We love to hate our editor. Really, we love it. Actually, it does make perfect sense.

What does an editor do? He takes our beloved manuscript, the manuscript we have amorously crafted during many months of hard labor, investing every spare second in its creation. It has kept us awake at night, interfered with our daily lives as our thoughts suddenly drifted away from the here and there as we were suddenly struck by a wonderful way to move our plot forward, only to be unable to put it on paper when back to the infamous white page. It has cost us hours of staring at a blank screen hating ourselves for this addiction to putting words on paper.

As we are professionals, we also sweated blood and tears when rewriting the first draft many times over. The book now only deserves praises.

Then comes this blasted editor who tells us that, nope, it is no good. Back to the work station! The characters are not well-defined, chapter 3 is sluggish and needs to be rewritten from scratch, the beginning is not catchy and the ending is a real flop. Not only do we hate his guts, but we actually pay him for berating our creation.

 How sick is that?

About as sick as paying a doctor to tell us we need to start a diet that removes all tasty food from our sight and taste forever, to quit smoking and to start exercising other parts of our body than the fingers on the keyboard.

While the doctor is concerned about the longtime future of our physical bodies, the editor worries about the chances of the fruit of our labor and soul to survive the cruel struggle for life on the net.

As self-publishing writers, we have chosen our editor carefully, checking both his credential and our mutual understanding of what the book should feel like.

 Despite his harsh words, the editor is our best friends. He looks at our manuscript as a rocket to be launched in space where no help will be available for repairs. The spaceship needs to be in an optimal state before take off.

So does our book. Whether it is set to explore the print or the virtual world, once it is out there, we can only help to push it further along through marketing, but it will be judged for what it is, not for what potential it has.

 So, the more we hate our editor, the more we actually love him…

Now let’s get into the nitty-gritty details of the editor’s work, so we can do most of it ourselves!