As a self published author on a limited income, I have nothing left over during the month to pay for professional editing of my manuscripts; therefore, sadly, I am my own editor.  I make mistakes in my writing, and as a self editor, I inevitably tend to read over the mistakes I’ve made without catching them, as do most who edit their own work I’m afraid.  It is difficult to edit your own work indeed!  That is why when I read the work of other self published authors I have a compulsion to take notes and contact the author with mistakes I might find, in order for them to catch those mistakes and correct them, thereby possibly increasing their sales and readership.  I appreciate when other authors do the same for me when reading my books.

Sometimes when I contact an author to point out places they might want to consider making changes, the author is appreciative of the time it took me to read through their work, take notes, and the consideration of someone pointing out something they or even their paid (sometimes highly paid) professional editors has missed.  Even some of the best sellers I’ve read, published by conventional publishers, contain blatant mistakes that should have been caught by a proofreader and professional editor.  Those authors I don’t contact once I find errors that need attention.  Their publishers, proofreaders, and paid editors should catch the mistakes.

Sometimes when I contact self published authors with the unsolicited results of my reading their work and taking notes of where I’ve found obvious mistakes, the author is insulted.  I generally won’t read any more of that author’s work because it is obvious they are probably full of themselves, they don’t appreciate constructive critique, and they assume their work is perfect.  If they look for the problem areas I might have pointed out, they will most likely ignore the suggestions, and where they’ve made obvious mistakes with typos, misspellings, and the use of inappropriate words (such as “liked her lips” rather than “licked her lips,”) or using the word “set” where it should be “sat”, or using the word “on” when it should be “in”, or errors in tense, using “were” when it should be “was”; they will leave those mistakes as they are because they are too stubborn or headstrong to take the advice of someone other than a “professional” editor, who overlooked their mistakes to begin with.  The inappreciative authors I’ve tried to help assume I am being mean spirited, when nothing could be farther from the truth.  I love writing, and I appreciate any help I can get in improving my writing so that others enjoy what I write as much as I’ve enjoyed writing it.  I believe a good author/writer appreciates the input of others.  Some suggestions made can be evaluated and discarded, but when it comes to grammatical errors an editor who is paid for their work should have caught, I wouldn’t seek that editor’s services again.  They are called a professional, and receive a fee, for a reason.  I am no professional editor.  I receive no fee.   I’m merely an old lady who enjoys writing and having others appreciate what I write; an old woman who also enjoys helping other authors achieve what all authors, whether self published or otherwise, want to achieve; the best writing that we can possibly accomplish.