The rise of self-published books has changed the reader’s world. We all know that. It’s well documented and discussed.  I probably don’t have anything to add but I would just like to make a request from a reader to those that self-publish.

I have found and enjoyed many new authors through the rise of self-publishing.  Being able to take your work straight to readers without any gatekeepers in between has definitely helped some talented writers get their work out.  A lot of it is as well done as any coming out of major publishing houses. 

Sadly, however, this is not true of all.  And therein lies my one request of self-published authors.  Please use an editor.  I don’t care how amateur the cover looks if the book is good.  It can even have formatting problems if the books is good.  But it can’t have misspellings and punctuation errors.  Nothing will throw most readers out of a story faster than trying to make heads or tails of a dialogue because the quotations marks are in the wrong places or non-existent.  Synonyms used incorrectly, missing commas, repetitive words, these all ruin any type of impact your story is trying to make.  I’ve even read stories where the names of the characters changed from one chapter or paragraph to the next. The most creative, thought-provoking story in the world can’t survive that. 

An editor should also be able to tell you that you’ve gone on too long or you’ve repeated a point too many times. 

I’m not a writer.  I don’t know how to find the best editor for your work but please, have someone be honest with you, brutally honest.  We want to enjoy your creativity and hard work. Give us the chance to do that.