Frankly, the same can be – or at leat should be – said of publishers. The real trick as an author, as you stated so well, is to find the publisher that fits you.

Of course, if you’re not going to self-publish, that means you must find a publisher–PERIOD! No simple task; rather akin to playing the lottery.

I’ve gone every route except self-published. I’m not against self-publishing but I write fiction and I believe fiction is more difficult to self-publish and promote successfully. Plus I wanted to have the support of a publishing house and more time and focus to write. I’m taking the long view for profits and am very pleased with the two small independent publishers who have published my novels.

But I completely understand the financial realities. There are other options, however, that every new writer should take advantage of before publishing that first book. Whether or not you can afford a professional edit, join a group of quality beta readers. That doesn’t mean your friends and relatives. It means other writers and voracious readers who are able to explain what they like or don’t like about your story and why. Do you have a friend who is an English teacher who would proofread it to correct spelling, grammar, and punctuation? Join a writers critique group to get feedback on the story and the writing, and maybe there is someone in that group who is really good at proofreading who will help you out. If there’s not an in-person writers group in your area, find one online.

Of course, self-edit. There are several excellent books on self-editing. Use the spell and grammar check on your computer. Don’t blindly accept the changes from spell/grammar check, but these will highlight words or phrases for you to double check. Use a dictionary. If you’re not sure a word is spelled right, look it up. Get a copy of Strunk & White’s and study it. Read the book ‘Eats, Shoots & Leaves.’ When you self-edit, try it in several formats. Edit it on the computer screen. Then print it out and edit it on paper. Even change the font and type size before printing it out. It’s amazing how many things you will see in a different font or format that you never saw before. Read it out loud. That forces your brain to actually read the words on the page, not the words you intended to write. Some people even like the voice/reading software programs that read your book to you. You will hear missing and wrong words, or sentences that just don’t sound right.

Finally, when you’re completely done with your book, you’ve revised and corrected and rewritten and corrected again and again, and it’s as good as you can possibly make it on your own and with whatever outside assistance you’ve been able to find, set it aside. Write something else. Do something else. Pull out your manuscript and read it again, maybe a month later, maybe three months later. You will find things you never saw before that need to be fixed or smoothed out.

In short, even though a writer may not be able to afford a professional editor, there’s never an excuse for putting out work that is less than professional. Start your writing and publishing career on the right foot. Best of success to you!