A Stern Lecture for Those Considering Having Their Ebooks Edited
April 22nd, 2008 Dina at Wordfeeder.comEvery so often, people come to me wanting their ebooks edited.
I’m never really sure what this means to them, but I know what it means to me.
When I go into Editing Mode, I look at the work through the many different lenses of my Writer’s Eye. You might say that I become an expensive Japanese camera, the kind that nobody carries anymore except for maybe art students.
So, first I grab the “telephoto lens” of my writer’s eye and I zoom out. I view things from the perspective of the skimmer - that person who’s perusing from a distance, not really committing to the read, but getting an overall impression of the book.
What do the chapters say? Is there a natural progression and logical flow? Are the titles engaging? Do they make sense? What about the sections of each chapter? Does this copy prompt the reader to go deeper?
Next I snap on the Everyday Lens - so I can absorb the information the way that a normal person would, as they were going along and reading. I pay attention to word choice, context, definitions, accuracy. Does the content need fact-checking? Do the main points flow easily into the supporting points? Is there enough evidence to be convincing?
What about clarity - do my words reveal clear and intended meaning? Or did I use too many pronouns, making my reader ask, “Who said that?” or “Where am I supposed to put the (whatever)?”
After this I go back to the telephoto lens again - only this time I’m checking the actual perspective in the writing. Did the author accidentally shift from second person (you) to first person (we) in the same paragraph? Is the perspective consistent throughout the entire ebook?
Then, to shake things up a bit, I switch from my handy writer’s eye camera to my nifty “writer’s ear” tone bar. The tone is the “voice” of the writing. Tone has everything to do with the target audience and who you’re addressing/teaching/persuading in your ebook.
Word choice affects tone, but so does lyrical flow and the rhythm in your writing. Did you switch from short, quick pacing to long, dramatic run-on sentences? Your readers will pick up on this and it will potentially break the flow of their concentration. Did you change from light and humorous to cold and logical? Maybe it’s worth taking a second shot at bits and pieces of the copy to keep things on an even keel.
Another lens that’s worth peeking through is the lens of your audience’s eye. How many times do you draw in the reader with examples and stories that hit home? Are you consistent with this technique throughout the ebook? What about metaphors? Did you include these as a way to foster understanding and impress upon the reader’s mind?
Did you remember to say “you” instead of “me” wherever possible, deepening the connection between you and your fans? This makes a huge difference, you know. If you’re going to bother to write an ebook, then you may as well take the time, or hire someone else to take the time, to attend to such details.
You’d think I’d be done by now, but not even close. The ebook will also have to be scanned for grammatical accuracy, correct spelling and proper punctuation. Then it should be fact-checked. Were names of those who were quoted spelled correctly? Did you italicize book titles and put article titles in quotes?
Then there is the matter of your website branding. Did you mention your company name, your website URL, and the link to any e-products you might be pitching? Are all of the links correct and unbroken? If you’ve included an up-sell to another product at the end… did you manage to keep the energy levels high, right to the very last page?
Here’s the stern part of my “stern lecture on editing.” Editing is no small matter. A good editing job takes long hours, laser focus, and microscope-like attention to detail. Every time you change a word or phrase, something else in the surrounding area (or even elsewhere in the ebook) must potentially be changed as well. Editing is NOT easy; it’s hard labor. You’re not reading an ebook once. You’re reading it five or six times at minimum!
I know that many people who write ebooks are looking to save a buck or five hundred on their ebook editing. Many of them may indeed be good, or even great writers. But I’m telling you: either have the editor commit to doing a thorough job, or don’t bother with an editor at all. Do not go to a copywriter and say “I need help on editing” and then expect them to spend 2 hours on an ebook that’s 50 pages long. It can take 2 hours to write and edit one or two pages of copy, if you’re being really careful about what you’re doing.
There is no middle ground, with editing. If you choose to not have your ebook edited, that’s of course your decision to make. But just know that when you forgo the editing, you can easily confuse or even bore the reader. Sometimes you can tarnish your own reputation because you foolishly left glaring typos that cause people to think less of you.
(Really, think about that. Let’s say you’re a public speaker or you offer training courses on how to help others be more polished. How are you going to live up to that image if you can’t even keep silly mistakes out of your written presentations?)
If your readers can’t even make it to the end of your ebook, you can’t really expect that they’ll buy your products and services. Just remember this when you want to chintz out on the editing of your next big info product.
Copyright 2008 Dina Giolitto, Wordfeeder.com Copywriting and Marketing. All rights reserved.
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April 26th, 2008 at 9:19 am
You are right - this is such a good reminder about the power of the ebook and the work that ought to go into them.
April 28th, 2008 at 2:20 pm
Well, thank you, Cynthia. I’m glad you’ve expressed your strong feelings about this to me. :)
Dina