I'm firmly in the camp of "your novel needs an editor, and that editor better not be yourself." But recently I was asked why that was, and I couldn't articulate an answer that was passable.
Young novelists often underestimate their need for an editor, so frame your answer in such a way as to convince one of them.
Answer
Here are my reasons:
- As the author, you are too close to the material. Writing which may seem clear in your mind could be confusing to the audience.
- Small mistakes in grammar and poorly-worded sections need a second set of eyes to be discovered. Advise the novice writer to re-read some of their writing after setting it aside for a month or more. I find that when I do this, the mistakes jump out at me. Using an editor will speed up this process.
- Getting feedback from someone else might give you new ideas.
If all else fails, tell them to try it out and see if it's beneficial. (And if they don't find a benefit, it is unlikely that they will be successful as writers.)
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