Do You Need an Editor for your Children’s Book?

Yes! And here are all the reasons why you need it more if it is a multicultural book…

Photo by Quino Al on Unsplash

“I can edit my own book!”

So many people I know do not even know the kinds of editing they need as they step into the world of publishing. They have a book idea and they just run with it.

With no idea about milestones their book needs to go through in order to hit the finish line (which in this case is the illustrating phase only).

Yup! Your book should be finalized with a capital F before you reach the illustration stage. Sure, you may find some proof reading issues but those are minuscule compared to any glaring pot holes that you may miss.

So first, why do you need an editor?

A Fresh Perspective

Yes! Your book idea is wonderful (maybe) but don’t you want it to be the best version of it possible? That’s what an editor does. Hiring an editor does NOT mean that you are a bad writer. It just means that you are smart enough to know that you do not know everything and someone else may have an input that could make your manuscript shine.

Oops! How Did I miss that?

Yup! Hiring one, maybe two editors helps you avoid this simple moment in your book publishing journey. So many times when writing, we have our blinders on and an editor will see simple things that you assumed a reader would understand.

Avoid Shifting Language or Point of Views

I cannot tell you the amount of times, I have edited a book that has gone from present to past to present continuous tense. Also, often the authors in their zest of writing books will just flow through the content not realizing the first person changed to third. It happens to everyone but it is an essential reason why you need an editor to shape your language and make it uniform through out.

Writing to Market

You wrote the book from your passion. Your editor knows the market. They know what works. What does not. They know which word is right for what age of child and what stories need to be shaped in what way to make them palatable to the targeted audience.