Whew! This morning I finished my draft of my new novel, ‘Broken Steele’, book 2 in the ‘Mona Bendarova Adventures.  Next, I’m on to the arduous task of editing it and preparing it for publication. Yes, it’s true. I am an independent publisher under the brand ‘maggicalExpressions’.

First, I’ll be doing a once over edit looking for obvious errors and inconsistencies, which I am sure exists. Next I’ll be doing a more in-depth with my favorite person in the world, my partner Janet. She is quite good at helping me edit and was a huge help in preparing the last book for publication.  I’ll also be sharing it with one or two others who promise to help me edit it.

Which begs the question. To edit yourself or hire an editor? What do you think?

As an independent publisher who has yet to make his first million (alright, hundred) in royalties, I’d like to know. From research I’ve found all over the web, the recommendation is to not self edit but hire an editor.

Since I don’t have the money to do that, I have to resort to my own means to edit my books, and for that matter, design the book covers and everything else necessary to publish.

The second question that comes to mind is, if you hire an editor, how long does it take to get the book back and ready to publish? For that matter, does an editor format the book as well, or that still my responsibility?

What do you think?