Professional Editing: Why Professional Editing is Necessary for Writers

If you are a writer, and especially if you are an experienced writer, you might be wondering why you would want to consider having your writing professionally edited. I am a writer myself, and while I do self editing on all of my writings, anything that I submit for consideration for publication, I have professionally edited by a colleague of mine—and I am a professional editor!

Truth is, much like an attorney should never represent himself in a court of a law, a writer should never attempt to do the final edit on their own works.

Why?

Well, there are many reasons for this, but I’ll just briefly touch on the most obvious ones here:

1. When you edit something you have also written, you read it from the perspective of knowing what you meant to write, instead of seeing it exactly the way it was written. Someone else who was not inside your head at the time of the written may not see it as clearly as you do, or may see things you missed.

2. If what you’ve written is quite lengthy, like a novella or novel, or a non fiction manuscript or eBook, then you probably are sick of the writing at this point, and being able to take a break from it will allow you a better perspective when you come back to it. Passing the writing off to a professional editor who has never seen the writing before and has not been as immersed in it as you have will provide a fresh set of eyes to ensure nothing is missed.

3. Having someone other than yourself look at your writing before you submit it for publication is critical, even if you do not hire a professional editor, because the feedback you receive from others who read your writing will be a good indication as to how your target audience will receive what you have written. However, a professional editor who is in the industry will be able to give you the added feedback from the perspective of how your writing will be received in the marketplace.

4. Professional editing services are something you can use in your query letter to editors or agents and will show that you are committed to investing in yourself and your writing to make it the very best it can be.