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Kate Halena
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Kate Halena
@KateHalena
Fiction Author & Editor · ♛ · Debut novel out now SOMEWHERE BETWEEN LIES ~ grief, secrets & self-reinvention 🐾 https://t.co/VQCL4EilJz
Brisbane, QLD Katılım Mayıs 2011
26.8K Takip Edilen30.8K Takipçiler
Kate Halena retweetledi
@SDDonovan KU depends on the genre -- some do very well while others don't... 🫤
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I'm kinda wondering if it's worth having my book in KU. I don't seem to have many pages read, and I wonder if instead I should branch out to other websites.
What do you guys do?
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Writers, does writing ever get boring for you? 📚📝
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There are actually a few different pathways. Some editors have formal qualifications such as diplomas or degrees in areas like professional writing, publishing, or literature -- while others develop their skills through experience working with authors and manuscripts.
Editing itself has several layers. Some editors focus on developmental or content editing (looking at the structure and story), others specialise in line editing, copyediting, or proofreading.
You need to look around/research, and find one that specialises in your genre, and see if their experience fits the type of editing you want. Be careful about the ones that reach out to you in DMs offering their service...
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@ChaceRandolph @KateHalena That is an aspect I have no experience of but it made me think, what defines editor? Is it a vocational position you go to school for? Could I say I am one? I would be a shitty one :) How would I know who to approach?
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Who would have thought this whole debate started with a post about my own self-publishing experience? 😅I completely agree with this post. I personally prioritise quality in my work, but every author should be free to choose the path that works best for them -- without being mocked or criticised for their choices.
Kathryn CJ Hall 📚@kathrynhall_
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 📚
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@sb_wight We should all be supportive of one another. I’ve helped writers with their books before, sometimes at little to no cost, because I know not everyone has the resources to hire professional services. At the end of the day, we’re all just trying to bring our stories into the world.
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It really bugs me when I see fellow authors doing this kind of thing. I understand the underlying rationale: the more skilled hands you have involved in your books the better the end result, and this goes doubly for editors. But it's simply unrealistic for many self-publishing! I have put thousands into this journey and that's with "free" editing services and only just now approaching publishing my first book; this is unrealistic for most people, I would imagine. (The cost to edit my 5-book series, at $.02/word, would be over $14K!!!)
Generally speaking I find the vast majority of my mutuals on here being supportive and encouraging, but even then I still see some of this gate-keepy, shaming behavior going around on occasion, oftentimes unintentionally.
I wonder if indie authors could start pairing up, or teaming up, to offer basic editing help to each other. The problem I see with this is that I suck at it and I would imagine that there are lots like me who couldn't actually offer any real help to other authors.
Either way, we should all be empathetic to our fellow authors! This is already a tough, sometimes demeaning, journey without having our peers piling onto us.
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@igornamus Escalating quickly, it sure did😅 A lot of authors have to take the DIY route, especially early on, and there’s nothing wrong with that. We all work with the resources we have.
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@KateHalena That is twitter. Things escalate quickly. I am in the camp broke :) So I have to do all myself. Do not really care what others do as I am writing behavioral narratives, no interiority, it is a niche of a niche so even editor if I could afford one would be even more expensive
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You don’t have to write a perfect chapter today.
You don’t have to solve every plot hole.
You don’t have to feel inspired.
Just show up to the page.
One paragraph. One sentence. One idea.
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I completely understand that -- not everyone can afford professional services, and that’s a reality many authors face. My original post was simply a reflection of my own self-publishing experience, where I mentioned the process was “expensive” in terms of editing, websites, domains, and promotion.
Unfortunately, that was interpreted as me pushing the narrative that editing itself is “expensive,” which she disagreed with, stating that self-published authors should never pay for editors. My response was that authors can choose the path that works for them, but that was taken as me “schooling” a more experienced author.
I was later described by that author as confrontational, despite the exchange including comments mocking me as a “debut author” for wanting to ensure my book was the best quality it could be -- especially since I publish under my own name and don’t hide behind pseudonyms.
She then questioned my experience as an editor, suggesting there was no indication of training or client work on my website. For clarity, I have qualifications and have edited books over the years, and my name appears in published books as the editor. The acknowledgements in those books speak for themselves. I simply don’t feel the need to advertise that work extensively, as editing is not my primary focus, and I'm also listed as an editor with a company...
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@KateHalena To me, there seems to be a constant misunderstanding running. No one is saying no to editors, some people cannot afford them even if they wanted to and people telling they need one or their book is bad is rather annoying to me.
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@kathrynhall_ It’s also worth noting that the author being referred to has written a book about writing and promoting your book. The opening chapters include criticism of agents, editors, interns, and reception staff. 😅
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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 📚
English
Kate Halena retweetledi
Kate Halena retweetledi
@Scott_A_Butler @kathrynhall_ Yes, I saw those comments. It's crazy that someone would even suggest that!
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@kathrynhall_ Well said indeed.
I have seen some of the comments. Some of them suggest that the author should use AI for editing. 🤦♂️
Not only does AI not understand human emotion, and therefore it will make characters flat, but it'll also steal the author's work. Among other things.
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do you ever do a cleanse to remove people you follow or that follow you that haven't been active for years?
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I have 800 followers!
I’m not sure how many of them are real people, though. But 800 followers!
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@KateHalena Are you working on anything new that you’re excited to share?
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I levelled up today. 🎈🥳🎉
Another year older, another 365 days of telling people I’m "nearly there" with the draft. At this rate, the book will be published posthumously as a cautionary tale. 🪦📕
Who wants a slice of cake? 🍰😋
#amwriting #writingcommunity
GIF
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@Storyzville Janet Evanovich - Stephanie Plum series up to 11th book. Frank Abagnale - Catch Me If You Can. Nicholas Sparks - Safe Haven.
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Authors, which book would you recommend to readers as a favourite (aside from your own ;-))
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Listen, if you come on my posts just to spam comments to authors to use AI in their writing, you're getting blocked.
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