I've been blogging about writing in a more literary fashion. This blog post is more general. When I was growing up, I always pictured going the traditional route and that the publisher would deal with editing, marketing, and pretty much everything else. With the current market and in the current world, such a process is a rarity. The author often has to deal with much of the process themselves, including marketing through a platform, hiring an editor long before an agent or publisher will look at it, and even sometimes everything else if the author goes indie. And authors so very often go indie. One important part of all of this is the process of hiring an editor, someone who understands the market and what it takes to succeed in your chosen genre.
Step one is, obviously, getting the manuscript to the point that it's ready for an editor. That's a whole separate subject. Once, this could have been enough for most agents or publishers, but it may not be anymore. Not everyone is an English expert or a pro at story structure. Step two is researching and reaching out to an editor to prepare the manuscript for consideration for publication (traditional) or to be published (indie). Not all editors are created equal. Different freelance editors work with different genres. There is a wide variety of price tags and wait times. You'll want to make sure the editor you find works with your genre and in the time frame and budget you need.
Another consideration is what kind of editing do you need? Some editors work with things like characterization and story structure. These would be developmental editors. Some are copy editors, who work with your grammar and consistency of details. Proofreaders, meanwhile, just double-check everything once you think you're really done this time. Not all editors do all of these things, so you'll want to make sure as you research that you're addressing the right kind of editor. There are also a lot of other professionals who help with layout, illustration, and more, so it's something to research in detail. Whether you have a publisher or plan to self-publish, it would be wise to understand who you have available to help you and understand you don't have to do it alone.
The publishing world is not what it once was. Indie publishing has taken the world by storm, but it's easy to be left in the dust if you don't know what you're doing. It's also easy to get passed over by every traditional agent or publisher. You need to know what you're doing and what is available to you before your book will ever get into the hands of an eager reader.
