Why you need an editor

No matter who you are, whether you've had experience with self-editing or not, I believe that you need an editor. I have found them to be the most helpful resources that you can have as a writer. The reasons may be obvious, but sometimes they aren't.

  1. Outside perspective.
"That doesn't make sense to me."
"What do you mean? I explained it back on page 51!"
"But it didn't make sense back there either!"
   So often, we as writers take pride in our work, and that's the way it's supposed to be. Don't get me wrong. But because of that we often overlook the flaws in our work. Everything is in our head, so what happens in the book makes sense to us. However readers only have the information that you give them through the writing, and a lot of times we leave things out. The reader knows it when something is missing in the writing. If it doesn't make sense to them -- even if it does to you -- it likely means that you need to put more of the information in your head into your manuscript. This happens to me all the time. And that's part of why I think we need editors. They see things that we can't as the writer.

   2. Idea generating.
Since our readers have that outside perspective, they often find ways to improve the writing that we won't think of on our own. This doesn't mean that we have to do everything they tell us, but we should at LEAST consider what they have to say. I have found that sometimes even little things that my editors say can produce great ideas on how to improve the story. One sentence can become a scene. One blurb can add a chapter. That's the joy of being a writer, isn't it. We especially need these pushes when we are drained out of ideas concerning a particular story. This happens to me often, and the inspiration usually strikes when I'm having someone else read my story.

   3. Identifying interests.
As a writer, you have a choice to make. Write what you want to write...or write what you think the reader wants you to write. While I believe that we should write for ourselves, we should also keep the others in mind. When we let someone else read our work, we have an opportunity to see what snags our readers and what turns them off. This gives us a chance to improve in order to draw more readers. Whenever someone reads a bit of my manuscript, I always fire a barrage of questions at them. "What did you think about so-and-so?" "Do you think their character was consistent?" "What part of this story did you like best?" "What part did you lose interest in?" There's something to be said for engineering your writing to best suit your readers.

These are just my opinions. If you have anything that you'd like to share, I invite you to comment below. I just know that without my editors (among them are my parents and grandpa), I wouldn't be near as good a writer. (Thanks, guys! You're awesome!) So I would encourage you, if you don't have an editor, find one. Even if it is just a family member. It is a GREAT learning experience!