Do You Need an Editor, Formatter, and Cover Designer to Publish a Book?
Technically, you don't need an editor, a formatter, or a cover designer to publish a book. You can upload a Word document and a homemade cover to Amazon KDP and have a book for sale by tomorrow.
But if you want a book that looks and reads like a professionally published work — one that readers take seriously, that holds up to scrutiny, and that you're proud to put your name on — then yes, you need all three.
Here's what each role actually does and why it matters.
The Editor
Editing is not proofreading. Many authors conflate the two, and the confusion leads to books that are technically error-free but structurally flawed.
There are several distinct types of editing, and a book may need more than one.
Developmental editing addresses the big picture: structure, argument, pacing, character, clarity of purpose. A developmental editor reads your book and tells you whether it works — and if not, why not. This is the most important and most expensive type of editing.
Line editing addresses the sentence level: clarity, flow, word choice, consistency of voice. A line editor makes your writing better without changing what you're saying.
Copyediting addresses grammar, punctuation, spelling, and consistency. This is closer to what most people think of as editing, but it's the last step, not the first.
Proofreading is the final pass before publication, catching errors that survived everything else.
A book that hasn't been edited — really edited, at the developmental and line level — will usually show it. The structure will be loose. The argument will wander. The voice will be inconsistent. Readers may not be able to name what's wrong, but they'll feel it.
The Formatter
Interior formatting is the work of turning a manuscript into a book. It involves typography, margins, spacing, chapter headings, page numbers, and dozens of small decisions that collectively determine whether a book looks professional or amateurish.
A poorly formatted book is immediately recognizable. The fonts are wrong. The spacing is off. The chapter headings look like a Word document. The page breaks are awkward.
Good formatting is invisible. Readers don't notice it because there's nothing to notice — the book simply looks like a book.
Formatting for print and formatting for digital (ebook) are different processes with different requirements. A book that's properly formatted for one may not be properly formatted for the other.
The Cover Designer
Readers absolutely judge books by their covers. This is not a cliché — it's a documented reality of how books are discovered and purchased.
A professional cover designer understands genre conventions, typography, color, and the specific requirements of different retail platforms. They know what makes a cover work at thumbnail size (which is how most readers will first see it online) and at full size.
A homemade cover — even a well-intentioned one — almost always signals to readers that the book was self-published without professional support. That signal affects purchasing decisions.
Cover design is not the place to cut corners.
What This Means for Your Budget
Professional editing, formatting, and cover design cost money. The total investment varies widely depending on the length of your manuscript, the type of editing you need, and the professionals you hire — but authors should expect to spend at least several hundred dollars on each, and potentially significantly more for developmental editing on a full-length manuscript.
This is one reason working with a publisher can make sense. A publisher who includes production services in their program is providing real value — provided those services are actually professional.
What Making Sense Press Includes
Making Sense Press publishing packages include production support appropriate to each program level. Authors who prefer to work with outside professionals are welcome to do so, provided the final work meets Making Sense Press standards.
We don't cut corners on production. Every book published under the Making Sense Press imprint should look and read like a professionally produced work — because it is.
If you have questions about what's included in our programs, our Author FAQ covers the details.