Why am I not using professional editorial services for my part autobiography book?

Last updated on 3rd May 2019

This question popped up in a recent mail exchange I had.

I had toyed with the idea of using Pothi.com's editorial (and other) services, https://pothi.com/author-services/, for my part autobiography book. There is no doubt in my mind that if I do so, it will make the book much better and much more readable, as my writing style for this book, due to various reasons, has been a hasty one.

But I decided against it for the following reasons:

1) I will need to spend time interacting with the editorial services person as they suggest changes and corrections. I am reluctant to spend that time.

2) I have chosen the free/not-for-profit route for this book like in the case of my previous and first book (and perhaps for some other books that I plan to self-publish using my contents of my blogs). So from an economic sense point of view, given my lower middle class Indian retired lifestyle, I felt it would be inappropriate for me to pay for such services.
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Does that mean that my part autobiography book will be condemned to remain as a hastily written book without the polish and good readability that a good book should ideally have? My answer here is: Not necessarily. I have made a clear permission statement in the book allowing anybody to improve the book and profit from it (without me getting any money). I see myself as providing the raw data in a sense, and which raw data is still readable for those who are deeply interested in the topic and so are willing to overlook some hasty/non-professional writing issues that the book surely has. Perhaps it is something like a diary which is being shared publicly.

One of the key audience segments that I have written this book for, is young spiritual aspirants who wonder how one can lead a life where one has to pursue a career for a livelihood for oneself and one's parents, and still pursue spirituality with intensity. Such persons may gain from knowing my life story in this regard. And I presume that such readers (a small minority) will be deeply interested in the topic and will not mind the hasty writing and lack of polish in the book.

But, I have to say, I expect that quite a few software techie folks who may not be that interested in spirituality, would get put off by the hasty writing and lack of polish in my book, as they would be used to professional quality writing, in most, if not all, of the books they read. This will include some, but not all, of my former software industry colleagues, and some of the students that I taught or interacted with in the Sathya Sai university, Puttaparthi (Prasanthi Nilayam) campus, during my stint there from Jan. 2003 to March 2012.

Hopefully somebody else may step in to polish up my book and then sell it, profiting from that work.

And there is an outside possibility that after I get some of my other blog contents self-published as 'hastily written and not polished' books, and am free, I myself may revisit these books and polish them, perhaps using services of professional editors and perhaps attempting to recover those expenses by selling the book at suitable price (and not as free ebook and at minimum price for paperback).