Step 3: Editing

I cannot emphasise enough the importance of a good edit. It simply isn’t sufficient to just have your husband or friend read through your story.
A good editor does more than dot the i’s and cross the t’s. A good editor really gets into your story and makes sure that all of it makes sense. You, as the author, are actually in no position to judge your text effectively.

A good editor should:

• make sure that the dog that dies in chapter 1 does not bark in chapter 4.
• get rid of repetition.
• make sure that your characters always act like themselves.
• help you when your rhyming story jars a little.
• fixe tenses, grammar, syntax, punctuation, etc.

Understanding the different job descriptions:

• An editor will take your story and give you guidance on how to make it better, whilst fixing text errors and giving suggestions along the way. 
• A proof-reader only corrects text errors and does not improve the story.

(Neither of the above rewrite your story for you. If you are looking for that, then it’s a ghost writer you need and not an editor.)

You are really saving nothing by trying to skimp on paying for editing. All you’ll be doing is adding another poorly put together book onto the pile that gives self-publishing it’s bad name.

The cost
With children’s picture story books, the text is usually under 1,000 words, so the editing does not have to be a huge expense. There are plenty of online editors on platforms such as Fiverr that are reasonably priced. Read their ratings and reviews before making a commitment. A 1,000 word edit will probably cost between £25-£50. If it’s much cheaper than this, I’d be tad concerned. 

There are some very common mistakes that I come across during editing:  

• Basic punctuation is often non-existent. Full stops missing and quotation marks either completely missing or wrongly used. My biggest pet peeve is the use of the exclamation mark! Many writers use it all the time as though it’s a full stop. It makes it seem like everyone is shouting at each other. Use it sparingly, and never more than 3 times in your picture book story.
• Present and past tense. I get the feeling that authors think these are interchangeable. They aren’t. You cannot just swop between them whenever you feel like it.
• Rhyming stories… I edit a lot of rhyming stories and I can honestly say that only 1 in 50 is actually any good. People mutilate the story (or the words) for the sake of rhyme – it’s like trying to squash a square peg into a round hole. 
• Many ‘writers’ seem to just dump words onto a page and expect the editor to magically transform them into a stunning story. Writing is a skill, and to be a good author, you need to spend time honing your craft. 

​Editor/author agreement
If you are working with an editor who has a good reputation, then I wouldn’t bother with this type of agreement. I personally feel it’s only necessary when the editor comes unrecommended. At the end of the day, an agreement is only worth the intent of the people signing it, and if you really don’t trust the editor enough to work without the agreement, then maybe you should look for a different editor.
However, all that said, here is a PDF of a simple editor/author agreement for you to download and use if you feel it is necessary.