In this episode of Don’t Write That Book, Mike and AJ give a detailed breakdown of the editing process for a nonfiction book. Editing is more than fixing errors—there are bigger issues to solve before you get to the “polish” stage. Does your book work for your readers? Does it meet readers where they are? Is your book organized in a way that makes sense to them? Can they do all the things you’re asking them to do? Also in this episode, AJ talks about the importance of a self-edit and how to endear yourself to your future editors.
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“I wrote the first draft of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur all by myself. I didn’t have an outline. I just started just writing. And then read through it to see what I got. I’m thought, ‘This is atrocious.’ It was so bad. I’m thought, ‘This is probably not how to get started. I better find someone.’”
– Mike Michalowicz
“Editors are people who can see what’s there and what it could be. And they’re mindful of the reader and their experience. A lot of the job is about, ‘Is this flow working? Is it accessible to readers? Is it coming across in the clearest and simplest way? Is it compelling? Is it doing its job?’ But people don’t realize that they need that support or how that editing process works.”
– AJ Harper