For first-time authors, publishing a book can seem like a mysterious and risky process. You want your book to be the very best that it can be, but once you reach a certain point in its development it’s hard to tell what “the very best” means. This is because once you arrive at a professional level of execution, the book business becomes highly subjective, while experts who want to take more of your money lurk at every corner.

I have more than one client who has submitted their completed manuscript to a self-publishing company. Very often the file is returned with a “test edit,” in which the in-house editor announces that the book is in dire need of professional editing, and if the author doesn’t pay for more editing the project will be a disaster. The “test edit” shows some very minor changes in punctuation or (more often the case) changes that reflect a choice of style rather than literary correctness.

I follow the Chicago Manual of Style. There are many other style guides including the Associated Press Stylebook, the New York Times Manual of Style and Usage, the APA Style Handbook, the MLA Handbook, and of course “The Elements of Style” by Strunk & White. All of these manuals offer sometimes conflicting guidelines, and the books and magazines that follow these various rules often sell by the millions.

For example, I subscribe to “The New Yorker” magazine. This venerable pillar of literary correctness follows some rules that I personally find mystifying. For example, in stories about President Obama they capitalize the word “Presidential,” an adjective which in the Chicago style you would never capitalize.

I have many clients who receive messages from editorial services providers who pronounce doom and gloom unless the client makes certain changes. In one sense this is legitimate: one foolish typo can make your reader close the book. But much of grammar is debatable and in fact is hotly debated. The only important question is, “Does my reader know exactly what I’m saying, or can there be confusion?” Every author needs to be able to ask themselves, “Is this a question of grammar or my writing style?”

My clients often ask if further refining is necessary. The only honest answer is that a book is never set in stone. It can always be refined and new ideas added. Your 40,000-word book could become 100,000 words if that were your intention. It’s simply your choice when to say, “I’m done. Let’s roll the presses!”

– Thomas Hauck is a professional freelance book editor and ghostwriter who serves both first-time and experienced authors.

Thomas Hauck, Ghostwriter and Book Editor