Self-publishing: Don't they have an editor?

The Akron Beacon Journal has a couple of stories about self-publishing that include information about copy editing.

At one business, you get quite a bit for $699.

The "Premier Package" ... included a thoughtful, constructive review of her manuscript, including separate scores for structure, plot, characterizations, pacing and dialogue, and valid recommendations for resolving a few issues.

But it did not include any copy editing. For that, you pay 1.5 cents a word. And for that customer's 251-page book, her out-of-pocket expenses would have tripled, the story says.

And that leads a lot of people to forgo the copy editing.

[AuthorHouse's Brad] Tirey acknowledged that the expense might discourage some writers from spending the money for a copy editor, but disagreed with my suggestion of finding a graduate student who might take the job for a lesser fee. And he wasn't just trying to sell his company's services: He advised that finding a professional freelance book editor would be better. If authors still balk and are "willing to put their name on it," AuthorHouse will release the book and can't legally make any changes.

The other story mentions iUniverse and says its deluxe package, for $699, includes a "full editorial review with copy editing services, in which a team of seasoned publishers looks over the manuscript and produces a 25- to 30-page report outlining the weaknesses and strengths of the manuscript."