Author Hack May - Can anyone help?

Being an author is weird because the writing process forces you to be alone and in your thoughts for so much time. And then your story is done and you suddenly need other humans to help you complete the process. You need readers, you need editors. You need someone who loves you to tell you it’s great and pat you on the head. 

Whatever your plan is for publishing–traditional, indie, self–you will need a few gentle souls to help get the manuscript ready.  Here is a breakdown of the people you will need to interact with (I’m so sorry introvert friends, it’s true).

• Developmental Editor - This is a professional who will read your story for major things like plot holes and character inconsistencies. This is expensive (on average from $.03 to $.10 per word) so you don’t want to hire a developmental editor until you have polished it as much as you can. As you write more, your own editing skills will improve too, and you’ll get better at identifying major issues, but if you are a newer writer, this might be a good place to invest.  

• Beta Reader - Like a developmental editor, a beta reader will help identify things that aren’t working. The difference is, a beta reader is often just an enthusiastic reader rather than a professional.  You typically won’t pay for a beta reader. These could be writer or reader  friends. I’ve even seen authors put out requests for beta readers on the socials and find them that way. Great beta readers will often rival developmental editors, but they are hard to come by!

• Sensitivity Reader - if you happen to be writing about a community that you are not a part of (culturally or socially) it’s not a bad idea to have someone from that community read your work. You don’t want to come off as a giant d*ckh**d without meaning to. 

• Copy Editor - A copy editor is again often someone you can hire to fix your grammar, punctuation, all that stuff. It’s a little cheaper, running on average $.03-$.04 per word. This is typically the last round of edits. Story is fixed, you just need another set of eyes to make sure it’s as polished as it can be.

• ARC Reader -  Advanced Read Copy reader. When the book is done, you will give a copy of your book to ARC readers and they will read it with the purpose of giving you a review. Some ARC readers will post about it on social media too, which is all aimed at helping you get buzz for your book baby!

• A Book Coach - Remember I mentioned a person to pat you on the head and tell you that you’re good? That’s a book coach! A book coach will help you with accountability, setting goals, knowing what comes next in the publishing journey, and even reading scenes and giving you specific feedback. Looking for someone like this? Check out my book coach, Nicole with Reignite with Nicole! Click her banner down below for a free 7 day accountability challenge!  

Once you get a little further into your author journey there are more useful people out there. A great PA, (like my PA! Hi Morgan!) will help you organize your socials and newsletter and even help with the self-pub process. There are editors that specialize in query letters and synopses if you go the trad route. Wherever you are at, just know there are people out there to help so you can get back to writing! (And hey if you are a do-it-yourselfer, there are tons of videos and guides to get you moving too. Or hit me up. I can talk this stuff for dayysssssss.)