Five top reasons to hire an editor

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You’ve given a massive amount of blood, sweat and tears to your work. Whether it’s your novel, biography, article or academic writing, it still needs that extra polish.

It looks fine to you, but your eyes have been over it for the umpteenth time. Even if there are mistakes, tiny as they may be, odds are you will not see them. That’s why you need an extra pair of eyes to look over your masterpiece.

1. New eyes

A fresh pair of eyes will see what you have not seen. An editor will be objective and have the sharpness to identify what you have missed or overlooked.

This saves an enormous amount of time, as you will be alerted to the areas that need some more attention. All this adds to the quality of your final product.

2. Language lift

A professional editor will enhance the language of your text. Where you have struggled to find the right word, or have used your preferred word one time too many, an editor will replace your word, with one better, more descriptive, or more apt in the sentence. She may restructure sentences, even paragraphs, to add clarity and flow.  You can only benefit from an editor’s language expertise.

3. A while to style

If you require of your editor to comply with a prescriptive style, this is ably done. A good editor will be aware of the main editing styles and is trained to pay minute attention to detail to ensure that the document complies. It will save you hours of intense work and a great deal of effort.

4. A plot partner

Writing is known as the loneliest profession in the world. Employing an editor will take you out of solitude. She is someone with whom you can bounce off ideas, review your plot and help tie the details together. She can also assist with character development, cutting those who do not move the story forward, shaping those who lack depth.

5. Fact or fiction

If you have included research in your manuscript, there is scope for misquoting, misspelling and distorting facts. An editor will check and re-check factual claims, verify spelling of all proper nouns, correct general spelling and remove all typographical errors. You cannot rely on Spellcheck.

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