Another post that discusses how the different kinds of editing can help you

10 Things Your Freelance Editor Might Not Tell You—But Should

Such a good post about how editors can help authors, and what the different kinds of editors can do. I just did a copy edit on a book that seemed to drag for the first half--the characters were doing things, but they seemed flat and two-dimensional to me. They didn't leap off the page, and I found myself feeling like the book was a slog. Then, after I was over halfway through, the book got a lot more engaging and I was very interested in the characters and what they were doing.

Now, here's why I'm "only" a copy editor and a proofreader: I had no idea at all how to help the author make the story better in the first half. I haven't a clue what makes me care about a character and root for him/her. I just know if I do care, or if I don't care. It either flips my switch as a reader, or it doesn't. If I hadn't been paid to read that book, it would have been a DNF and I would have missed the last part, which was quite good. So when I turned the ms back in, I included a note with my impressions and let the experts work on it from there.

So basically, I can grammar the shit out of some shit, but as far as world-building and character development and structure, I got nothing. I respect to the point of awe developmental and structural editors who can see the bones of the story and work with the author to bring life to the characters and make a story a compelling read. We all have to know our strengths, and rock them!

Undigestable!

Ever start something that was just so poorly edited that you couldn't finish? Me, too. It's sad because sometimes the plot was exciting and the characters were engaging, but I just couldn't take anymore. I've even passed on free ebooks because too many of the comments mentioned poor editing. It just makes reading painful, and I've got too many books in my TBR list to put up with that!

So do yourself and your readers a favor and have your work professionally edited if at all possible. If that's not possible, consider downloading a grammar-checking aid like Grammarly. No, this will not take the place of a professional editor. But it will call your attention to items that you should check. It's wrong sometimes, so don't trust it blindly, but at least see what it is marking as errors.