I’m gonna start this post by admitting that I haven’t always used a Tech Editor.
Yep! You heard me correctly! Waaaay back in the day, when I first started designing, I honestly had no clue that such wonderful people existed! Fast forward a couple of years, and I still didn’t know exactly what they did or that they were for Indie designers, like me. My first experience with a Tech Editor came when I had a design accepted for third party publication, and I was sent back my pattern full of red marks. Yikes! (Looking back now, I realize that most of those red marks were for style sheet deviations, but at the time all I saw was red everywhere!)
Another secret I’ll let you in on is that I am a great writer and excel at math. I basically made straight “A’s” in school (highest marks for those not schooled in America) BUT I still hire a Tech Editor for my patterns. Why? When I could skip this step and save some cash? Here’s just a few benefits:
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A Tech Editor Saves my Sanity.
I used to hand-wring over every pattern. Would knitters find errors? Was it confusing? Even though I had testers, and had read and reread the pattern over a dozen times, I still ended up with errors. Some were typos, but others were more serious. Having a Tech Editor go over my patterns gives me a sense of confidence when I hit that publish button. As good as I am at math and grammar, because the pattern comes out of my head, I read into it what I think it says. My brain “fills in” those missing numbers or “self-corrects” that misspelled word. Another set of eyes, trained specifically to edit knitting patterns, spots a whole lot more errors than the designer does!
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A Tech Editor Saves me Money.
Before I would hire an editor, I’d have to read and reread the pattern over a dozen times. I’d check my math obsessively! With an editor, I’ll check everything once before emailing the pattern for an edit. Once it’s to an editor, I’m free to work on a new design. Because I’m not tied to a pattern twice as long, I’ve been able to go from publishing 4-6 patterns a year to one a month, at least. As they say, “time is money” and the more time I have to produce good patterns for purchase, the better!
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A Tech Editor Encourages Repeat Buyers.
Have you ever purchased a pattern and been appalled by the mistakes and poor writing quality of it? And you knew there was no way that pattern ever saw an editor! If the pattern is free, knitters may be inclined to give the designer a little slack. After all, they didn’t pay for the pattern, and they can reuse the yarn for another project. They cannot get their time back, though! Now imagine that same knitter bought that pattern. Now they are out time and money! They won’t ever come back to your pattern store! Worse yet, they’ll likely tell their friends about the horrible mess they purchased. Having an editor eliminates all of that! My patterns are polished and sparkle like diamonds! My knitters enjoy knitting their project from my pattern, and I get questions of “When’s the next pattern going to be released?”
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A Tech Editor Can be Used as a Write Off for Taxes.
I love a good write off come tax season! Disclaimer! I’m not a certified public accountant or anything like it, and I can only speak for how things work in the United States. Check your local laws for how this one applies to you in your country! I can write off my Tech Editor’s services for my business. It’s a win-win for my pattern and my income! I save money while producing a quality product for my knitters!
What other benefits can you think of? Comment with your ideas! I’d love to hear them!
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