Do you know how many books about editing there are on the market? TONS. So. Very. Many. Editing. Books.
There’s never been as much a need for editing books as now, so the proliferation makes sense. Self-published authors want to learn how to edit their own work, especially in the early stages of their career, when shelling out $$$ for professional editors seems like a risk. And while I’m a professional editor who wants to help writing clients with my knowledge and experience, I get it. I understand the sense of risk.
I’ve read through some of the top editing books on Amazon and will spend the next several weeks reviewing them. (Read last week’s review here.) My goal? To help writers figure out which editing books work for them without having to do the research themselves! Sweet, huh?
This week I’m reviewing Michelle Lowery’s book Self Editing for Indie Authors. Most of the authors I work with are self-starters, authorprenuers who are passionate about their stories and their readers. They are also busy writers with homes lives, day jobs, and other hobbies.
When, like them, you’re trying to build a career from the ground up alongside all the other things you have to do, you don’t have all the time in the world to do all the things.
Time is valuable, which is why Lowery’s book is valuable, too.
It’s as quick (“skim-able,” Lowery calls it) as it is thorough!
Lowery’s book focuses on line editing–grammar, mechanics, word choice, and sentence structure. But as I’ve pointed out in a few other Editing Book Review posts on Empowered Writing, clarifying sentences and grammar can help clarify IDEAS.
Here are a few reasons I love Lowry’s book and you should too:
- It’s thorough, offering information mostly on how to self-edit, but also on how and why to seek out professional editing.
- It’s persuasive. Lowery’s “Seven Benefits You’ll Get From This Book” convinces me to read it by offering not just abstract reasons but concrete, even sales-driven deliverables.
- Her 21 tips for self-editing focus on helping you create a story that makes your reader lose sense of time and place, and isn’t that what we all want?
- Her tips teach you WHY you should consider an edit, not just how to do it. And that’s the kind of teaching I can get behind!
Lowery’s books is a simple, straight-forward grammar guide for anyone needing help with the mechanical side of storytelling. Each chapter offers short and sweet explanations alongside the “The Full Explanation,” so that you can go as deep or as shallow into the learning well as you wish.
Dive deep, my friends, always! And with Lowery’s book, you won’t drown!
Looking for a quick editing guide of your very own? Download my Quick Editing Checklist for Indie Authors!
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