Over the years, I have worked with many authors who rejected editing because they had close relatives and/or friends read over their manuscript.
Either their wife was a school teacher or their friend was a writer and because they proofread it, made corrections, and said the book was great, it must be good to go.
But there are two major reasons these assumptions to bypass editing are wrong.
You Need a Trained Professional Eye
1. English majors, school teachers, even writers who are good with words are not professionally trained in the Chicago Manual of Style, the style guide for book publishing.
There are even other style guides such as the Associated Press stylebook for journalists, but these guides include completely different rules.
Redemption Press is a professional book publisher with trained writing coaches that assist authors every day in editing and improving their manuscripts.
Even if the author is funding the project, our editors still go by the professional guidelines and best practices of traditional publishers, giving you the best chance at success for your book.
You Need an Objective Eye
2. Your mom, wife or friend who seems to be an adequate second set of eyes knows too much about your story to stay completely objective.
When they read through your manuscript, they will subconsciously fill in the blanks where your story may be lacking because they know the backstory.
They won’t see any problem with your writing because they will automatically read between the lines, but these gaps will likely confuse someone who doesn’t know you who is reading your book.
A professional who has never met you or heard your story is trained to look for gaps within a message. They are going to pick out things that a close relative wouldn’t notice. A professional is removed and willing to point out content that doesn’t necessarily add value to your book.
On the contrary, a close relative will not be hard on you. They’re not going to have a critical eye. Typically, they’re nothing but positive! 
Just like your brain sees what you meant to write even if you didn’t write it, a close relative reads your manuscript and sees what you meant to include.
You need a professional to read your book as a reader who’s spending their time and money, and ask the hard questions like “Why should I care?”
Allowing your work to be edited takes a teachable heart. Can I just say, as a writer, you have to be willing to take on critique and professional advice, so you can publish the best book for the glory of God?
The Redemption Press Process
Not only do we provide a free manuscript review, we also encourage our authors to go through coaching or editing to create the best product, while meeting the author’s time and budget constraints.
