Getting a Book Vision: Brand Editing

Loveland, Colo., author Harrison Hand signs a copy of one of his books. He spoke about self-publishing and editing during Fort Collins Startup Week in February 2020.

Do writers need editors? Yes. Do they need a brand? Probably. Do they need a why? Most definitely.

When writers start writing, they typically plan out the plot of their book or start with a character or two or a world-building premise. Or they jump right into the writing without a plan. The two types are plotters vs. pantsers.

The Why of Writing

But what about the why of writing? Why do you care about the characters? Why do they care about the story? Why should readers care?

These “why” questions are just a start. They also have to tie into the journalist Ws of who and what, or who are you as a writer and what you want to produce. The Ws are important for the business side of writing, or the branding and marketing of a book or series.

“What is your reason for writing your book? Why should the audience listen to the author?” said Harrison Hand, author or the Skyler Tortuga series, including the latest release, “Secrets of the Dragonfly Dancer,” and owner or The Harrison Hand Studio in Loveland, Colo.

The How of Publishing

Hand spoke about The Why during his one-hour presentation about self-publishing, “How to Publish Your Book for Under $100,” which he gave Feb. 24 during Fort Collins Startup Week in Fort Collins, Colo.

“You are your brand,” Hand said, explaining that building a brand about who you are as a writer and what you create is key to marketing. “Be sure to establish your voice, owning your words and owning your place in creating.”

Voice is part of that branding, alongside the books the writer creates, Hand said.

“The audience cares about both the creator and the creations,” Hand said, explaining that the audience wants to connect with the creator. “Marketing starts with the why; that’s how you connect with people. Why do you have this voice?”

The What of Finding Voice

Writers need to find their own voice, Hand said. He looks at writing differently than many other writers, where he is breaking the rules. He says it the way he wants to say it, he said. He advised once the writing (and hopefully editing) is finished to tie the book to something.

Hand’s Skyler Tortuga series is about bullying, and he wants to empower the next generation of readers to believe in themselves, where young female heroines learn that they can complete themselves without needing a romantic figure. He conducted a heroic reader crowd funding campaign, handing out paid copies of his books to children who are readers—his target is third- to sixth-graders.

Hand found a way to not need an editor by working with early readers, getting feedback and doing his own editing. He recommended jumping into the self-publishing arena before slogging about looking for an agent.

Where to Start

“Start publishing other stuff, get a following, create some buzz and credibility, and then it’s easier to find an agent for your great American novel,” Hand said. “They let the audience determine what’s interesting.”

Writers need to get the branding and marketing in place, or they might get noticed by an agent, but either way, knowing The Why is crucial to finding, keeping and growing voice, style and story.

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Are Editors (Really) Necessary?

Do writers need to hire an editor to bring out the red pen? Or is better to get a self-published book out to market?

Do writers really need editors? Do they really want all that red ink and those corrections?

A self-published author I encountered at a class on self-publishing during Fort Collins Startup Week said he would never hire an editor. He said in his presentation to an audience of about 25 aspiring authors that he had several readers of his first story and got feedback and was able to publish his book for under $25 (now it’s about $125 with the cost of an ISBN). He also said he was able to make a profit right away.

Editing and Voice

I believe he has a point, but also hiring an editor gives that professional outside perspective to both improve the writing but also the storytelling.

The author said he does his own editing and artwork and looks at writing differently, where he is breaking the rules. He says it the way he wants to say it.

“Writers need to find their own voice,” he said.

I held up my hand and explained how I had good and bad experiences with editors. As a journalist, I worked with editors who changed my lead and my voice, inserting in their own voice, and that I did not consider them to be good editors. I reflected on “the importance of not changing the voice of the author as you are editing a manuscript.”

I also mentioned that editing happens at several levels from structural, or the overall content looking at things like flow and transitions, to the line level, or reading each line for errors in grammar, spelling and mechanics, plus things like word echoes. Both are important.

Why Hire an Editor?

Here are a few other reasons why hiring an editor can be a good idea:

• Editors are trained to notice the small errors readers may detect but that are hard to find if you aren’t looking for them, such as a comma where there should be a period or the ’re words, such as they’re and you’re vs. their/there and your.
• Editors memorize style guides and know how to look up things and which sources to use.
• Editors understand grammar down to the fine details (I see it like the Periodic Table of Elements combined with a dictionary with the rules clearly visible and meaningful).
• Editors are keen readers. Their minds are constantly editing all day long (which also can be annoying, since it’s a game but also makes reading more chore-like).
• Editors understand voice and how word choice effects the sound and meaning of language, plus they know how to turn analytic writing into something that’s more conversational or vice versa.

Why Self-Publish?

Lastly, to bring on an editor is a choice. What’s more important is that writers write and look at their creations as something worthy of publishing. It can be a solo project, or there can be a team that includes a graphic designer for the cover and internal layout, an illustrator for the images and, of course, the editor to perfect the overall content.

It’s an investment to hire an editor or any other professional, and as the author/speaker mentioned, it’s more important to get the work out in front of an audience. The audience is the reader, and sometimes they want the story. Now!