I just received a dog-eared nonfiction book from an associate, a man who has more field experience, in cryptozoology, than I have. I learned much, but not from the content of the book itself: I am the author. I learned from the hand-written notes in that copy.
I had assumed that this second edition had been well edited, although editing had been done only by me. My friend’s detailed comments (on some pages, filling up much of the blank space) made it obvious that a third edition is in order. Of course, that decision needs to be taken in context: Using POD (publishing on demand), I had approved that second edition just a few days before I discovered a major typo on the back cover, so I had already been planning on a third edition.
For the most part, my associate’s work was neither substantive editing nor copy editing. He was setting me straight regarding his perspectives and opinions on several details covered in the book (some details are beyond the experience of any but a few cryptozoologists in the world). How important is peer review!
To the novice writer of nonfiction, I suggest the following order, after you are sure of a market for your book and a means to following through with marketing (some writers write books on those subjects; take marketing seriously).
- Write your book, rewriting it to some degree but not too deeply into improving the English . . . not yet.
- Give a copy to a trusted associate who is an expert in the field. Review the comments, more than once before deciding what needs changing.
- Perfect the manuscript as best you can, whatever types of editing you do.
- Consider professional substantive editing.
- Consider professional copy editing.
###
About Jonathan Whitcomb
Fear not the light of unfamiliar hue
Washing sand at first
Then penetrating the depths
It bids a hidden feast emerge at last
