Editing your Novel

Runner6 said:

Sure but the point of the post I responded to had nothing to with cost, but that an editor wouldn't help the commercial viability of a book.

Click to expand...

Sure, but you seemed to think someone was saying every book doesn't have an editor...which wasn't the case. Books get edited once they get acquired.

cylemmulo said:

Some of the ideas given are ones that I was thinking, which is good . I was planning on giving it a week off, then going through as much as I can before starting the next step.

Click to expand...

I haven't seen anyone else comment on this, but I generally wait about ~2 months before I do my first big edit. (I just write short stories or start on another project while I wait.) The longer you wait, the better you edit. Stuff you've written a week ago is still familiar--you'll remember why you wrote it, how you felt when you wrote it, and what you were trying to accomplish.

The longer you wait, the greater your chance of going, "Whoa, what was I thinking? That doesn't make sense at all!"

cylemmulo said:

How expensive are cheaper editors usually?

Click to expand...

About $100-$200 a book, I think, last time I researched about last winter. Google it. There are threads in various forums, including Goodreads. Book-loving retirees for whom this is a hobby more than a career may do it even for like $70, if they like the genre and topic.