H.S. Harding - Author

There are several posts popping up in my timeline written by authors who seem to have a problem with editors and paying for editing services. If you don't agree with hiring outside help for your book, that really is okay. Equally, it is also okay if you do want to hire outside help. Every author is entitled to choose whether or not they want to hire editors, proofreaders, typesetters, cover designers etc., and this often depends on their financial situation. To have an author lecture - because that's what I'm seeing - other authors on how they spend their own money on their own books is really not a good look. If you don't feel your manuscript needs professional editing, that's fine. If you do feel it needs professional editing, that's also fine. Editing is a service offered to help those who feel they need it. Just like hiring a painter and decorator, or a carpet fitter, or a kitchen installer - all services we expect to pay for. Like you would any other service, shop around, do some homework, read testimonials, follow on social media. But aggressive lecturing on not hiring outside help for your book, something authors spend months even years working on, is not only damaging small businesses like mine and my fellow editors, but could also, potentially damage the chances of success for someone's book that might have benefited from an edit, who then decide it's not worth the cost. Which leads me onto one last thing, concerning costs: Something else I'm seeing are posts quoting ridiculously high fees that are just unrealistic and ludicrous. An average cost for a book of 80k words is around £880. NOT 1,000s of pounds/dollars that I'm seeing branded about. Payment plans are also available, so scaring authors into thinking they'd have to spend 1,000s is simply unfair. Thank you for reading this post, and I wish you lots of success with your book 📚