instructor and choreographer, never lost her desire to write, and thus far has to her credit a coming-of-age dystopian thriller and an historical nonfiction. Her interest in writing for teens is sparked by all the wonderful young people in her life, including her daughter, Keri, a college sophomore.
You can find out more about her on her website www.counteractbook.com and on Twitter
HemmingPlay 
This is something people ignore too often. No matter how educated someone is, they cannot properly edit their own stuff.
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Yes, but I think we’re stuck with it for a while. The internet has opened up publishing to everyone, but has also created an economic model based everyone expecting to get content for free. That’s changing, but there’s still not much money in publishing, especially to pay for the talent and time of an editor to take something average and kick it up to the next level. Everyone needs editing. It is frustrating to languish in the land of average, never knowing if that’s as good as I can be or not.
And oh, by the way. Thank you for following the blog, average though it may be. You are follower number 1,000. I wish I had a prize for you, but … well, see the comment above. You do have my thanks, though. That is free, you see. 🙂
PS. after I wrote the above, I checked out your site and see you do editing and research work. I am saving your name, and maybe someone else reading this will want to be in touch. I am working on a book, so I will need an editor. To this point, I’ve just been writing poetry and that’s a bit tricky for someone to edit. But we should stay in touch.
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I actually clicked follow quickly as soon as I saw there were 999 followers. I felt like I won the lottery. Haha
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PS. after I wrote the above, I checked out your site and see you do editing and research work. I am saving your name, and maybe someone else reading this will want to be in touch. I am working on a book, so I will need an editor. To this point, I’ve just been writing poetry and that’s a bit tricky for someone to edit. But we should stay in touch.
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Sounds great. We can keep in touch here and through email when you need anything. allenwatson23@gmail.com. To my writing detriment, I am also on Twitter – allenwatson23
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Oh, man. Twitter. I got on there once on a Tuesday and didn’t emerge until Saturday.
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Thanks. If you don’t mind the occasional political thingy, I’m @hemmingplay
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Only because this is on the subject of editing… may I humbly submit that the period goes inside the quotes, even on a one-word quote?
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See? It was a test and you passed!!!😉
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Haha! The student in me is always delighted to pass a test. 🙂
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