What Comes First for Your Book? An Agent, Editor, or Publisher?

Publishing a book and editing it are two things that go hand in hand for a successful book launch. You need to edit your book professionally before you can even consider publishing your book. Often there is a chicken or the egg in the question of should i get a professional editor before I send my manuscript off to publishers? What about self-publishing and having it edited by someone other than myself? this is a business and everyone is here to make some money. So even if you go any route to publish your work, there is one other person you should involve in your writing business, an editor.

Okay here are the answers:

Should I have an editor? Yes, this may seem like a simple answer it's rather complex, so I'll start with the basics and go from there: yes get an editor. Not you, not you "writing" buddy, not anyone that will be "nice" because it's you. Sorry I don't get that idea, and I don't understand why people wouldn't want to have an editor rip the manuscript apart before sending it to a publisher. Go online and you will find many editing places who will edit. USE THEM.

Some of the reasons for not having an editor range from: I can see my mistakes, or I can fix them up later, but really you can't and first impressions are vital. A book publisher often doesn't have time to do major fixes, and often won't do them for you.

Should I get a Publisher before an editor? Okay, There are stories of people going to the or a publisher and then getting the work edited, but raise your hands people how many of you think this will happen to you? The reason I ask this is because upon a bit of searching you most often find that these people have edited themselves, or were editors or have gone somewhere for a second look. Or they are established authors. The last point is vital.

Established authors have more connections and more voice in the publishing industry. Yes, to publish on hub pages is a type of publishing, this is why they would love original content. Okay? So remember best work at all times, you never know what might happen, for example, many people know me through my hubs, and by this they know about the literary agent, which by the way means you send your work to me!

What about self-publishing? With this method you give your best and finest work. Better than best, and you'd better get the best editor if you're planning to self-publish period. Don't begin to argue, because you'll get destroyed on amazon.Yes I do review self-published books, HOWEVER I tend to be a bit more careful and I can see that sometimes, the passion is lost because of spelling mistakes.

Either way, get an editor, in fact this is the most important thing, beyond a query letter. If it's novel writing content editing is a must, same goes fro short stories, but flash fiction I would argue content edits on 1,000 words or less isn't needed. Edit before you get a publisher, and edit after you have one.

You'll be doing a lot of editing no matter what!

But does my book need editing?: When you write anything be it a manuscript or an email, you will make mistakes and these mistakes will be not so clear to you, but to someone else it will be very clear. Some people even have a "misspelled" word they use so frequently that the "spell check" does not even see it. This is why you need an editor-- or some type of editing from something or someone other than yourself. Publishing a book does not mean that you will sit on the sidelines and not have a say after you have written it. Professionally editing your manuscript before self-publishing it, means that you are building a positive reputation for your readers. You also need to choose your potential editor wisely.

This person needs to be professional and offer services ranging from spell checking to sentence structure to content revision to as many things as this manuscript needs to be published. Before you go sending your manuscript to a book publisher. They also need to be honest with you-- even to the point of hurting your ego.

Publishers are looking for perfection, or as close to perfection in a manuscript that it can be. There will always be mistakes, but a professional editor will see them. A book is a professional publication, and that should be a goal for any writer. Professional is a must, as this is a business where you and your future publisher want to make money.

Breaking into the publishing business is not easy but with an editor it becomes a lot easier to do. It shows people that you, the writer care about your work, and you want to be in the writing business.

Hubpages, although many use it as a way to make money, there is a certain level of great content that you need have in your writing. Writing and improving yourself are also vital. So, write, and edit, and give yourself a couple of days before publishing anything including a hub.

So and editor is needed before sending out a manuscript to publishers, but the manuscript always needs more edits.

To your writing success.