Originally posted as the Dun Writin’—Now Whut? series on this blog, EDITING 101 is a weekly refresher series for some of you and brand new for others.

Courtesy ofAdirondack Editing

Hiring Professionals, Part 1

If you’re going to self-publish your book, there may be tasks that you are unable to do yourself, or tasks that you simply don’t want to take the time for. That’s when it’s time to hire a professional.

What kinds of professionals might an author need or want to hire? A book or copyeditor, a formatter, a cover designer, a trailer producer, and a marketer are typical professions that authors enlist the help of. In all cases, you can’t tell whether somebody is good based on what they charge. Why not?

Most of the time, there is no established standard rate for these services. Each freelance provider charges what they think is fair and reasonable, both to…