by Bobbie Temple
Defaulting to Copyediting
Are you a Christian fiction writer who has decided to self-publish your book? Getting your Christian fiction book traditionally published usually means the house hires an editing team—such as a substantive editor, a copy editor, and a proofreader—before it publishes. However, if you self-publish, you might give yourself a high five for self-editing and think you have done a great job. Alternatively, you might choose to hire a Christian copy editor if you need grammar and punctuation details fixed. Most writers do. Likewise, you might hire a proofreader. Unfortunately, copy editors and proofreaders do not remove the boring out of boring books. Your book will still fail. Thus, you must know what type of editor you need for your Christian fiction book.
Story First
Frustrated Christian writers may choose self-publishing because of the low acceptance rates of traditional publishing houses. Yet, rejection by a publishing house often indicates a failing storyline. Publishing houses and agencies request manuscript pitches because the pitch reveals the story. The story must grab the reader’s interest. Therefore, Christian fiction writers should always consider hiring a substantive editor first. Substantive editors can help Christian fiction writers self-publish a better book. Even if you write a short children’s book, you should hire a Christian picture book editor and an illustrator who can give you professional illustration critiques. In fact, most self-published picture books need content and layout editing.
Investing for Long-term Success
Many Christian fiction writers do not realize the process of publishing great books. Traditional publishing houses invest a lot of money on the front end to publish a book successfully. Self-published writers fail to make these investments due to cost fears or lack of a business plan. Yes, Christian writers jumping into self-publishing need a business plan. You can hire Christian editors for that service too. While a small portion of Christian writers experience self-publishing success, the majority do not.
Lifting You Up
Christian editors want your book to succeed. You can increase your audience acceptance rate and your success rate by hiring the right editor for your Christian fiction book.
Bobbie Temple can improve your Christian KidLit storyline. Hire her for critiques, illustrations, or a content edit for picture books to YA and graphic novels at iedit.ink.
