“I was an English major, so I don’t need editing.” “My professor already edited it.” “My mother was a teacher for 27 years; she can proofread it.”

We here at Lulu have heard every rationalization authors have for not investing in professional copy editing. It’s completely understandable—editing can be costly, especially if you have a very long manuscript. And for some, it may seem preposterous to pay someone else to do what your professor or a relative has already done.

So why should you consider a professional copy edit?

First, remember that, while it is great that you have friends or family that will closely read your book (trust me, not everyone is that lucky!), more than likely, these people are not editors by trade. A teacher is not an editor. An English major, while he or she may have a better grasp on the English language than most, probably isn’t up-to-date on the changing style rules. (The Chicago Manual of Style is on its 16^th edition—which edition is that dusty copy of yours?) Not to mention, your friend knows how hard you’ve worked on your book and may be afraid to tell you that your dialogue is dry and unrealistic, or that Chapters 9 through 14 go off on a tangent they didn’t understand. An editor doesn’t know you from Adam, and isn’t concerned with hurting your feelings—they want your book to be as good as it possibly can be.

Second, a proofread is not a copy edit. What your friends are probably doing for you is checking for typos and grammar mistakes. While these are, of course, very important, they only scratch the surface of what a true editor looks at in a manuscript. A professional editor is also looking at syntax, word choice, organization, plot and character development, text flow, inconsistencies in tense, among other issues.

Third, consider the value that a copy edit will add to your book. You wouldn’t go out the door without looking in the mirror to make sure your shirt is buttoned correctly, right? Now imagine if you had a stylist from Vogue stopping you at the door each morning to tell you if your shoes are inappropriate for the interview/wedding/wrestling match you’re headed to. That’s what editing does for your book. It adds credibility—you obviously think so much of your book, and of the information you are relaying, that you won’t settle with only one pair of eyes going over it. Yes, the cost of editing might be higher than what you’d planned to spend on the whole pre-publishing process, but it’s really an investment in your book’s future.  You’ve worked on this book for months, or maybe years—you certainly don’t want your reviews to start, “Great message overall, but couldn’t get past the glaring typos and strange sentence structure.”

How can Lulu help with editing?

An Editorial Quality Review is a great place to start. This service is included in our three main Pre-Publishing Packages, and is also available on its own. This review not only provides helpful feedback that you might use in your own revisions, but also recommends one of our three levels of copy editing. And to celebrate Editing Month, we are offering the Editorial Quality Review itself, normally $199, for $149, plus 15% off the price of whichever copy edit we suggest. And if you decide to take that polished manuscript all the way to the finish line with one our publishing packages, we’ll reduce the cost of the Review from the package price. To get started, just click “Add to Cart” here.  This promotion, along with Editing Month festivities, will end on June 1, 2011.

Here at Lulu, our goal is to help you sell more books.  One of the ways we do this is by providing you with a variety of service options to help you out during the publishing process – from start to finish.

When you buy services from Lulu, you’ll be assigned a project coordinator who will help guide you along the way and answer any questions you may have about your service.

The following are some of what I believe are the best services for getting your book looking its best from the inside out.

Editorial Analysis

Your book is the product of your passion and creativity brought to life by many sleepless nights and empty coffee mugs. You’ve read and re-read it at least two thousand times and there’s no telling how many friends and family members you’ve passed it onto to proofread it too. Why not give someone else a chance to see your book?

Do you know when to use the “em” dash versus an “en” dash? No? Well, I don’t either, but our editors do. They can quote Chicago Manual of Style the way I quote my favorite movies. Our Editorial Analysis service lets one of our experienced editors review your manuscript for inconsistencies in plot and character development, common typos and readability.

The constructive criticism you receive from someone who has never met you is priceless.  You’ll receive a document outlining, in detail, any areas where your manuscript could use some improvements, a sample edit, and a quote for a full copy edit.

Though we always recommend you purchase a full edit, you have our promise that we will in no way pressure you to go forward with the full edit if you choose not to.

Premium Cover design

I’m going to let you in on a little Lulu Services secret.  We are in love with the Premium Cover design service. When we get your files back from our fantastic design team, we ooh and ahh and show each other how wonderful the covers that will soon be gracing your book are.  We each do this at least five times a day.

We see a lot of book covers, and we are still amazed. Imagine what your readers will think.

We love book covers because each and everyone is beautiful and unique.   A good design says you’ve also worked hard on the inside. It’s the entry point to your book, the thing that says “Come read me! I am amazing!”  It’s the exclamation point on a sentence with perfect grammar and the perfect pair of shoes for your favorite dress.

The service allows a high level of customization. Your project coordinator will work with the designers and you to get the best cover you can.  After working with your coordinator to determine your needs, you’ll get two initial designs and then two rounds of changes to your design.

The hardest part will be picking which design is your favorite.

globalReach Distribution

It finally happened. Your book is done. Now what?

It’s time to unleash your book upon the world with GlobalReach distribution. If you have an eligible size, an ISBN and your meets our mandatory distribution requirements, you’re just a few clicks from distribution.

We know you worked hard to get to this point, which is why we’ll distribute the book for you –  all over the world.

Though you earn more when your book is sold directly from Lulu, GlobalReach distribution will allow your book to appear on Amazon.com, Barnesandnoble.com and in the Ingram’s database.

Books that go through our distribution channels are able to reach thousands of people, and we do all the work for you.

At one time or another we all have to learn to distance ourselves from our work. Here’s a little piece of knowledge that you probably already know but are afraid to mutter aloud: all creative folks will be criticized. Let’s face it, you’re going to get it whether you like it or not, so you might as well embrace it and use it to your advantage, right?

You should seek out somebody whose opinion you trust, like a fellow writer whose work you admire. Ask for specific details and take notes. The first draft is never the final draft – we all have to start somewhere. Be honest with yourself, and be humble. Even the best of the best get criticism. Heck, Mark Twain’s Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn books were even banned. The key is to make it constructive.

Of all the things I can tell you, the most important is to not take criticism personally. It is not you that is being picked apart and dissected (though it can sometimes feel that way). The worst thing you could do is to take criticism personally and miss the opportunity to improve your work. It is only when we accept that something isn’t perfect that we can move on and make it better. That is the goal.

Marketing your book at a book fair is a great way to get exposure to booksellers, librarians, agents, the media, and more.  Your book is displayed at the show and is also included in the book fair catalog.  This catalog is a valuable tool that book buyers use when they’re making their annual purchases.

If you’re ready to publish and were going to use one of publishing packages anyway, why not get some extra icing on your cake?  Not only will we help with editing, formatting, cover design, and ISBN distribution, with our book fair offer you’ll get a great marketing push as you introduce your work to the market.

This promotion cannot be combined with any other offer or discount. Author is responsible for cost of shipping 2 books to be displayed at the book fair. The $150 coupon is applied toward a book fair service, but may not cover the entire cost of the book fair. When selecting a book fair, the publisher should consider the time it will take to go through the pre-publishing process.

photo: Unhindered by Talent

One of the most common questions I receive is, “Why isn’t my book selling?”  The answer is usually painful to hear.  Avoiding that question altogether lies in tackling another question early in the publishing process, “What will prevent my book from selling?”

Editing is one of the absolute factors that will influence your book sales. The degree to which you personally edit your thoughts and writing, combined with the degree to which you invest in professional editing will ultimately play a large role in developing reader comfort.  A great edit will not ensure your book sells, but it will definitely eliminate one of the largest potential detractors that might prevent book sales.

Some authors decide against getting their books edited.  It takes time, can be expensive, and can be emotionally invasive.  After putting your heart and soul into something, it can be very difficult to hear what needs to be fixed.  By definition, editing is critical, so it’s not at all uncommon to see authors avoid it like the plague.  When I wrote my first book I did not initially have it professionally edited, and it was one of the larger mistakes I made in my first foray into publishing.  I thought that I was saving money and time, but in the end I was mistaken on both counts.  It did not save me time and ended up costing me more in the long run.

The truth of the matter is that even extremely experienced writers have their works professionally edited.   Traditional publishing houses put every book through a minimum of two edits.

Professional editors are trained to put their own personal feelings aside and focus on enhancing your work.  There is a significant difference between having a professional do the job and letting a friend edit your book.  Friends have a tendency to be less critical than is helpful.  Although they may have the best intentions, their ability to ensure the essence of your book is conveyed properly generally falls short.

The two questions that are probably on your mind at this point are, “How much editing do I need”, and  “How much is it going to cost?”   Every manuscript is different.  Fortunately there is an inexpensive way to address both questions: an Editor’s Analysis.  Lulu offers this professional service; designed to help authors get a feel for how professional editing can enhance the quality of their works and, ultimately, improve the reader comfort level.

So whether you’re just starting your work or wondering why it isn’t selling the way you would like, it’s always a good time to think about editing.

Happy Publishing!

Introducing (drum roll, please)…Customizable Publishing Packs!

The standard Publishing Pack is PERFECT for anyone who is feeling a little overwhelmed about putting the finishing touches on their work, because this service bundle has industry professionals take care of pre-publishing needs like editorial work and custom cover design.

Wait…it gets better! Now, anyone interested in the pack can choose to customize their bundle with one of Lulu’s four formatting services. These offerings range from a basic service for text-only manuscripts to a custom service for longer books with an unlimited number of images.

If you’re looking for a way to move your project to the next level, a Lulu publishing pack will take you there and beyond!

Of the million ways that digital technology has impacted on publishing, one that has not been noted to my knowledge is the significance of manuscript submissions online. Only a few years ago, the only procedure for submission of manuscripts by authors and agents was US mail or, in urgent cases, courier or messenger. Emailing manuscripts as attachments unless expressly requested by editors was a breach of protocol to say nothing of good manners.

Two or three years ago that changed. Though unsolicited material was still prohibited, email submissions by recognized authors and agents were accepted, and today this practice is commonplace. But until the introduction of the Sony E-Book Reader and the Amazon Kindle, editors receiving emailed manuscripts printed them out and read them in the traditional way – on paper. Agents and authors rejoiced because the cost and bother of printing and mailing manuscripts was shifted to publishers. And though publishers bore these burdens stoically, the scramble for photocopier time, the expense of purchasing and maintaining high-speed machines, and the wasteful generation of paper were just further proof that publishing was still stuck in a twentieth century brick and mortar/mechanical business model.

Last summer, an editor told me at lunch that her company had experimentally distributed Sony E-Book Readers to its editorial staff and encouraged it to download manuscript submissions into the device and read them that way. She said she was deliriously happy; it solved a million problems from schlepping heavy manuscripts in back-straining briefcases and backpacks, to shameful waste of environmental resources. Some other benefits were the ability to read books on crowded buses and subways without having to shuffle pages.

Since then, publisher after publisher has followed suit. As a great many editors commute between Brooklyn and Manhattan, the subway line between the boroughs has been nicknamed the Sony Express. (Some editors prefer to read submissions on Amazon Kindles.)

An unexpected byproduct of this innovation is that Word for Windows documents, the format of choice for most authors, display typographical and grammatical errors in the forming of glaring underlines, which I call Reddies and Greenies. Misspelled words elicit a squiggly red underline informing the viewer of a typo. Incorrect grammatical usage elicits a squiggly green underline. Authors can call up correct spelling and grammar at the stroke of a key, and at another stroke substitute the correct usage for incorrect or override the computer’s didactic but almost always correct remonstrations, such as an oddly spelled proper name or a deliberate misuse of grammar for special effect. The word processing functions generating these corrections are known as Spell Check and Grammar Check, but I refer to them as those schoolmarm twins from Eastern Europe, Spelczek and Gramaczek.

Unfortunately, all too many authors ignore the finger-shaking of those schoolmarms and submit their manuscripts replete with reddies and greenies. And if you are guilty of that sin I am here to tell you to mend your ways. For one thing, the rainbow display of underlined words and sentences is a serious distraction. Editors are conditioned to spot and correct errors in manuscripts and will unconsciously – or, even worse, consciously – stop reading to ponder some solecism beckoning for attention on their screen. If they loaded your manuscript into their e-readers hoping for a page-flipping experience (as your pitch promised), they will instead find their eyes lurching from one red or green flag to another.

What’s worse, the display of all those flags may give some editors the impression that you simply can’t write.

To demonstrate my point, the link below will take you to this selfsame article, except that I have deliberately ignored spelling and grammar prompts and sprinkled it with a handful of errors. Fasten your seat belts; it’s going to be a bumpy ride. It will also be an educational one. You will become a better speller and a better grammarian. You may even catch Spell Check or Grammar Check in an error! (I have a running quarrel with the latest version of Spell Check, which insists on changing “dialogue” into “dialog”. Bill Gates, where did you go to school?)

It is incumbent on every writer to review his or her manuscript for spelling and grammatical errors. Getting published is hard enough without saddling yourself with the excess baggage of being judged incompetent in the tools of your craft. And shedding that baggage could not be easier. On your Word for Windows taskbar, click on Tools to enable the Spelling and Grammar function, then following the prompts and either correct your errors or ignore and override them. When you come to the end of the manuscript there will not be a reddie or greenie in sight. Hit Save and you’re all set. Gazing at a clean black and white page, you will experience pride and professionalism and you will be able to submit your manuscript with confidence that whatever else may be wrong with it, sloppy spelling and grammar are not among its faults.

As those twin schoolmarms Spelczek and Gramaczek would say – Neatness Counts!

To see a version of this text with errors, download the following Word file, BWB_errors.doc, and take a look at how Word approaches various grammar and spelling mistakes.

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Richard Curtis is president of Richard Curtis Associates, Inc., a leading New York literary agency and founder of E-Reads, a leading e-book publisher dedicated to bringing out-of-print books back into electronic and printed forms as well as publishing new titles. He is an author, as well as an author advocate and writes a blog on the future of publishing, Richard Curtis on Publishing in the 21st Century.