Often people resist seeking the help of a professional editing service. They believe, either consciously or unconsciously, that accepting help with their writing is akin to admitting they are not good writers. This, however, is simply not true. Even the most experienced writers use professional editors to review their work, whether for full manuscript editing or basic proofreading, and there are several reasons for this.
Professional editors edit your work not because they are better writers, but because they bring a new pair of eyes to your writing. They can catch errors in the text that, because you are too close to your work, you have missed. While it is always good to revise your work once you have written it, the process of reading it again and again makes it difficult to see your work objectively. It is therefore likely that you will miss small errors or, because you have become too attached to a particular word, phrase or idea, find yourself unable to accept the need to change it. A professional editing service brings the distance necessary to evaluate your work clearly and help you see the decisions to be made to make your writing as successful as possible.
Once you receive your edited manuscript, go through and ask yourself if you agree with the changes. It is okay to disagree with the edits your editor has recommended. You may have a particular reason for having written something a particular way that your professional editing service would not know. However if you are resisting changing a line or a passage simply because you like it, consider your reasons for resisting. If you can decide objectively that the passage is good and contributes to the strength of your manuscript, then feel free to keep it, but if you cannot, let your editor’s professional recommendation serve as your guide.