I wrote my book on paper, so typing it was the start of my editing and review process. I used talk to a text to save some time, but had to do a lot of correcting and manual input for quotes and formatting. As many of us know from errors in voice transcribed text messages, one slip up could be really bad and waste a lot of time going back to explain or apologize. Therefore, I reread my entire book two times before asking someone else to proof it.
Getting a friend or family member to proofread is a good idea just to get a second set of eyes and another opinion. It’s probably easier to find someone willing to proof a short book or a novel rather than a long study. I found out that my first book, Seeking the Lord, was too much for my relatives to read. It took a while but eventually a friend from church proof read it for me. This was not a substitute for a professional review, as I later found when looking at author help websites, but it was valuable.
So What Comes After Drafting a Book?
Web searches for how to publish a book led me to Reedsy.com. It is a great resource, which I’ll describe in another post, but for now, know that its where I found my proofreader, Paul. He is also an editor, who had worked on Bible based books before. He was great to work with, and since Paul knew the Bible, he was able to provide some really good critiques. His review was valuable because the insights from an industry professional were something that could not be gotten from friends and family. If you want a book to look professional so it reflects well on you and has a good chance at reaching an audience, I highly recommend engaging someone with the appropriate experience.
To make your proofreader or editor’s job a little easier and perhaps save you some money, you will want to make your manuscript look as nice as possible before sending it in. This is where reading through your book with a critical eye and having a friend review it comes in handy. If you can catch most of the spelling and grammar errors, it allows the professional to not be distracted from the bigger picture items like consistency and voice that can distract or confuse readers. It’s okay if you are not great at grammar, just be prepared to have multiple rounds with your proofreader/editor.
Up to this point in my author journey, I had not yet been overwhelmed. However, that was about to change. Find out when things became too much for me next time.