Words contained within books are permanent and that's why editing matters. People identify tone, style, and personality through your writing. Unfortunately, they can also get a bad impression when you haven't done your due diligence.
Editing matters because it builds your credibility
Building credibility on words alone is tough. One misspelled word or improper use of the word "your" can knock the reader out of your book's carefully constructed world. This ruins the experience for the reader. Most readers regard errors in books as the author not caring enough about them to do a good job. The reader will always come away with a negative experience if your book has not been professionally edited and proofread.
Editing matters because it strengthen your book's message
Readers come to your book for many reasons. Some may want an escape, while others want to learn or improve themselves. No matter what genre your book falls into, proper use of grammar, logical structure and easy flow of words help keep the reader focused and enjoying what you've written, instead of being irritated by errors and clunky sentence structure.
Editing is not criticism, it's help
As a writer you cannot be "offended" by the changes your editor makes to your manuscript. These changes are not meant to criticize you, they are meant to augment your writing and clarify your message. A good editor will polish a manuscript so it shines.
Investing in a professional editor reaps good returns
A good editor will know what is required of a book in each specific genre and will help you to make your book fit its audience, which will earn good reviews that can translate to sales. You want readers to remember the story you've told them, not your grammar and punctuation errors.
Editing matters because it takes the pressure off
Your editor is there to insure that your book is published without major errors, continuity issues and more. Authors who bypass the editing step run the risk of publishing a book full of errors, which means reviewers will likely skewer them.
While editing may be the biggest expense in your book budget, it is well worth the cost to have a polished, error free book to present to the reading public. If you don't feel you need an editor, you may find you're sadly mistaken after you've publish your book. At that point it's too late to repair the damage done, and the negative reviews your error-filled book received will haunt it until the end of time.
