What kind of editing should I invest in?

Last week, I talked about how investing in editing is investing in yourself. So now the question is: What kind of editing do I need?

Honestly, it depends. In an ideal world, you’d get story-level editing and a couple rounds of language-level editing. But often this isn’t possible for indie authors. Editing is a big investment, and often, indie authors are doing this for the love of it.

If you were going to get one kind of editing, I would recommend getting story-level editing, also called developmental editing.

If your story is engaging and the reader cares about the characters, they will forgive you for a typo and keep reading.

If your grammar is perfect but your story isn’t engaging, people will give up anyway.

If your grammar isn’t great and people are finding hard to connect to your characters and plot, people won’t keep reading.

Even someone who corrects grammar for a living is likely to follow this rule. Yes, I’m talking about me. There's a series of books I adore—and I don’t use that word lightly—and I think it could have used another copyedit. Will that stop me from devouring every book the author writes? Not at all. 

So here’s how I’d advise you spend your money based on your budget:

Bare minimum: A manuscript critique

Minimal: A developmental edit

On a budget but with some wiggle room: A developmental edit and a proofread

I’m ready to invest a bit: A developmental edit, a line edit, and a proofread

I have cash to burn: A developmental edit, a line edit, a copyedit, and proofread

I hope that helps you narrow down what kind of editing your novel needs. If you want to see how I can make your budget work, click below.