you don't have to be an editor to be a writer

You don't have to be brilliant at writing to write a great novel.

You don't!

Several authors are fantastic at building a story arc, creating gripping plot lines with believable characters, but are not so hot at sentence construction or grammar.

And that's okay – because there are people out there who can help you.

From the developmental editor, who will steer you in the right direction when it comes to plotting your book, to the copy editor who cleans up spelling and grammar, there is a wealth of experts out there who are on your side, and just as invested in your book as you are.

Here's an excerpt from a really gripping book I edited recently. The author knew her story was good (and it really is) but wanted the grammar and punctuation cleaned up.

I spent a little time reading through and changed the opening paragraphs from this:

Eight-year-old Daniel Edgar lay on his bed, sore from the welts from his father’s belt. He had overslept by five minutes making him late for breakfast, his father was livid. He tried not to give him the satisfaction of tears, had taken it like a man until he got to the sanctuary of his room where he let all of his emotion unleash. Half an hour later he heard the sound of his mother Mary entering the room, she rushed over to him, kissing his head and soothing him, she softly cried. “Why did you have to be late?” She whispered, “You know how mad that makes him. She gave Daniel some paper and pencils, “maybe you can do some drawing?”

to this:

Eight-year-old Daniel Edgar lay on his bed, sore from the welts left by his father’s belt. He had overslept by five minutes, making him late for breakfast – the welts were a mark of his father’s anger. 
Daniel tried not to give his father the satisfaction of tears; had taken it like a man until he got to the sanctuary of his room, where he finally unleashed his emotions. 
Half an hour later, his mother tiptoed into the room. She rushed to him, kissing his head and soothing him, softly crying. 
“Why did you have to be late?” she whispered. “You know how mad that makes him.”
She gave Daniel some paper and pencils, saying, “Maybe you can do some drawing?”

So many people have great ideas for a story but think they can't write; they're no good at it.

Just have a go! Sit down and type without looking at what you're writing.

Dictate your copy out loud into a speech-to-text app.

It's such an achievement just getting your story down on paper.

Read it through; get a friend to read it through. Does it have potential? Could it become a real book? Will it have readers laughing, crying or hiding behind the sofa?

Then consider getting a professional on board to whip it into shape and, voila, you have a manuscript.