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What exactly does an editor do the role has changed over time.

How much do editors shape the final book we read? iStockphoto hide caption

How much do editors shape the final book we read?

When Harper Lee's Go Set a Watchman was published earlier this year, readers learned that this much anticipated "second book" by Lee was actually a first draft of what would later become the beloved To Kill a Mockingbird . Lee radically revised this early version of the book on the advice of her editor, Tay Hohoff. That made us wonder: How much do editors shape the final book we read?

On hearing the news about the role Lee's editor played in the creation of To Kill a Mockingbird, Pulitzer Prize-winning author A. Scott Berg was surprised at first. The story immediately made him think of legendary editor Max Perkins — who shepherded the works of such greats as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Thomas Wolfe and Ernest Hemingway. Berg, who wrote a biography of Perkins, says Perkins had a huge influence on the editors who came after him because of the way he worked with his authors.

"Not only did he change the course of the American literary river, but he changed what editors do by becoming their best friends, their money lenders, their marriage counselors, their psychoanalysts," Berg says. "And along the way he began offering them titles. He often provided structure for what their novels ought to be. He often gave them whole ideas for what their next book should be."

That was the way editors interacted with their writers for many years after Perkins came on the scene, Berg says, but now publishing has changed: These days there is more pressure on editors to acquire best-sellers, and they are much more involved in marketing a book. And that, he says, leaves precious little time for actual editing.

"Make no mistake about it: That editor-author relationship is still fundamental to good books," says Berg. "But it's not necessarily cost-effective for book editors to invest as much of their time into any single manuscript or any single author and that's simply because the publishing houses have not encouraged their editors to edit."

That's not necessarily so, says Rebecca Saletan, vice president and editorial director of Riverhead Books.

"It's been said since I got into publishing that publishing is going to hell in a handbasket: 'People don't really edit anymore,' " says Saletan. "And since that was said to me 30 years ago. I've learned to take it with a big grain of salt."

Saletan says selling a book has always been part of editors' job. First, they have to convince their publishers it's worth their investment. Then they work with the sales force, the publicists and marketers to get the book in the hands of readers. Still, she admits, there are more demands on an editor's time these days.

"I think what's changed is actually there's a lot more to do," she says, "because in the old days you could tell your colleagues at the beginning of the process essentially what the book was like. And you could do your best to introduce the book to booksellers and so on, but there wasn't a ton to do. Now, with online media and other aspects of modern life there's a ton to do and it takes a lot of time and we have to work very, very hard to get our books above the tree line."

But Saletan says spending time getting a book noticed doesn't mean an editor doesn't edit. She often does most of the hands-on work at night or on weekends. And it begins when a proposal or rough draft is first submitted for consideration.

"The first task is [to] just take it at face value: What is this writer trying to say? What is the project of this book?" Saletan explains. "Once you understand that, then you have to make tough decisions: Is this a good idea? Will there be an audience for it? Is this the right person to tell the story? Do they have the ability? If they don't have the ability, what's lacking? What can you bring to it? That's all the initial phase of evaluation. What I'm looking for is a mind that is capable of grappling with the structure of something as big as a book."

But in today's competitive book market writers need an extra edge. So some literary agents, like Chris Parris-Lamb of the Gernert Co., give a client's book its first edit.

"I don't see what I do as substituting for the editor," Parris-Lamb says. "I want to make sure we have an editor."

The editor has the power to accept or reject a book, says Parris-Lamb, so he needs to give his writers every advantage. He wants to be sure the manuscript that is being offered to publishing companies is as good as it can be.

"After I've taken something on and before we send it out, we say: Let's take another look at this," he says. "Let's go through this really closely and let's spend some time before this goes from being a Word document in my inbox to a book that we're sending out to publishers."

When a manuscript that's really special does come in, says Saletan, you know it right away.

"It's kind of like the hairs on your arms stand up on end," she says. "It's just an excitement, a feeling of heat, a feeling that there's something new and interesting that you haven't heard before that would be interesting to other people. It's gut instinct, really."

But not every book submitted to a publisher is a masterpiece. Sometimes an editor does suggest major revisions. Saletan says she thinks it still is possible for an editor to ask a writer to make the kind of changes Lee made in her book. But when all is said and done, she says, readers shouldn't know exactly what role the editor played in shaping the final book.

"The editing certainly shouldn't be showoff-y in any way," Saletan says. "And I always cringe a little and feel a little sympathetic for the editor when a review says, 'This wasn't well-edited.' Because it's very hard for anybody outside the process to know what went into it. There are writers who are really, really gifted and have it in spades and don't need that much editorial help. And there are also people who need a lot and occasionally people who fight over it. And it's very hard to know outside what really happened in that process."

There is, says Saletan, an intimacy that inevitably develops between an editor and author as they work together on a book. And in that way, things haven't changed all that much since the days of Max Perkins and Tay Hohoff.

Table of Contents

Developmental Editing

Evaluation editing, content editing, line editing, copyediting, proofreading, what are the different types of editing.

Every book needs editing . The question is: what type of editing do you need for your book?

Well, it depends.

It gets confusing because there are many different types of editing, but no agreed-upon definitions for those different types in the editing process.

I’m going to fix that for you. I’ll lay out the common definitions of all the different types of editing , then explain when it’s appropriate to use each one.

(Also called: conceptual editing or manuscript appraisal.)

A developmental edit happens early in the writing process, often when an author has an idea for a book or a rough outline , but they need help bringing the pieces together.

A developmental editor looks at the big picture with your book, focusing on organization and structure more than word choice, punctuation, and grammar . They help ensure your arguments line up, reduce inconsistency, that your stories are in the right place, and that everything flows.

Are you leaving out any key details? Is there irrelevant material that needs to be cut?

These are the types of questions a developmental editor should answer for you, along with helping you fix what’s not working and amp up what’s working well in your book.

Keep in mind that developmental editors don’t do any writing or rewriting. They might make suggestions, but their job is to help you become a better writer by explaining how to organize your ideas, structure your book’s content, and transition smoothly between ideas.

They’ll help you see your book the way your readers will see it and provide feedback that is aimed at helping you craft a book people will enjoy reading.

If you’re a seasoned author or have confidence in the manuscript you’ve created, you likely don’t need to hire a developmental editor. But if you need help taking your ideas and forming them into a book, developmental editing can be a major help.

(In the Scribe Professional process, this is very similar to what you do in the Positioning and Roadmap phases.)

(Also called: manuscript critique or structural edit.)

With an evaluation edit, a professional editor looks at your manuscript to assess structure, flow, completeness, and overall quality. The editor will usually provide you with a short memo that summarizes their key points, areas of concern, and suggestions for your book.

They’ll also mark up your manuscript at a high level, making note of any structural concerns or questions they have. Similar to a developmental editor, they’re not as focused on the finer details of your writing, but rather any big picture issues.

If you receive a glowing evaluation, your book might be ready for copyediting and proofreading.

If the editor says your book’s organization and structure need serious work, you might need a developmental editor.

If the structure is sound but your writing needs work, you might need a line edit or content edit to strengthen your manuscript.

An evaluation edit is a safeguard that keeps you from paying for later stage edits (described below) or trying to publish your book before it’s ready.

There is some overlap between developmental editing and evaluation editing, with the key difference being that you need a finished manuscript for an evaluation edit.

You can come to a developmental editor with or without a book, but if you want an evaluation editor to assess your work, you need to have a finished manuscript to show them.

(Also called: substantive editing or full editing.)

Whereas developmental and evaluation edits look mainly at big picture issues, a content edit is the level at which an editor also starts to dig into the words on the page.

In addition to evaluating the structure of your book, a content editor reads and carefully edits the manuscript with an eye on the completeness, flow, and construction of ideas and stories, working paragraph by paragraph and chapter by chapter.

A content editor should provide you with a paragraph-level set of markups on your manuscript, offering corrections, pointing out incomplete sections, and offering advice on smoothing the flow and construction of your chapters, sections, and subsections.

A key focus for a content edit should also be the tone and voice of your manuscript. A content editor should be aware of your target audience to ensure that the way your content comes off (tone) is a good fit for that audience, and that the writing sounds like you (voice). They help refine your language for your intended audience.

The key difference between a content edit and a line edit (two terms that are often used interchangeably) is that a content edit is not as detailed as a line edit. It exists between the high-level view of a developmental or evaluation edit, and the ground-level view that a line editor takes as they work through each line of your manuscript.

A content editor won’t move your chapters around, but they will move sections or paragraphs around within your chapters, move content to different chapters, or delete content entirely.

Think of it this way: a developmental or evaluation editor helps you build the house (the book) and figure out which rooms (chapters) should go where.

With those rooms in place, the content editor’s job is to help you arrange the furniture (sections and paragraphs) inside those rooms in a way that’s appealing.

Unlike line editors, they’re not concerned with the decorations (sentences).

(Also called: stylistic edit or comprehensive edit.)

As the name implies, a line editor performs a line-by-line review of your manuscript. Up to this point, the editors have worked on your manuscript at a high level—either the macro level where they consider the entire book, or the chapter and paragraph level.

The line editor jumps into the manuscript with both feet, providing the most detailed edit you can get. Notice that I didn’t say “comprehensive.” A great line editor will make your prose sing, but if your content isn’t structured properly, it won’t matter.

That’s why it’s important not to jump in with line editing before your book has the proper structure and organization in place and your content is where it needs to be.

A line editor is down in the weeds, so they’re not looking at the big picture. They’re focusing on word choice and whether each sentence has the intended impact.

Like other editors, they focus on your book’s flow, but they’re more concerned with how each word in a sentence interacts with the others and how sentences flow into each other.

Line editors point out run-on sentences, sentence fragments, and clichés. They help you clarify meaning, eliminate jargon, and ensure that each sentence sounds right in the reader’s mind.

They also push back against the natural inclination many of us have toward wordiness by tightening your sentences and helping you say in five words what you initially said in fifteen.

A line editor is not as concerned with errors, but rather the words you use to communicate with your reader. They want your writing to be short, simple, concise, and about the reader—the essential writing principles of great non-fiction.

That said, a line editor may perform the duties of a copyeditor, but it’s not a given. If you want an editor who can provide this kind of all-in-one service, clarify that desire up front.

When you have a finished manuscript—and I mean completely finished, not one that’s close to done or has a few gaps to fill in—it’s time to hire a copyeditor.

A copyeditor will meticulously go through your book and find the spelling, punctuation, and grammar mistakes.

That’s right—no matter how confident you are that your manuscript is mistake free, there are mistakes in there.

When you read your book out loud (which all authors should do), you’ll catch the sloppy mistakes and wording issues, but you’ll miss the stuff that copyeditors search for: small grammatical rules that native English speakers often don’t even realize exist.

There is a lot of data on this, but average people only detect about 60 percent of errors, and even professionals usually only catch about 85 percent. That’s why copyediting and the next type of editing (proofreading) should be in tandem.

Copyeditors not only find mistakes, they also check that your book follows the style guide appropriate for your genre (most books use the Chicago Manual of Style ).

Even if you think having your neighbor read through your book is enough to find all the spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes (which it’s not), unless that neighbor is a professional copyeditor, they won’t know how to style your book correctly.

The kinds of mistakes copyeditors catch are not life threatening, but they make the difference between a professional book and one that comes across as amateur.

Although the terms “copyediting” and “proofreading” are often used interchangeably, they describe different processes that benefit your book in unique ways.

A proofreader takes the printed version of your book after it’s been designed and formatted (called a “proof) and gives it a final review before the book goes to print. Since it comes right before publication, proofreading is the last line of defense against errors.

You should always have your manuscript copyedited before it goes to layout, and then always have your book professionally formatted before it goes to a proofreader.

Here’s why: like a copyeditor, a proofreader looks for typos and misplaced punctuation, but also searches for layout issues like page numbering, consistency with headings, placement of tables of figures in the text, bad line or page breaks, and more.

A proofreader isn’t looking to fix your content—just correct any errors they see.

Because so much published writing lives online nowadays, many editorial teams don’t bother with proofreaders and just use copyeditors to get content ready for publication. However, many will still ask for the copy to be proofread before it’s published.

That’s why confusion exists about how copyediting and proofreading differ. If you want to break it down, here’s an easy way to remember the difference:

Copyeditors catch all the mistakes the author missed.

Proofreaders catch all the mistakes the copyeditor missed.

What Type of Editing Does Your Book Need?

Now that we’ve walked through the different types of editing, you should have a better idea which ones are appropriate for your book based on your needs as an author.

At the very least, you need to hire a professional copyeditor and proofreader to ensure readers can enjoy the book you worked hard to write without being distracted by dozens of typos.

The Scribe Crew

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10 of the Most Common Grammar Mistakes to Avoid (& How to Fix Them)

What are Beta Readers? (& How Authors Can Find Them)

Latest articles:

• Technical Editor
• Scientific Editor
• Literary Editor

Literary Editing

• Proofreading
• Proofreader
• Chief editor
• What is literary editing

What is literary editing needed for

Peculiar properties of the process.

• Journalists
• Copywriters
• Translators
• Proofreaders
• Academic writers

Literary editing is a process of implementing serious changes to the original author’s text intending to improve it. Rather often, people tend to confuse literary editing with proofreading, considering them to be either synonymous, or interchangeable. In fact, proofreading and literary editing differ significantly: the former mostly implies correcting rough mistakes, such as spelling or punctuation errors, whereas the latter is a full-scale editing process, including, among other things, the correction of syntax, style, morphology, and other kinds of mistakes. In other words, literary editing is a serious conversion of an author’s text, comprising numerous changes and improvements.

The main goal of literary editing is to make the form of the text correspond with its content. An expert performing this kind of job seeks to make the whole text literate, its logic – uncontroversial, and its composition – harmonious. One of editor’s duties is also the optimization of the text’s size, meaning that the editor seeks to shorten it in such a way that the text does not lose its initial meaning; usually it implies eliminating all kinds of repetitions, tautologies, overly explanatory fragments, superfluous descriptions, and so on.

It must be mentioned that the correction of the roughest mistakes such as grammar and/or syntax ones is done right in the text, whereas the propositions on the improvements of style and composition are often presented as footnotes; the author, reading the footnotes and getting acquainted with the changes the editor made, can decide which option he/she would like to use, combine these options, or create a new variant of the text’s fragment, using all the previous options as a basis.

Literary editing also includes checking of the factual material, in case there is any in the text. For example, the editor checks accuracy of citations and correctness of their formatting, and the credibility of data such as statistics or references.

Generally speaking, literary editing is a global processing of author’s text, performed to make it literate, stylistically accurate (corresponding with the genre), logically uncontroversial, compositionally complete, easy to read, and credible. Literary editing lies in the competence of highly qualified specialists, because it includes a wide range of aspects and nuances, being if not the apex, then one of the highest levels of editing mastery.

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The work of the literary editor is conducted in a kind of shadow, cast by the name of the author. A few editors have stepped out of that shadow, becoming perhaps more infamous than famous, for the labels “editor” and “famous” seem like a contradiction in terms, essentially incompatible. An example is Gordon Lish, who became known in the literary world as “Captain Fiction” and whose authors included Raymond Carver. Another is Maxwell Perkins, editor of Hemingway and Fitzgerald, whose epithet was the “Editor of Genius.” One of the most celebrated editing jobs ever done was carried out by Ezra Pound, not in any formal capacity, but as a friend, his ruthless hand paring down an early version of T. S. Eliot’s “The Waste Land” into the form in which we know it today. Gordon Lish’s editing was quite as unconstrained and uncompromising, the style we think of as Carver’s being in fact Lish’s work. Carver himself was rather ambivalent about it, though it unquestionably established his name as a writer. This became apparent when Carver’s own manuscript was published after his death, his stories there being quite differently ample and expansive, barely recognizable. There is little doubt that the editor’s Carver was better than Carver’s Carver, and how must that have made the author feel as he stood in the spotlight to receive his accolades, hailed as the great new name of American literature? The example is interesting, for the job of the editor is to exert influence, not for his own good, nor necessarily for the author’s, but for that of the book, and if we can suggest that Lish went too far, we must also ask in relation to what? After all, the book was certainly the better for it. Were the wounded feelings of its author more important? Without Lish, Carver’s books would have been poorer and he would have been a reasonably good writer rather than a brilliant one. This raises the question of what a writer is, and where the boundaries run between the author, the book, and the surrounding world.

America has a tradition of strong editors, though the issue is not specifically American. I know of Norwegian editors who to all intents and purposes move their author’s feet, so to speak, in the dance of their literary endeavors, who basically instruct them: left foot here, right foot there, left foot here, right foot there. And I know, too, of Norwegian writers at the exact opposite pole, who deliver print-ready manuscripts to their editors and would change publishers promptly at the suggestion of reworking anything.

Lish’s job on Carver is perhaps too extreme to serve as an example of the role of the editor, but what any kind of boundary breaking always does is to draw attention to the boundary itself—in this case between editor and writer, who together with the text form a kind of Bermuda Triangle within whose force field everything said and done disappears without trace. Had Lish not gone as far as he did, everything in Carver’s texts would have been attributed unequivocally to Carver, the way all novels, short stories, and poetry collections are attributed unequivocally to the writer. To understand what goes on in this shadowland, we could ask ourselves: What would the books have been like without their editors? In my own case, the answer is simple: there would have been no books. I would not have been a writer. This is not to say that my editor writes my books for me, but that his thoughts, input, and insights are imperative to their being written. These thoughts, this input, and these insights are particular to me and my writing process; when he is editing the work of other authors, what he gives them is something particular to their work. The job of editor is therefore ideally undefined and open, dependent on each individual writer’s needs, expectations, talent, and integrity, and it is first and foremost based on trust, hinging much more on personal qualities and human understanding than on formal literary competence.

I remember a time in my late twenties when I was working for a literary magazine, we had commissioned a contribution from an established poet, and I was given the job of taking care of it. I read the poem and responded with a few comments, some suggestions as to minor changes, and a tentative inquiry as to whether the poem might be developed a bit further in the same direction. The reply that came back can be summed up in a single question: “Who are you?” In fact, there may well have been an undertone in that reply warranting an even more forceful wording: “Who the hell are you?” I was vexed by this, my comments had been cautious and, as far as I could see, justified. It was how I was used to commenting on the works-in-progress of my writer friends. Surely a poet of such experience and standing could relate more professionally to their own writing?

But the reaction wasn’t about the poem. It was about a faceless editor wanting to change the poem, which I guessed was being construed as an attack. As if there was something wrong with the poem and this faceless young male academic thought he knew what was needed to fix it. Objectively, I think my comments were on the right track, but when it comes to writing there is no such thing as objective, it’s all about the person writing and the person reading. If I had met this poet a few times, if we had been able to gain an impression of each other, perhaps get an idea as to each other’s literary preferences, I think my comments might have been taken differently, perhaps even prompted changes to the work, though not necessarily in the way I had envisaged.

The situations in which creative writing takes place are often complicated, to put it mildly—anyone even slightly familiar with the writing profession, as we so grandly refer to it, knows that it is one great big entanglement of neuroses, hang-ups, blockages, frailties, idiosyncrasies, alcoholism, narcissism, depression, psychosis, hyperactivity, mania, inflated egos, low self-esteem, compulsion, obligation, impulsive ideas, clutter, and procrastination—and working with writing in that kind of context means that a concept such as quality is a poor standard indeed, at least if we think of quality as an objective norm. In literary editing, quality is a dynamic entity, more a process than a grade, and one that will vary according to the individual writer and editor.

That the books that come out of this are treated in almost exactly the opposite way in literary criticism, which is very much about weights and measures and comparisons to other books, can often throw an author into shock and is something one never quite gets used to. It feels almost as if there are different books, one belonging to the editor, another to the critic, and for the author this can be difficult; should he or she listen to his or her editor, who will invariably say that critics don’t know what they’re talking about, that they are insensitive and stupid, driven by their own agendas, and so on, or to the judgement of the critics?

Erlend Loe exploits the comedy that lies in the difference between the work of editors and critics in his most recent novel, Vareopptelling ( Stocktaking ), which opens with an editor phoning an aging poet and telling her how great the reviews of her latest collection have been, everything he says being more or less veiled with the intention of shielding her from the reality of the matter, after which she embarks on a personal crusade to erase the discrepancy between her own perception of the book and that of the critics. It’s funny because it’s recognizable, the editor’s attempts to deal with poor reviews, as well as the thoughts of vengeance they can give rise to in the mind of the author, it strikes a chord. Even a writer like Stieg Larsson, who made a name for himself with his very first book and was canonized in his own lifetime, lets the poorer reviews get to him, he can’t let go of them, including in his collection of poems Natta de mina ( Goodnight My Dear Ones ), a grotesque fantasy in which a named critic is mutilated. And Paul Auster, a world-renowned author one would think to have been so acclaimed in his time that poor reviews would be like water off a duck’s back, expends a great deal of emotional energy in his recently published correspondence with J. M. Coetzee reacting to James Wood’s critiques of his books in The New Yorker , not with arguments, but with descriptions of what it feels like—which is like being mugged in broad daylight.

This is so because writing and publishing a book is to lay some part of oneself bare, in such a way as to be utterly defenseless, and allow oneself to be judged by someone with nothing at risk. An editor who also works as a critic, which is to say interpreting and passing judgments on quality—and yes, they exist—serves literature poorly, since interpretation and judgment wrap up a work as if for good, whereas what they should be doing is keeping it open as long as possible. For literature is always something that is becoming, in the making, whereas the forms in which it appears are something that is, they exist already. And since the art is to force oneself beyond what is and into what is becoming—which is alive and essentially unknown to us until we get there—then only those who don’t know how to write can write, only those who can’t write a novel can write a novel. From this it follows that the role of the editor can’t be about knowing either, for in these processes knowledge is sabotage.

Now we are far from the classic editor, the fifty-six-year-old man in tweed, bent over the manuscript, pencil in hand, and are approaching my own editor, whose pencil never appears before a date has been set for publication and the services of a proofreader engaged to go through the final manuscript. What his work until then involves I can’t say with any certainty, other than that we talk quite a lot. These discussions take place during all stages of the writing, from before a single word has been put to paper and only a vague idea exists as to what area of reality the novel is to explore, until the book has been published and the various ways in which it has been received call for endless and occasionally crisis-bound conferences with a person who knows how much has been invested in it and has invested so much in it himself.

Although this has been going on for seventeen years, during which time we have published a total of eight novels and sat for countless hours talking on the phone or in conference rooms and offices, and have gone through thousands of manuscript pages, I am still unable to say “this is what he does,” “this is how he works,” “this is how he thinks.” Of course, this has to do with me never being able to really see others, the fact that I’m so involved in myself that I never quite manage to get beyond that, but that’s not the only reason. It has to do with his way of working, too, which is not about remoteness, the famous view from without, but about nearness, the view from within, which is more difficult to see and define. What we stand above is easy to see, what we stand below is easy to see, and what we stand beside is easy to see, but what we stand in the middle of is not.

When I was writing my autobiographical novel My Struggle there were three people in particular to whom I found it difficult to give shape, difficult to give voice. It didn’t matter how hard I tried, I could neither hear nor see them. I knew who they were to me, but it was almost impossible to give that awareness form. One of these people was my mother, one was my wife, one was my editor. What could these three very different people have in common that meant they were stuck in the shadows of my writer’s mind? In a way, the people they were went without saying, they didn’t need me to speak for them, they spoke for themselves. For an author, this is interesting: writing is about giving form to something, constructing something, familiar or unfamiliar, by means of language. Usually, this is easier the more unfamiliar the object: a cow wandering through a poor street in India is easy to depict, whereas a man watching TV in his apartment is not. Nearly all literature is about conflicts, which have their root in differences, the unlike breaking out of the like and only then allowing itself to be captured. Sameness residing in sameness, which is to say harmony, is almost impossible to make into anything. And this is where my mother, my wife, and my editor come in, for what roles do they play in my life? They give, demanding nothing, or very little, in return. To see such a person, who gives without making demands, is hard indeed. Demands have outline, but the absence of demands? Such absence is nothing, it is without shape, yet at the same time significant, and quite fundamental in everything that is human.

We see and talk about everything that works loose and tears itself away, never about what comes to us. This is true in the greater perspective and true in the smaller perspective. My father took something from me, I competed with my brother, this is easy for me to see and write about, but my mother gave me something, and this is difficult for me to see and write about. What did she give me? I’m not sure exactly. My editor, what does he give me? Suggestions as to books I should read? Yes, but many other people do that as well. An understanding of what I’m doing? Yes, but I have that myself, and if it isn’t complete, there are many other people I know who could fill in the gaps. Inspiration? Certainly, but I get that opening almost any book about art.

All this is important, but it isn’t what is significant. What is significant is a feeling, something vague and elusive, perhaps best captured in the word trust . I have absolute trust in him. With absolutely everything I write, even the smallest newspaper article, he has to read it before I can publish it anywhere. This is something on which I’m totally reliant and at the same time take for granted. It’s not a function, it’s not something anyone else can do, because it’s not about the role of editor, it’s about him, the person he is. And that’s what the role of editor is for me.

There are many conceptions about writing. One of the most common is that it’s a lonely business, something writers do on their own. I can’t see myself in that. On the contrary, in all the years I’ve been making my living as a writer I’ve been dependent on the help of others in order to write. When I was writing My Struggle , I read every word of it out loud to a friend, Geir Angell Øygarden, I called him on the phone every single day and read him what I had written, some five thousand pages in total. Why? Because someone had to tell me it was good enough, that was one thing, but also what it actually was that I was doing, and, importantly, what it might become, in what directions I could proceed. I needed his thoughts, they came together with mine but from a completely different place, and this was essential; because I was writing about myself I desperately needed that view from outside, which in this case was not simply a view but a whole outlook, which I made my own in the novel. Those conversations formed a space, and I think all books exist within such a space, either very obviously (as in my case) or less so, for instance when what surrounds them is the literature an author reads during the writing process, or has read before it starts. Even though I knew nothing about this when I began to write at the age of eighteen, I still set up those kinds of spaces; it was as if the need itself made it happen. The actual act of writing still took place in solitude, but everything that surrounded it, which after all was what was important, had to do with other people. When I was nineteen, for instance, studying literature at the university in Bergen, I met Espen Stueland. He was writing, I was writing, we became friends, and he shared with me everything he could think and read, everything he had thought and read. He introduced me to books by Ole Robert Sunde, Tor Ulven, Claude Simon, Gunnar Ekelöf, Osip Mandelstam, Samuel Beckett, to pick out just a few of the many names that swirled in the air at that time. We read each other’s texts, and his critiques, as sincere as they were severe, encouraged me to rewrite or toss. But even when I tossed what I had written, I was stirred, because through Espen I had suddenly come to a place where literature mattered, and was perhaps what mattered most of all, a place where it was impossible to bluff, impossible to cheat, impossible to be half-hearted in anything we read or wrote: it was all or nothing. Espen soon debuted with the poetry collection Sakte dans ut av brennende hus ( Serene Dance Out of a Burning House ) and uprooted to Oslo, got involved with Vagant , and shared that with me, too, introducing me to the writers and critics he met in that connection. I stayed behind in Bergen, and there I met another student who wrote, his name was Tore Renberg, we, too, became friends, and he shared with me everything he could think and read, everything he had thought and read. Tore’s literary preferences were different from Espen’s, but included many of the same authors: Tor Ulven was impossible to ignore for any student of literature in the early nineties, Ole Robert Sunde likewise, and Samuel Beckett was everywhere. But the writers Tore was most immersed in at that time were Eldrid Lunden (whose work I had never read), Tarjei Vesaas, and Sigbjørn Obstfelder. We, too, read each other’s texts, and in a very short space of time he wrote a collection of short prose pieces that got accepted for publication, the title was Sovende flokke ( Sleeping Tangle ), and, like Espen, he, too, uprooted to Oslo, debuted, and soon after became involved with Vagant .

When all of this was going on, when I was sitting around in cafés with Tore or Espen, talking about literature or music or football, the three of us having in common the fact that we wrote and wanted to be writers, it was nothing. None of us knew how things were going to pan out, we barely knew what we were doing. Were we doing anything at all? Weren’t we just idling away our time, doing nothing other than following our own inclinations? It was all without shape, as yet undefined, and if reading Tor Ulven, for instance, pointed forward in time to a future Tor Ulven influence in our generation’s literature, which is now incontestable, we were oblivious to it then, for we were no generation, we represented nothing, and what we were doing stayed between us and had no audience, the very thought was absurd. It was as local as you can get, the coffee was lukewarm, the rain came down outside, and if I needed a piss I could wait out of politeness. But writing this now I sense it transforming from nothing into something, an era is committed to writing, a milieu emerges, a history unfolds. And yes, seen from where we are now, Espen forty-two years old and a father of two, Tore forty-one and a father of two, I myself forty-four and a father of three, middle-aged men the three of us, authors of a sizable number of books, essays, and articles, a straight line seems to go from all our get-togethers and discussions back then to where we are now, authors of our generation.

As such, history always lies, it turns what was inconsistent, all over the place, perhaps even meaningless, into something consistent, systematic, and meaningful. The situations and events that occurred, the people who were there, and the discussions between them were of course real, it is not the case that writing about something is the same as lying or distorting, but the moment that reality is written down it is given a form that is basically abiding and unalterable, which pins it down in a certain way, whereas what was significant about it was that it was all over the place and could not be pinned down at all. To write about a situation is to take out part of its potential, at the same time as its remaining potential disappears into the shadows of the unsaid, the unthought, and the unwritten, in the valley of opportunities lost.

But anyway, there I was in Bergen, twenty-six years old. My two best (and only) friends had achieved the only thing I really wanted to do in life, they had made their literary debuts and moved to Oslo, to the very center of Norwegian literary life. It felt like they had abandoned me, and if they were unaware of exactly how jealous I was, they must surely have had an inkling, or at least should have had, the three of us had shared the same lives, young aspiring writers, shared the same ambition, to become authors, we had shared all our reading experiences, everything we learned, and they had succeeded—Tore spectacularly so, receiving that year’s Best New Writer Award—whereas I had failed and was left behind in Bergen, with what amounted to nothing, because unlike Espen and Tore I couldn’t write, in the sense that nothing came out when I sat down at the computer, not a sentence, not a word, I was completely empty. I told myself the ambition of writing, or the belief that I actually could do it, was self-delusion, a deception. Tore had it in him, Espen had it in him, I didn’t. What I did then was go back to studying. Within a year, I did a subsidiary course in art history and began majoring in literature. I was going to write about literature instead. But then something totally unexpected happened. An editor called me up asking if I could come in for a chat, he had read a short story of mine and wanted to discuss it with me.

Nowadays, this is a fairly normal way of going about things. Back then, in the early nineties, it wasn’t. For anyone harboring ambitions of becoming an author in the late eighties and early nineties the way to do it was this: you wrote a book and submitted it to a publishing house, after which you waited a month or two before receiving a reply in the post, very likely a rejection, which could fall into one of several categories; it could be a standard rejection, which was a bad sign, it meant the manuscript came across so weak it hadn’t been worth the effort to give it an individual assessment. If, on the other hand, it was accompanied by a reader’s assessment, then it was a notch up, even if that assessment happened to be negative, since it meant someone at least had seen enough merit in the work to commission an external reader to read it and make an appraisal. That appraisal might conclude with something to the effect that the author showed promise, but that the present manuscript could not be recommended for publication, or—oh, joy!—that they would like to read it again in revised form. But because that revision had to be done by the author alone, with at best a couple of vague suggestions to go by, it, too, normally ended up in a rejection. Only very, very seldom did it happen that a manuscript was accepted as it stood—I remember hearing at the time that it was one in a hundred.

Because of the distance between author and publisher, so great it amounted to an abyss, a lot depended on capturing the attention of this mysterious and unapproachable reader from the outset. A strong title, in an eye-catching font (if memory serves me right, you could buy sheets of lettering back then, before we got word processors, in Gothic style, for instance, and stick them on), without typos or scribblings-out, a meticulously worded accompanying letter. I remember a piece of advice to us from Øystein Lønn when I was at the Writing Academy: Put your best parts first, no matter how little it says about the text overall, put the best parts first. It was all about getting read, about making sure whoever was charged with sifting through new manuscripts at the publishing house didn’t just toss yours aside, but was intrigued enough to read on.

The first novel I submitted as a manuscript, it must have been in 1989, drew a standard rejection of no more than a few lines, the publishers had read the manuscript with interest, which was good, but they wouldn’t be publishing it. Still, this was nothing compared to Tore, who not without pride had told me he’d been turned down eighteen times. He was nineteen years old. But when he debuted, it happened in a different way altogether. He had not submitted a manuscript to a publishing house, the way generations of budding Norwegian authors all the way back to Hamsun had done before him, no, in his case the publishing house had called him. He had written some reviews in Morgenbladet and Vinduet , and one morning the phone rang and it was a man presenting himself as an editor at the Tiden publishing house, wondering if Tore would like to be a reader for him. Tore accepted gladly, though not without mentioning that he was a writer himself. The editor, who had suspected as much, duly offered to have a look at his work.

That was how Tore was taken on by Tiden and became an author. The year after, he was asked by them to edit an anthology of so-called new voices in Norwegian literature and asked me if I happened to have anything he could use. I did. Tucked away in an attempt at a novel about a slave ship that was basically lifted in its entirety from an existing nonfiction book I’d found was a story I sent to Tore and which, perhaps because my envy, which he must surely have sensed, made him feel sorry for me, he published. It wasn’t a very good story, but it did mean that I, too, received a phone call from the same editor, and a few weeks later was seated in his office in Oslo’s Operapassasjen, casting stolen glances at the piles of manuscripts there in case they might reveal something significant to me while he was out getting us coffee. When he came back, we talked a bit, or he did mostly, and then I was back in the street again. It was hardly anything to speak of, but it was enough, for when I left there it was with the feeling of having been seen.

Oh, how fragile these things are. It’s hard to describe that this vague feeling of having been seen, of someone showing faith, was enough for me to start work on a new novel, one in which I went much further than I had before. Was it because of him, that editor? Let me put it like this: had he not asked me to come and see him, I would never have started writing again, at least not in the same way. When I sent him the first beginnings of this new novel, I was ashamed and felt like a dog. Now surely I had let him down, abused his trust, ruined everything. One part in particular felt shaming: at one point, my main character goes into a phone booth on the Torgallmenningen in Bergen, from where he makes a phone call to his ten-year-old self. It was so stupid!

A few weeks passed and then the editor called me. He liked what he had read, especially the part where the main character phones back to his own childhood, that was really good! And he said something else, too: Henrik keeps repeating a thought, something about in the world, out of the world, in the world, out of the world. That sounds like a title, don’t you think? Out of the world?

These two comments were decisive, and they steered the rest of the writing until the novel was finished. Movement from one time to another, or from one place to another, by means of a metaphor or simile, often something concrete like that phone booth, runs through the entire novel and is its way of thinking, all times and all places held within a single consciousness. And the title he gave me, Out of the World , steered its complex of themes in much the same way.

The next time I met the editor from Tiden, he asked me if I wanted to sign the contract there and then or wait until we were closer to publication. I nearly passed out. Up until that point I had looked on this as a test, something that might lead on to something else. He wanted to publish it! Not until years later did it dawn on me that he hadn’t considered the manuscript to be even remotely good enough at that point, but that his suggestion had been all about instilling in me a sense of confidence and belief, and the feeling that a novel was something that was within my grasp. In other words, he manipulated me. It was like what a magazine editor did with Hunter S. Thompson one time. Thompson had been commissioned to make a trip and write about what he saw, but after he got home he found himself unable to muster a word, he was completely blocked. The editor called him up and asked him to jot down some notes just to give the magazine some sort of idea as to what the piece would be about. Thompson obliged, only for the editor to call him again a few weeks later, letting him know that his notes had gone to press. They were the piece. And that, I think, is often the way we get to what it’s all about. If we strive to go there, we block, for there are so many expectations, so many demands and misconceptions that it’s almost impossible to find a way. But if we don’t know, if we think we’re doing something else instead, as if in preparation for the real thing, then the real thing, which requires a form of unfetteredness, comes into being.

Another conception about writing, at least as common as that of the writer being on his own, is that writing is craft. I can’t see myself in that either, again I find it to be quite the opposite. Writing is about breaking down what you can do and what you’ve learned, something that would be inconceivable to a craftsman, a cabinetmaker for instance, who can’t possibly start from scratch every time. That doesn’t mean a cabinetmaker isn’t creative, can’t work out new solutions to old problems, and I assume, too, that a cabinetmaker is best when he or she isn’t thinking about what they do, but simply doing it, much as a driver is best when the skills he or she has acquired, the craft of driving, are not reflected on, but simply performed. This is how it is with musicians, too; the technique or craft is something so well mastered that the musician’s awareness of it is not a conscious awareness, and the music becomes art only in the flow. A soccer player who has to think about how to control the ball, who asks himself whether it’s best to swerve right or left to get past his opponent, who wonders what to do then if he does get past him, pass the ball left or right, or try a shot, will be a poor one. What the musician, the cabinetmaker, and the soccer player have in common is that they have practiced their techniques for hours and hours on end, until they belong to the body and have become like a reflex, selfless and natural. This same kind of state applies to writing, too, and it is just as coveted—I once read an interview with the British author Ian McEwan in which he spoke about the selfless state into which the act of writing could transport him, and how that selflessness, which occurred only very seldom, felt like the very apex of the writing process. But unlike the other activities just mentioned, there is actually nothing to practice in writing, no techniques to be endlessly repeated until learned—what would they be? A dramatic turning point approached again and again? A certain way of describing a face or personality? No, writing cannot be practiced in that sense, it can never be reduced to exercises, it can only ever be the real thing, what it is in itself, because writing is about getting to the core, something that can be done only once, in that one way, which can never be repeated, because if you repeat it then you are no longer at the core but at something false that merely resembles. So what writing is about, more than anything else, is not practicing, but failing. Failing, not succeeding, not being able to make it work, failing, failing, failing—but not in order to get to the core at some future time, that would be half-hearted, and the half-hearted is the antithesis of writing, no, failing must come from risking everything, in all earnestness, with the utmost of effort. Failing to get the ball properly under control on the football pitch can be annoying, but it doesn’t hurt. Failing in literature hurts, if it doesn’t then it’s an exercise and can lead nowhere. In other words, in order to write you must trick yourself, you must believe that this time I’m onto something, no matter how worthless it might turn out to be. In that process, everything is uncertain, everything is fluid, and even if that shining state of selflessness should occur, it doesn’t have to mean that what you write has any value, possesses any kind of quality—after all, those who most often vanish into the selfless state are children.

Failing on your own is fine for a while, but only up to a point, since failing in literature is no fun, failing there is failing for real, and when you are surrounded by friends and family with jobs to go to or studies to pursue it becomes increasingly hard to defend writing, to keep it up as something meaningful when the results fail to materialize, which in this case means having your work accepted by a publisher. Failing in one’s writing under those conditions is also to fail socially. Everyone knows the type, the guy who cagily says, “I write.” After ten years of that, is there anyone left who still believes in him? After twenty years? Certainly not the writer himself. By then, writing has become a shameful business, a stigma almost. If he’s to go on, he must trick himself, which will become increasingly difficult, until eventually he realizes that it’s true, he has failed.

A published writer has a different social aspect entirely. But the writing is the same. For a while it will be quite as unsuccessful. This is where the editor comes in. The job is to support the author, which in many instances means tricking the author, telling him or her that this is really good, keep going. Recently, I spoke to a Swedish editor who said this was perhaps the hardest part of the job, because the author often suspects that what he or she is doing probably isn’t that good, at the same time as he or she needs to hear how good it is. The author needs that lie and must overcome the suspicion of it being just that, a lie, must deceive himself or herself into believing it. That same Swedish editor always instructs his writers to note down what he says as they go through the manuscript. If they don’t, all they remember are the negative points. He can heap praise on a text and go into detail about how good it is in this or another passage, and even then the only thing that sticks in the mind of the author are his suggestions as to changes. And why do things have to be changed? Because they aren’t good enough, the text is a failure, a mistake.

This is where it hangs in the balance, where everything is at stake. For what is “good” exactly? In the literary world, much is about originality, finding an individual voice, uncovering what until now has been unseen—these are the ideals. Against this stands the concept of quality, the basis of all appraisal, and of any canonization. For when originality, individual voice, and the unseen come together there is nothing with which it can be compared. There is no unequivocal way of saying that something is “good.” When the book is there, with the publisher’s logo on the cover, that in itself is a stamp of quality: a large number of people with fine literary credentials, working in a well-reputed institution, have declared that this is literature, that this book is of value. To give a book that stamp of quality is a risky business. That is, if it’s similar to another book already recognized as good, then the risk is small, but if it’s not, if it’s something apart, then publishing the work and thereby declaring it to be a work of quality takes guts. There’s often a lack of intrepidness in the publishing world, there being so much esteem to be lost, an editor who puts out, let’s say, five books one after another, each of which is slaughtered by the critics, each of which moreover fails to sell, will be pushed toward the safe choice, toward what is acknowledged to be the norm, and will reject that which involves risk. I’m not saying this because I think Norway is teeming with yet undiscovered literary geniuses unable to find outlets for their work, but because whether an editor is good or bad has so much to do with being intrepid. I know of books later canonized that were rejected by one publisher after another as manuscripts, for the simple reason that they resemble very little else, works fully in keeping with the prevailing literary ideal, but which in their fullest consequence required courage to publish. I have worked on manuscripts from first-time writers myself as an adviser and know how difficult it can be to judge quality on one’s own, without the bound book in one’s hand to testify that the criteria have been met. Is it good enough? What is good enough? And if it isn’t good enough, is there anything in it that can become good enough? And if it happens to be very good, then there is nothing to which one can turn for comparison, one is left to one’s own judgment—and is that good enough?

—Translated from the Norwegian by Martin Aitken

Karl Ove Knausgaard was born in Norway in 1968. His debut novel, Out of the World , won the Norwegian Critics Prize in 2004, and his second novel, A Time for Everything , was a finalist for the Nordic Council Prize. For My Struggle: Book One , Knausgaard received the Brage Award in 2009, the 2010 Book of the Year Prize in Morgenbladet, and the P2 Listeners’ Prize. Book One was a New Yorker Book of the Year, and Book Two was listed among the Wall Street Journal ’s 2013 Books of the Year.

Martin Aitken is the acclaimed translator of numerous novels from Danish and Norwegian, including works by Karl Ove Knausgaard, Ida Jessen, Peter Høeg, Jussi Adler-Olsen, and Pia Juul. In 2012, he was awarded the American-Scandinavian Foundation’s Nadia Christensen Translation Prize. In 2019. Aitken received the PEN Translation Prize for his translation of Love , by Hanne Ørstavik.

From Karl Ove Knausgaard’s  In the Land of the Cyclops , translated from the Norwegian by Martin Aitken, published by Archipelago Books.

How to Edit a Novel: The Foolproof 9-Step Book Editing Process

by Sarah Gribble | 1 comment

Are you the kind of writer that loves writing a first draft but has no idea what to do once you're done with it? Do you worry that you don't know how to edit a novel, so you freeze up, get overwhelmed, and either publish right away or stuff it in a sock drawer forever?

Editing is hard, but luckily there are strategies you can take when editing your first draft (and others), or even if it's your first time.

In this article, I'll teach you the process I've learned after years of struggling to edit. But first, there's one thing we have to get out of the way:

Editing is essential and you have to do it.

A lot of writers loathe editing.

I've known some novices who refuse to edit their work at all. (Eventually, those folks have learned that's not really a great idea.) I used to hate editing as well, but over the years, I've come to . . . not necessarily enjoy it, but tolerate it.

I know it's an essential part of the writing (and publishing!) process and respect if for that purpose.

It's still a pain. And it can definitely be overwhelming.

Eventually, in my many years of rebelling against the editing process, I realized I didn't want to edit because I had no earthly idea how to begin!

Figuring out an editing process gave me some fresh eyes on how to approach my own work, and become a better writer while simultaneously becoming a self-editor.

You'll still likely want a professional edit done, but this process helps you get your book in the best shape possible before you send it on.

The 9-Step Process to Self-Edit a Novel

I want you to skip the years of trial and error I went through to find a good way to self-edit a book.

To do this, I've constructed a step-by-step guide to tackle the editing process. This works for novels, books, short stories , and everything in between. (I seriously use this.)

1. Take a break

This is essential. DO NOT skip this part.

Your first instinct is going to be to give your story a read through immediately. You absolutely know there are parts you wanted to revisit while you were rushing through a first draft.

(First drafts should be written quickly. To see why check out this post .)

No matter how much you want to, don't reread your book right away. Set it aside. I recommend leaving it sit for two months. For shorter works, I recommend a couple weeks.

This break is vital so you can come back with fresh editor's eyes.

It also allows you to avoid overlooking problems with the big picture because you're so concentrated on perfecting the little details.

And if you're really itchy to edit your own writing immediately, consider some other ways to exercise your mind and distract yourself (for a little while). These might include:

• Other physical activity
• Catching up with friends and family you avoided while writing
• Playing with your pet
• Watching a movie

You get the idea, although I recommend something physical in some way, since moving your body after long stretches of hunching over a computer can rejuvenate not only your body, but your mental state.

Overall, it takes a lot to edit an entire manuscript, or any of your own work. Giving yourself a break will restore the energy you need to do this.

2. Reread your novel with an eye for large problems

For now, ignore stylistic issues and typos. You're looking for structure issues, characterization problems, plot holes, etc. You're not looking to improve your use of language at this point. You're looking to improve the story .

That means you want to concentrate on developmental editing , not copyediting or line editing (although this will be important at some point in the editing process).

Notice I did not say start editing. You're just reading right now. You have to take a macro view of your entire book before you can really dive in and start revising.

Make notes on the larger issues. Create a list of things you'd like to change. But do not start editing.

Open up a Microsoft word document or even a journal and jot down holes with the story essentials. Take your notes, and evaluate the story as a whole when you're done reading before you start sweating the small stuff.

Some ideas you might want to take notes on while before a developmental edit are what Shawn Coyne of the Story Grid says are the editor's six questions. These are:

• What's the genre?
• What are the conventions and obligatory moments for that genre ?
• What's the Point of View ?
• What is the object of desire? (a main character's macro want and need in the story)
• What is the controlling idea and/or themes in the story?
• What is (a brief summary of) the Beginning Hook, Middle Build, and Ending Payoff? (Or think three acts, if you're following the three-act structure)

Using an editing checklist like this will keep you focused on the most important elements that build a story from page one to the end. The details you can take a look at with a separate checklist, for other ways to make your story stand out, like:

• Voice and style (line edits are important to shape this)
• Grammar (watch out for passive voice , opt more often for active voice)
• Word choice (focus on vivid verbs versus adjectives and adverbs)
• Dialogue (this is what separates seasoned writers from the rookies)
• Show don't tell (which can also support setting descriptions and actions and decisions that support character development)

3. Revisit your outline

If you didn't make one, that's fine. Make one now.

Trust me, even if you're a pantser, you're going to want a map of your entire story laid out in front of you. It's easier to see your book's structure that way, which makes it easier to move scenes around, or cut/add scenes or chapters.

If you did make an outline, revise it to reflect the current state of your book. (We all know inspiration sometimes strikes and you probably added a scene here and there that wasn't in the original outline.)

Now look at that outline and identify any major issues with structure, etc. and brainstorm ways to fix those issues. Make a new outline based on your fixes.

Now you have a plan for your next draft!

Why else is an outline helpful at this stage? Because it's going to catch plot points that you undervalued or missed, and it's also going to help you notice when subplots are working well or not at all.

A strategy for creating a chronological order for all your plot lines could be to write a synopsis for each of your subplots and then see where moment overlap or are lacking.

Do you create set ups that didn't pay off later in a story? Or in other words, did you place a plot point in act one that needed to make a significant impact on the plot in act two or three but got lost somewhere in the process of writing the whole book?

Outlines can catch mistakes like this, and they'll help you pay attention to what needs revising in the next draft.

4. Start your second draft

Now you can edit.

Keep in mind you are looking for large issues right now. Concentrate on structure, tone, characterization , and definitely your plot.

You're not worrying so much about making your sentences sing and finding the perfect metaphor or simile. You're not expecting to sound like a book sold to a traditional publishing house (although we'd all love that, I'm sure, you can save that for your third draft).

What you are trying to do in your second draft is fix those big picture problems.

Details like world-building and how they impacted plot poorly in the first draft can be considered and changed here.

So can those plot holes in subplots or the main plot, figuring out how to create engaging cliffhangers that pay off somewhere else in the story, and anything going on with main or supporting characters.

Regardless of how you approach your book editing when looking at your first draft, don't let your fear of writing a second, polished draft prevent you from writing and revising your second draft. Delay too long, and you might shelve that book and never come back to it again.

As you write draft two, keep your outline nearby so you can stay on track. (Side note: I “outline” by writing each scene on an index card and taping them to my wall. They're always staring at me that way. And it's a great guilt trip if you're prone to procrastination to see them all up there judging you for not writing.)

This part is the hardest to do and is definitely the most frustrating and overwhelming. Keep at it and don't give up.

There's always room for more improvement when you write draft three.

5. Reread again

This time you're making sure you've fixed all your major problems, but you can also start looking for prose issues. I always print this version out so I can write notes in the margins and correct sentences right on the manuscript.

Even better, read your manuscript out loud. Sometimes (meaning always) the ear picks up words and prose differently than reading in our heads.

This is hideous and may require an extra large cup of tea, but it's important.

It doesn't matter if you're self-publishing or going to query a literary agent , reading out lout will change how you hear your book.

And if you hear it sounding confusing or funny, you'll get a chance to change it before other readers stop and question it.

6. Start draft 2.5

I don't consider this round of edits to be a third draft, but if you want to call it that, fine.

This is where you're doing a lot of prose tweaking. Fix those telling spots and make them show. Make sure your dialogue is realistic . Add some description if needed.

For me, this is the fun part of editing, where I'm really filling out my book and making sure my style is consistent.

If you're not falling in love with your story and writing by this place in the editing process, a bigger problem is probably going on with your story.

Maybe you should revisit those developmental edits or your outline before your keep going.

But if you're getting exciting while you read and edit this draft, you know you've made some nice changes and upped your writing game.

7. Send your manuscript to beta readers

Yep, it's time to let people in on this massive project of yours, typos and all.

This is not a perfect, publishable draft. Any beta reader you choose needs to know that upfront so they're not concentrating on commas and spelling.

They may mark a typo if they see one, but they should be aware they are helping you the most by focusing on the major components above all else: plot, characterization, setting, conflict, the big idea driving your whole book.

(A note on beta readers: Please don't send it to your mother. She will love it and not give you good feedback. Ditto for close friends and other family members. Find some other writers or people you are positive will not worry about offending you when giving you feedback.)

Make a list of questions for your beta readers to keep them concentrated on what they really need to look for. Here are some example questions to keep your beta readers on track:

• Are my characters flat ?
• Does my dialogue sound realistic?
• Does anything not make sense (with plot, with world rules, with choices characters make, etc.)?
• Were there any places you got bored and didn't want to continue the book?
• Is the climax exciting enough?

Avoid the urge to edit more while your beta readers have your book. DO NOT send them a new copy because you changed something. This will lead to a downward spiral of you tweaking a sentence, sending them a new copy, them starting over, repeat. They will get frustrated and most likely will not finish reading your book at all.

The added bonus to taking another break is you will have plenty of space from your story when you come back to it, which means you'll be able to look at it through editor's eyes again.

If your beta readers bring up multiple issues, take time to consider them before revising again. Here's how to process feedback from beta readers . Always consider everything your beta readers say. Do not get defensive. Do not argue with them.

They represent your readers and were kind enough to help you out.

8. Start your third draft

Hopefully, your beta readers didn't find any glaring problems with the major components of your book.

If they did find some pretty major problems, you're going to work through the second draft steps again:

• Don't panic. I know it's frustrating, but you CAN fix this book. Don't give up now!
• Revise for major problems.
• Send the book back out to beta readers. Consider a few new people this time, but make sure you send it to a handful of the original group so they can tell you if you've fixed the issues. (If they're not willing to read the book again, that's fine. Understand that this is your baby, not theirs, and they might not have the time or the urge to keep helping you with this particular project. Don't make enemies over something so trivial.)

If they didn't find any major errors, hooray! For this draft, you'll focus on the micro view of your book: typos, grammar, and all the tiny little tweaks.

I highly recommend reading your work aloud at this stage. You'll catch so many more weirdly worded sentences and typos if it's vocalized than if you're reading it. Eyes tend to skip things, especially if they've run over the same ground a million times.

Use editing software if you like ( ProWritingAid or Grammarly are good choices).

9. Celebrate!

Again, this part is essential and I don't recommend you skip it!

You've spent a long time on your story, and you're about ready to share it with the world.

That's amazing.

Actually, incredible.

And I'm sure you've become a better writer by learning how to edit a novel or other story.

Celebrate, then get ready to write your next piece of creative work!

Bringing in the Professionals

This is a post on self-editing your novel, but I feel I would be remiss if I didn't mention professional book editors.

I'd never worked with an editor before last fall, and let me tell you, the experience was quite illuminating. So if this still seems like too much for you to handle, let me give you a rundown of the different types of editors and when you might consider hiring them.

A developmental editor gives you macro-level insight into your entire story. They'll help you straighten out the kinks with major issues, like structure.

You'd want to hire a developmental editor early on before you waste time doing several drafts. I'm talking after your first draft or between draft two and draft 2.5. Find out more about developmental editing through The Write Practice here.

A line editor is just what it sounds like: They comb through each sentence. A line editor's specialty is language. These are the people to help you get beautiful prose.

You'd hire a line editor after you've fixed major structural problems and anything else of high importance. They won't help you fix your story , so that needs to be done first. This is third draft stuff. Find line editors we recommend here.

A proofreader is the person you want if you don't know the difference between a comma and a semicolon . (Or if you can't spell “semicolon.”) Proofreaders go through your manuscript with a fine-toothed comb and fix any typos, including spelling mistakes and grammatical and punctuation errors. They come in after your final draft, right before you publish.

You'd want to hire a proofreader in the final stages of your editing, especially if you're going to self-publish. Find proofreaders we recommend here.

I Promise It Gets Easier.

Are you overwhelmed right now? I know I probably would be if I'd just read this post and had never edited anything before (especially a longer work like a book).

Eventually, you'll be able to move through these steps quickly and you won't look at your first draft manuscripts with dread.

Just take it one step at a time and work the process.

You'll get to a well-edited, publishing-ready draft, and your book will be all the better for it.

That can be a reward in and of itself.

Do you follow a similar editing process? Let me know in the comments !

For today's practice, grab a short piece you've already written. If you don't write short stories, pull up a scene from your book. (Make sure it's something you've let sit for a while!)

Start by reading the piece and keeping an eye out for the big issues. Take notes. Then set a timer for fifteen minutes and fix those large issues.

Next, consider the people reading this as your beta readers and share your edited writing in the Pro Practice Workshop here . Don't forget to do your fellow commenters a HUGE favor and play beta reader for them. We can all use feedback!

Sarah Gribble

Sarah Gribble is the author of dozens of short stories that explore uncomfortable situations, basic fears, and the general awe and fascination of the unknown. She just released Surviving Death , her first novel, and is currently working on her next book.

Follow her on Instagram or join her email list for free scares.

Work with Sarah Gribble?

Bestselling author with over five years of coaching experience. Sarah Gribble specializes in working with Dark Fantasy, Fantasy, Horror, Speculative Fiction, and Thriller books. Sound like a good fit for you?

Thank you for these incredible steps! I just finished my first stand alone novel last year and my mind’s been scrambling on how to start editing it, especially since there are so many ways you can go about editing a draft. This just made the process so much more understandable.

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Home / Guides / Book Editing / Master Guide to Selecting the Best Book Editor

Master Guide to Selecting the Best Book Editor

Choosing a book editor can be stressful. How’s one to know if one editor or editing service is better than the other?

As authors, we can only base our decision on things like their listed testimonials, prices, and if we’re lucky, a recommendation from a friend.

But, are you getting your money’s worth? Is one editor actually worth their asking price or can you get a better return on your investment somewhere else?

Well, that’s what we’re going to cover today with our book editor mastery guide.

I not only want to teach you about the differences in professional editing services–because there are a lot–but I also want to give you a standardized way to test two editors and choose the one who will truly give you the best return on your investment.

This single step has helped me to build the perfect team and was instrumental to my multiple book successes – because there’s nothing that kills sales and reviews more than poor spelling, grammar, and book structure.

In this article, you will learn:

Types of Book Editing Services

List of book editors:, what to look for in an editor, what do you do if you can't choose, where else can i look for book editors, list of bad editors and services to beware, editing software to help.

So what does a book editor do?

It seems simple, there are editors who edit books , right? When I first dug into this topic, however, I was surprised to find it’s super confusing.

Editors, authors, and even professional organizations for editors use different terms to define what editors do. When it’s time for you to connect with a manuscript editor, you absolutely must clarify what is and what is not included in their service.

There are different levels of editing that range from helping authors with an idea for a book to helping authors ensure every typo or missed period is fixed.

Some online book editors provide all levels of editing , while others specialize in one or two.

Here is a rundown of common terms for editing services as well as some other terms editors may use to describe them. These are arranged from heaviest editing to lightest editing.

• Developmental editing (may also be called structural or content) – looks at the book’s big picture and overall structure in nonfiction or plot and characters in fiction. Developmental editors may assess a book idea, outline, or early draft to tell authors what works and what could be better. The big picture questions need to be answered first before an editor ensures your words are polished and used correctly.
• Line editing (may also be called substantive or stylistic) – goes through each line refining the arrangement of words and phrases to create well-formed sentences and smooth-transitioning paragraphs. This helps the book “sound good” by polishing the language used to communicate your story. Learn more about line editors.
• Important note: Sometimes Copyediting and Line Editing are the same thing…just depends on that editor's interpretation.  In our list of book editors below, we combined them as “LE and CE” and just made it one.
• Proofreading – a final check before publication to find missed typos, missing words, repeated words, spacing and formatting consistency. Proofreading should be the very last level of editing. We have a comprehensive post on proofreading marks as well.

Wow! That made my head spin.

If you are still not sure which editing service you need, many editors offer a free consultation and are happy to help you figure that out.  Some won't even give you a price until they've seen your work.  So be friendly and send them a request.

Speaking of book editing services, let's talk about some of the best Editors out there!

The following list comprises of editors that came highly recommended from some of the top self-publishers.

However, in an attempt to ensure their information was organized and uniform, we requested that each editor state which three services they perform (Developmental, Line Editing and Copyediting – LE and CE, and Proofreading), prices for each, and which four genres they specialize in.

In truth, most of the below professional book editors have other services and specialize in other genres as well.  But, I sort of held their toes to the fire so that we could see an organized list of information 😉

So, if you have any questions, check them out:

List of Book Editors

The best book editing services.

In addition to the individual editors above, there are a number of great services that you can use to edit your book or find a book editor. These include the following:

PaperTrue is an editing and proofreading service that allows you to not only choose the editing package you want, but also specify the type of book you are working on from academic, business, and of course, author-related books (both nonfiction and fiction). This ranges from novels, manuscripts, screenplays, novellas, and more.

In addition to the individual editors listed above, the Reedsy marketplace is full of vetted professional editors for every editing level and genre. They screen their editors and only allow the best of the best to be listed on their website. I'm a BIG fan of them because they have made the process easy for me to find the best book editors, book cover designers , and even writers to help me with my projects.  Talk about awesome!

Ebook Launch

Another place to find professional editing service is the team at Ebook Launch. They have a team of professional editors who can polish your book for an affordable price. You can even get a free sample edit of 750 words to help you decide if they're a good fit. The small team at Ebook Launch also provides amazing book cover designs and formatting in addition to their editing service.

Servicescape

A site where you can hire editors on a freelance basis. Has a range of prices so there is something to suit most budgets. Be sure to take the usual caution when working with a freelancer. Check out their reputation carefully first and communicate carefully with them in order to determine a schedule, payment expectations, methods of communication etc.

Another online editing service is Scribendi, which has over 300 experienced and educated editors. They've been around a long time. With this service, you decide how fast you want the book edited and how extensive the edit should be, then they match you with an editor. You don't ever actually meet the editor, but rather work through their customer service team. Their prices depend on your requested turnaround time and word count. You can get a free quote here .

Cambridge Proofreading and Editing

This is an excellent Chicago-based international agency with over 300 editors. They cover a huge range of genres and specialisms. With both British and American editors on their books, they edit in both UK and US English styles. The price is dependent on the level of editing you require and the speed of your delivery needs.

FirstEditing

FirstEditing does both fiction and non-fiction. They have worked with over 50,000 authors since 1994. FirstEditing provides a team of certified, vetted professionals for all levels of editing with decades of proven, successful publishing experience. They also provide free editing samples with a professional critique outlining their recommendations for your book. They provide an instant, firm price quote that always comes with a satisfaction guarantee.

Book Editing Associates

BEA was formed in 1998 to help writers find professional book editors and proofreaders with experience working for traditional publishing houses . It continues to be a matchmaking service for writers and editors and now includes editors who can assist with the self-publishing process. The network includes award-winning editors and ghostwriters who have worked on best-sellers. Writers work directly with the editors they select. Rates vary by editor. Use the submission form for direct contact and a price quote.

Author Packages

In addition to cover designs and formatting, you can get professional proofreading through Author Packages. They can help you make sure your manuscript is ready for publication.

The Editorial Department

The Editorial Department, founded in 1980 by Renni Browne, offers a comprehensive range of editorial services for both fiction and nonfiction writers. The company specializes in various genres and provides services such as manuscript critiques, developmental editing, line and copy editing, author coaching, and support for traditional and self-publishing. Their aim is to help writers at all stages of their journey, from manuscript development to publication and market success.

Formatting Has Never Been Easier

Write and format professional books with ease.  Never before has creating formatted books been easier.

Now that you have a basic understanding of the book editing services, and have access to a list of top editors, ask yourself what you are looking for in an editor.

There are several things to consider when choosing book editors:

• Recommendations – Is this person recommended by someone you know or other writers who have worked with her? Does she have any references you can contact? This will help you understand the editor’s experience, as well as what it’s like for authors to work with her.
• Specialty – Do you want a copy editor who will strictly follow the rules in the Chicago Manual of Style ? Do you want someone whose specialty is line editing and can write smooth, clear, and creative sentences? Are you looking for someone to make sure you don’t have any glaring grammar or spelling mistakes so as to avoid the brutal grammar police reviews? Or do you want someone to look at the overall structure or plot of your book?
• Genre – If you’re a nonfiction author, your best bet is to choose editors who understand the structure of good nonfiction books; they know what works and will keep readers happy. If you’re a fiction author, select a fiction editor who is passionate about those stories and knows what readers of your genre are looking for. Choosing an editor within your genre is especially important for developmental editing.
• Language – Many freelance online editors work internationally. One thing to look for in an editor is someone who speaks the desired language of your book as a first language. Grammar rules and spelling are different in American English and British English, for example.
• Sample – Most editors will do a sample edit for free or a small fee. Send a few editors the same sample of your book and see how they come back. Every editor edits differently. This will be a chance to find out if they can make your book better, keep your voice, and work well with you.
• Rates – Most online book editors are freelance editors, which means they set their own rates. Editors may charge per word, hour, or project. Editing is a valuable investment in your book as a good editor can turn your story from meh to amazing ! But the highest rates don’t necessarily mean the best editor, and the lowest rates could be wasted money. Definitely take rates into consideration, but don’t select an editor solely on price.
• Software and Systems – Some of us writers like using certain types of writing tools or software.  I personally love to write my books using Atticus .  However, I've run into editors who only use Word document.  That's no bueno for me.  So, make sure they are good with whatever writing programs you want to use.

When we go to select a book editor, how do we know that that person really is a professional?  How do we know that they are worth the price as compared to the other editors out there?

I'm not good enough with grammar to figure it out (as you can see in my Grammarly review ).  All I see is that they made corrections…but did they get them all?

So, instead of just ‘hoping' they were the right one, I devised a Standardized Editor test.

Most editors will do a free sample editing. So, instead of just sending them the first couple pages of your book, why not send them a test? This way, you have an answer key and you can see EXACTLY how they did.  Did they do a good job?  Did they miss certain grammar rules?

More importantly, how did they do compared to another editor?

Think something like that would be useful?

Then, check out my free Editor Test and start finding out if an editor is worth the price they are asking, and how they compare to others!

• Compare editors
• Ensure they're worth the price
• Don't get scammed!

The truth about grammar is that there are LOTS of different nuances and even varying rules. So, to ensure our test doesn’t lead to arguments or inaccuracy, we designed it with the following in mind:

• The grammar rules follow American English, which differs from British English.
• It tests grammar, punctuation, and spelling (things mostly at copyediting and proofreading level of editing). Even though the writing may benefit from heavier line editing, that is not part of this editing assessment.
• Grammar rules and recommendations vary by style guide. The preferred style guide for this article is the Chicago Manual of Style, a common style guide for book authors. Dictionaries also disagree sometimes. The preferred dictionary for this piece is the Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary.

Increase Your Book Sales

Over 47,000+ authors, NYT bestsellers, and publishing companies use Publisher Rocket to gain insight to the market.

Didn’t find the right editor above? No worries. You may have to try several before finding the right one to help make your book better.

Here are a few other methods you can use to the find an editor who fits your writing style:

Word of mouth

• Authors in your genre
• Social media groups for writers (e.g., Facebook or LinkedIn)
• Forums on popular writing websites
• Sales page of books – some people list their editor on their sales page. Look at the books of authors you respect and see if their editors are listed on the sales page.

A place you can post your job and hire freelance editors . With nearly 60,000 editors on the site, however, it can be a daunting project to find the right editor. To narrow down the candidates, you could make a detailed project description with required skills, language competency, and portfolio requirements. This should help eliminate unqualified editors. You can also include a random requirement like “Respond with ‘Hey, Jedi!’” in to find those detail-oriented editors who actually read your entire post and follow directions.

At first, I didn't want to add Fiverr to this list because there are a LOT of editors on Fiverr that aren't exactly a good investment.  But, that doesn't mean there aren't amazing opportunities out there.  Editors like Kerrie McLoughlin, have done an amazing job with their Editor Fiver gigs .  However, if you do decide to go through Fiverr, then ABSOLUTELY use my test to ensure you aren't hiring someone who isn't qualified.

Proofreading Students

Caitlin Pyle wrote a guest post for us about proofreading. She also shared a list of students who've passed her intense general proofreading course, which included a final exam. If you're looking for someone to help you with that final polish, check out this list of proofreaders .

Ever wondered if you have what it takes to proofread someone else's writing? Check out this article about how to become a proofreader .

Editor Directories

These professional organizations have searchable directories of their members and some allow you to add a job post for free .

• Editorial Freelancers Association
• Association of Freelance Editors Proofreaders Indexers
• Society for Editors and Proofreaders

Finally, there is one last piece of advice that could help you find a good editor and avoid bad service.

Some sites compile complaints from writers of bad or fraudulent service and post the list of people and businesses to warn other writers.

Here is one:

• SFWA (Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America) has a “Thumbs Down Agencies List”

While proofreading software can never replace a human book editor, there are several tools and grammar checkers that can help supplement hiring an editor.

Check out my reviews and comparisons below:

• ProWritingAid Review
• Grammarly Review
• Best Proofreading Software
• AutoCrit Review

So, What Are You Waiting For?

As you can see, picking an editor doesn’t have to be guesswork.

Instead, you can make the right choice from the beginning so as to find that winning team without having to waste oodles of dollars.

Also, to ensure you have the right editor who is worth the price they are asking for, make sure to download my free Editor Test and compare them with others in the market.  This will help take the guesswork out of it and allow you to build the right team around YOUR writing.

You can either choose from our list of professional book editors above or find new ones out there and test them with our free book editing test.

Either way, choosing an editor has never been easier.

Dave Chesson

Related posts, 127+ of the top free and paid book promotion services, parts of a book [from cover to cover], how to write the best novel outline of 2024: 6 easy steps, sell more books on amazon, standardized editorial test.

Picking the right editor for your book can be hard. We authors don’t really know how to compare two editors and see which one is better…until now. When you go to hire an editor, have them take this test sample article. Then look at our answer key and see which editor scored the best. That way you know their level of quality.

58 thoughts on “ Master Guide to Selecting the Best Book Editor ”

This is a question and not a comment. I started writing a few books ten or more years back but stalled with other things on my plate. I would like a referral to someone who can work with me to rewrite my main book chapter at a time to completion then see if it’s worth going the final step. The story is a hypothetical on just how far the USA would go in defending a staunch ally when put to the test. The story line is Islamist throwing down the trump card at the time of Rendition and a wayward arm of the intelligence. agencies answering only to themselves. There is no bias to one side over the other. As it’s an ongoing project I assume I would pay in installments as the chapters progress. Word count would be about 130,000.

Hi Lewis, for something like that, we’d recommend finding an editor. We have a list of recommendations and more information here: https://kindlepreneur.com/book-editors/

Comments are closed.

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• EDITORS AND EDITING

Page updated/links checked 12/11/23

What Editors Do When Do You Need a Freelance Editor? What Editing Can’t Buy A Note About Beta Readers Literary Consultancies and Manuscript Assessment Services Vetting Editors and Editing Services Caution Signs Links

What Editors Do

A freelance or independent editor is someone who, for a fee, will undertake to read your manuscript for structure, style, plot, character development, continuity, and grammatical and technical errors. They may rewrite your ms. to fix problems, or provide notations and detailed advice so you can address them.

What’s the difference between a freelance editor and an in-house editor?

• An in-house editor is employed by a publisher, and works with authors on a publisher’s behalf to edit books prior to publication. They edit according to their own judgment but also to the publisher’s standards. Any book acquired by a reputable publisher will be edited in-house. This is part of the publication process–the author is not charged for it.
• A freelance or independent editor is an independent contractor working directly for, and paid by, the author. What kind of editing is done, and how extensive, is entirely up to the author.

Most freelance editors offer different levels of editing.

• Manuscript assessment or critique provides a broad overall assessment of your manuscript, pinpointing strengths and weaknesses. Specific problem areas may be flagged, and general suggestions for improvement may be made, but the critique won’t usually provide line editing or scene- or chapter-level revision advice.
• Developmental editing (also known as content or substantive editing) focuses on the “big picture”: structure, style, theme, and content. The editor flags specific problems–structural difficulties, poor pacing, plot or thematic inconsistencies, stiff dialogue, under-developed characters, stylistic troubles, flabby writing, and the like–and makes detailed suggestions for addressing them.
• Line editing provides editing at the sentence level, focusing on paragraph and sentence structure, word use, dialogue rhythms, etc., with the aim of creating a smooth prose flow.
• Copy editing focuses on the mechanics of writing: common errors (grammar, spelling, punctuation), incorrect usages, logic lapses, and continuity problems.
• Proofreading aims to ensure an error-free manuscript, flagging typos, spelling/punctuation errors, formatting mistakes, and other minor mechanical problems.

Editing terminology is fluid. Some editors define the above terms differently, or use different terminology. Others simply provide “light”, “medium”, and “heavy” editing–light being on the order of copy editing, medium and heavy being some combination of line and content editing. It’s important, before hiring an editor, that you’re clear on exactly what services they provide–and also exactly what services you need.

For more on the different types of editing, see this helpful article by editor Mary Kole.

When Do You Need To Hire An Editor?

Hiring an editor can be an expensive proposition. A thorough developmental or content edit from an experienced, credentialed editor can run well into four figures. Is this an expense you really need to incur?

If you’re self-publishing, and are serious about establishing a career and building a readership, the answer is “yes.” Today’s crowded self-publishing field is highly competitive, and a professional product is essential for success. Editing and copy editing are an important part of that.

A qualified freelance editor may also be a good investment if you’ve written a nonfiction book on a subject in which you’re an expert, but you aren’t a professional writer. If you’re seeking traditional publication, hiring an editor before you start submitting may make the difference between marketable and not.

For most writers submitting for traditional publication, however, the benefits are less clear. Despite what you may have heard, publishers don’t expect writers to present “professionally edited” manuscripts (they provide their own editing, in-house). And while a good editor may make a manuscript better, a better manuscript still won’t necessarily be publishable.

Before you pull out your credit card, investigate alternatives: a local or online writers’ group, a creative writing teacher, a professional writer with whom you’re acquainted, a discerning friend who’s not afraid to criticize. Any of these may be able to give you the help you need, free of charge or at a fraction of the cost. (You should be seeking such sources of feedback anyway–no writer is capable of being completely objective about his or her work, and outside viewpoints are essential.) Investing in a writing course or joining a critique group is likely to be a better choice for a new writer than springing for an editor.

Whatever your situation, hiring a freelance editor shouldn’t be like taking your car to a mechanic (i.e., you go away for two hours and when you come back your car is fixed). You’ll get the most out of your experience if you treat it as a learning opportunity–a chance to hone and improve your own editing skills. Self-editing is an essential part of the writer’s craft. Regardless of how you plan to publish, it’s something you need to master if you’re serious about a writing career.

There’s more on the vital importance of self-editing at Writer Beware’s blog.

What Editing Won’t Do

When considering whether to hire an editor, keep your expectations realistic. There are things even the best editor can’t do for you.

Provide a magic fix.

Qualified editors bring experience and training to the task, but at bottom, editing is a subjective process. There’s no formula for dynamic plots or well-rounded characters or even good prose style (beware of any editor who tells you there is). And even the most accomplished editor can’t turn a bad manuscript into a good one, or a mediocre manuscript into a blockbuster.  They can only work with what’s already there.

Turn a good book into a potential best seller.

Again, there are no formulas for this. Best sellers come in all shapes and sizes, and even publishers are sometimes surprised when they happen (and when they don’t). Only a dishonest editor will make such a promise.

Ensure a traditional publishing contract.

Good editing may improve your manuscript, but getting an offer of publication depends on more than just the quality of your work. Effective targeting of your submissions, editors’ judgment of readers’ tastes, the perceived marketability of your book, and what the publisher is already publishing all play a part.

An excellent, polished manuscript is essential, but it’s just one piece of the total picture. There are no guarantees.

Make literary agents and publishers more likely to look at your work.

Agents and publishers know the limitations of editing. They’re also well aware of how many under-qualified and unscrupulous freelance editors there are (see Warning Signs , below). Typing “professionally edited” on the title page of your manuscript, or mentioning it in a cover letter, will not improve your chances. In fact, it may harm them–there are so many unqualified editors that agents and publishers may assume you’ve been duped.

Even if your editor is top-notch, agents and publishers may be put off–they may fear that the editing covers up weaknesses that could be a problem later on. As literary agent Denise Little explains , it’s a lot easier to work with a writer who can deliver a publishable manuscript without depending on outside help.

For more on these and other myths about editors and editing, see this informative article by editor Nancy Pesce: 7 Common Myths About Hiring a Freelance Editor .

A Note About Beta Readers

No writer can be completely objective about their own work. An outside eye is essential to spot mistakes, inconsistencies, plot holes and other problems that the writer may be too close to see.

For many writers, that means finding a beta reader: a friend, a colleague, a fellow member of a writing group or online community who’s willing to read the work and offer feedback.

Beta readers aren’t professionals . You don’t hire them, and they don’t charge you any money (though they may ask you to read their manuscript in return). Recently, however, a growing number of freelance editors have started offering “beta reading” services for a fee. In fact, what such services are selling is not beta reading at all, but a critique. There’s nothing wrong with that, as long whoever’s providing the service is competent–but associating a term that already has an established meaning with a moneymaking service is at best confusing, and at worst misleading.

If you want to buy a critique, buy a critique. If you want a beta reader, find someone who won’t ask you to open your wallet. (For suggestions on how to do that, see this helpful article from author K. M. Weiland.)

Literary Consultancies and Manuscript Assessment Services

More common in the UK and Australia than in the USA, literary consultancies and manuscript assessors provide critique and editing services, focusing on strengths and weaknesses and offering suggestions for improvement. Some also promise to evaluate the marketability of your work, and give you advice on where and how to submit it. The more established services may have contacts with literary agents and publishers, enabling them to pass on promising manuscripts.

Assuming that the staff of the service are qualified (and this is not necessarily a safe assumption–see the suggestions below on how to judge competence), writers may benefit from a thorough manuscript critique. Using a consultancy or assessment service may also be less expensive than hiring a freelance editor, and may offer a quicker turnaround time.

Marketability evaluations, however, are of doubtful usefulness–and not just because they depend at least in part on subjective factors. No marketability evaluation can take account of the many related issues that affect the publication process–editorial taste, publishers’ needs, what the publisher bought yesterday (it might have been a book very much like yours, which means that even if your book is better, it’s out of the running). Ultimately, the only opinions about marketability that count are those of the agent who signs you for representation, or the publisher that accepts your book.

Some consultancies and assessment services encourage you to believe that agents and publishers give priority to assessed manuscripts. Be skeptical of such claims: agents and publishers prefer to make their own assessments, rather than rely on unknown outside sources.

The bottom line: If you choose to use a consultancy or assessment service, don’t do so because you hope to make contacts in the publishing world. Remember that even the most positive assessment may not mean that an agent or publisher will be willing to take you on. And be sure to carefully research any consultancy or assessment service you’re thinking of approaching, to be sure its staff are qualified.

Vetting Editors

There are plenty of expert freelance editors. However, there are also many who set up shop with little experience and few qualifications.

The boom in self-publishing has vastly increased the prevalence of unqualified editors. Many are well-meaning, sincerely believing that a love of reading, or a teaching career, or some technical writing experience, or some editing done for friends, is enough to qualify them to edit manuscripts professionally.

But an editor who lacks relevant training and/or work experience may not possess the specialized skills that are essential for a useful critique or a professional-quality line or content edit. Some provide no more than glorified proofreading or copy editing. An inexperienced editor may also be less able to judge your manuscript’s strengths and weaknesses, or have rigid or arbitrary ideas about what constitutes good writing. Some self-styled editors I’ve encountered aren’t even fully literate.

And then there are the outright frauds–Edit Ink, for instance, an editing firm that engaged in a kickback scheme with agents and publishers and employed underqualified staff to perform rudimentary, overpriced edits. (For an in-depth look at Edit Ink, see the Case Studies page.)

How to avoid unqualified or questionable editors? A few common-sense guidelines:

Be sure the editor has credentials.

You’re looking for things like prior editing experience with a reputable publisher or publication, or training or apprenticeship with a reputable editor or editing service. Higher-level education (like a MA in English or an MFA) and professional writing credentials may also be relevant (though keep in mind that good writers aren’t necessarily good editors). The number of years the editor has been in business can also be important: an editor who has been editing for years may be a safer bet than one who is just starting out.

If the editor has a website, a resume or CV should be posted there. An editing service with multiple editors should provide staff names and biographies. Be extremely cautious of editors whose websites are vague about their credentials, and of editing services that don’t identify their staff.

Some editors will tout the fact that they’ve passed an online editing or copy editing test, or have some sort of certificate from some training course or other. But such tests  and training vary widely in their usefulness, and aren’t a substitute for actual work experience.

For individual editors, membership in the Editorial Freelancers Association (US), the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (UK), the Institute of Professional Editors (Australia), or Editors Canada are all indications of professionalism.

Be sure the editor has experience appropriate to your work and your needs.

Like good agents, good editors specialize. Someone whose main experience involves nonfiction is probably not the ideal choice to edit your epic fantasy novel, for example. Someone who primarily does copy editing and proofreading may not have the skills to do a thorough content edit. An editor’s website should make clear what their specialties are.

Ask for references, and use them.

Many editors include testimonials on their websites, but it’s always a good idea to go beyond these and actually communicate with clients. Be wary if the editor balks at this request.

Check out the editor’s clients and their books.

This is important. Testimonials and references are all very well, but the proof of the pudding is the actual books.

An editor’s or editing service’s website should include a list of clients and titles (if not, ask–and be wary if you have trouble getting an answer). Consider ordering a couple of books; you can also spot-check by using Amazon’s Look Inside feature to sample the first few pages. Do you see common grammatical mistakes? Poor writing? Bad dialog? If the book is self-published, are there typos or other proofing errors? All are warning signs, suggesting the editor or service may not be competent.

Verify that the editor really is independent.

No third party (such as a literary agent or publisher) should benefit from your use of the editor’s services. This is especially important if you’ve received a referral.

Do a websearch.

If there are complaints, a websearch may surface them (or the editor may have been featured on Writer Beware’s blog, as in this case ).

Ask to see a sample critique or assessment.

Not all editors will be willing to provide this, but if they do, it’ll give you an idea of what you’ll be getting for your money. Some editors will provide a free edit of your first few pages.

Communicate with the editor before hiring them.

Emails, phone calls, Zoom–the method doesn’t matter, but it’s important to consult with the editor ahead of time, so they understand your needs–and, just as important, so that you understand what they will (and won’t) do for you. You should feel comfortable with the editor, and they with you. Be very wary of editorial services that won’t identify the editor you’ll be working with, or of an editor who is unwilling to dialog with you.

Make sure the terms are clear.

The editorial contract or letter of agreement should detail the scope of the work to be done, the charges you’ll incur and when they’re due, the time period involved, who will be doing the editing (the editor themself, or a staffer or trainee?), termination provisions, and any provisions for followup or questions on the finished edit. Never work with an editor on a handshake basis.

Last but definitely not least: know in advance what you want from the editor…and also what you need.

Good advice from editor and author Jane Friedman: “Writers must have a level of sophistication and knowledge about their work (or themselves!) to know where their weaknesses are, and how a professional might assist them. When writers ask me if they should hire a professional editor, it’s usually out of a vague fear their work isn’t good enough—and they think it can be ‘fixed.’ There are many different types or levels of editing, and if you don’t know what they are—or what kind you need—then you’re not ready for a professional editor.”

Caution Signs

Be wary if you encounter any of the following.

A referral from a literary agent or publisher.

This is not necessarily questionable. Reputable agents do sometimes suggest that writers consider hiring independent editors–usually for projects they believe may be marketable, but need work the author may not be able to provide. They’ll often recommend a few names, qualified editors they’ve previously worked with and trust to do a good job.

You should always think carefully about such a recommendation, though, because it’s an expensive gamble that may not pay off. And be on your guard if the recommendation comes from a publisher (reputable publishers provide their own editing), or from an agent who doesn’t have much of a track record, or charges fees, or makes the recommendation based on a partial read. Some sort of kickback arrangement may be involved, a la Edit Ink, or the agent or publisher may own the editing service, possibly under a different name–or even be married to the editor, as in this case .

Recommendation of a publisher’s or agent’s own paid editing or assessment services.

This is a clear conflict of interest. If the agent or publisher can make money from recommending editing or critiques, how can you be sure that the recommendation is in your best interest? The Association of American Literary Agents recently updated its Canon of Ethics to address this issue.

Editing as a requirement of representation or submission.

Some questionable literary agencies and dubious publishers require you to buy a critique as a condition of representation or as part of the submission process. Again, this is a conflict of interest, allowing the agency or publisher to increase its profit margin by charging you for extra services–which may or may not be of professional quality.

Extravagant praise or promises.

No reputable editor will tell you that your book has huge commercial potential or that it’s likely to become a best seller. Nor will they claim that an edit or critique will improve your chances of selling your work to a publisher. Why? Because these are promises that can’t be guaranteed, and a good editor, like a good agent, knows better than to make them.

Assurances that agents and publishers prefer manuscripts that have been professionally edited.

Dishonest or ignorant editors sometimes prey on the anxieties of aspiring writers by saying that agents and publishers give preference to manuscripts that have been professionally edited. In-house editors, they say, no longer have the time to edit–they want books that are letter-perfect and ready to publish, and it’s impossible for authors to get their manuscripts to that point on their own.

This is false on two counts. First, as noted above, there are many resources to help you get your manuscript into marketable shape, other than paying for editing–critique groups, colleagues, writing courses (and don’t forget the importance of being able to self-edit). Traditionally-published writers do not typically use freelance editors.

Second, it’s true that in today’s world of big publishing conglomerates, where in-house editors must handle enormous workloads and do double duty as administrators, the days when an editor could afford to invest months of close work to shape a promising but unready manuscript are largely gone. But it’s false to say that in-house editors don’t edit (they do), or that professional editing is a prerequisite for publication (it isn’t), or even that the name of an editing service on a manuscript will make a publisher more likely to read it (it won’t. See above).

Your manuscript needs to be as perfect as you can make it–finished, polished, and properly presented. But no one will hold it against you if you accomplish that yourself.

One-size-fits-all editing or assessing, all comers accepted.

As noted above, expert editors have areas of specialization that reflect their experience. The skills required to edit or critique a romance novel, for instance, are quite different from those needed for a work of narrative nonfiction; and copy editing skills are not the same as line editing skills.

That’s not to say a single editor won’t possess multiple skill sets–but it’s unlikely that one person will be able to provide every kind of editing for any and all subjects and genres with equal effectiveness.

Also, within the basic scope of services they provide, a good editor will tailor the job to the client–including asking for a sample of your work ahead of time to make sure it’s something they can work with (good editors do turn down jobs). Standardized services and an absence of specialization suggest a lack of professional knowledge and/or experience–or, at worst, a scam.

Anonymous editing or assessing.

Some editing services don’t post staff lists on their websites, and won’t tell you in advance who will be assigned to you. This makes it impossible for you to verify the credentials of the person you’ll be working with, or even to be sure that they have experience appropriate to your work. A reputable editing service will be transparent about its staff and their qualifications, and you’ll know ahead of time which of them will be working with you.

No contract.

Like a publishing contract, an editorial contract does more than just lay out the terms of the business arrangement: it protects both you and the editor in the event of misunderstandings or disputes.

Direct solicitation.

Editors and editorial services may maintain websites or advertise in industry journals. But they don’t cold-call writers. If you’ve registered your copyright or subscribe to a writer’s magazine, you may be a target: disreputable people sometimes purchase mailing lists from these sources. There are also many scam editing services that aggressively target self-published writers.

Refusal of reasonable requests for information.

Like a reputable agent, a reputable editor should have no problem providing a resume, references, and fees. Be wary if you encounter resistance in any of these areas.

Vagueness about specific services.

Editors should be willing to stipulate exactly what they will do for you. If an editor won’t give you a firm price, or doesn’t want to specify what their fees will cover, or won’t tell you who will be working on your manuscript, move on. Ditto if they want to work without a contract.

A demand for full payment upfront.

Paying the full fee upfront leaves you without leverage if the work isn’t satisfactory or the editor fails to complete it as agreed. An initial deposit with an invoice when the work is done, 50% down and 50% on completion, or payment tied to specific benchmarks are all reasonable payment arrangements.

A claim on your rights or future sales.

Unless you’re dealing with a ghostwriter, an editor should not demand payment in the form of a claim on your rights or future sales. Reputable editors get paid by the word or the hour or the job, and should not make claims beyond that. (From Writer Beware’s blog: one editor who did, and other professional editors’ reactions .)

Professional Resources/Finding an Editor

• The Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading is a professional editors’ organization of editors in the UK. Its website includes a Code of Practice, and a chart of suggested minimum rates .
• The Editorial Freelancers Association is a similar organization in the USA. Its website includes a Code Of Fair Practice defining ethical standards for freelancers and their clients, as well as an excellent job board where requests for editors can be posted for free. There’s also this helpful chart of common rates for editorial services .
• Editors Canada , another national professional organization, provides training and certification for editors. Its website hosts a discussion of professional editing standards, a searchable database of editors, and a downloadable standard freelance editorial agreement .
• The Institute of Professional Editors Limited (IPEd) is the professional editors’ association in Australia. Members must adhere to a code of ethics. The Institute offers a chart of editors’ pay rates .
• Jane Friedman’s Recommended Resources page lists a number of editors and editing services. Writer Beware generally avoids suggesting specific services, but Jane is a trusted resource.
• Editors of Color maintains a database of freelance editors that’s searchable by location and specialty. (Note: these listings aren’t vetted, so be sure to use the tips above to research anyone you approach.)
• Reedsy is an online marketplace where editors (and others) make their services available. (Again, not all the editors are vetted, so research anyone you’re thinking of approaching.)
• The New Zealand Association of Manuscript Assessors is, as far as I know, the only professional organization of its kind. Members must prove competence in order to join, and must abide by a professional code of professional practice.

General Information

• Self-publishing expert David Gaughran on the importance of mastering the art of self-editing .
• From editor Jodi Brandon, tips on self-editing and why it’s so important .
• Author and editor Sandra Wendel provides a detailed explainer on the differences between line editing, copy editing, and proofreading.
• From editor Chantel Hamilton,  a comprehensive guide to finding, hiring, and working with an editor.
• Literary agents weigh in on the question of whether an author should hire an editor before submitting .
• From editor Tiffany Yates Martin, Is an Editor Worth the Money?
• Writer and marketer Sarah Moore on when you  shouldn’t hire and pay for a professional editor.
• Editor Tanya Egan Gibson on what writers need to understand before hiring a freelance editor: 10 Things Your Freelance Editor Might Not Tell You–But Should . This is an old article, but its insights are timeless.
• Overcoming hesitation: editor Hannah de Keijzer unpacks 3 Common Fears of Hiring a Freelance Editor .
• How to Find an Editor as a Self-Published Author , by author Teymour Shahabi.
• From self-publishing expert Joanna Penn, a tutorial on how to find and work with professional editors .
• From author Barbara Linn Probst, Peer Critique Versus Professional Editing: When, How, and Why to Use Both .
• A fraudulent editing service: Edit Ink .

Alternatives to Editing and Assessment Services

• Author K.M. Weiland suggests 15 Places to Find Your Next Beta Reader .
• From editor Tiffany Yates Martin, lots of suggestions for alternatives to a professional edit .
• forwriters.com, a writers’ resource site, maintains a big list of writers’ groups (scroll down).
• A list of writers’ workshops from SFWA.

Except for graphics, and where specifically indicated, all Writer Beware® contents copyright © Victoria Strauss

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Meeting writers on the page since 1996

Transformative and personalised editorial services for writers.

The Literary Consultancy is the UK’s longest-established editorial consultancy, pioneering manuscript assessment, and advocating for industry-level editing for all writers. We have helped thousands of writers to develop their work, with hundreds going on to find readerships and accolades: major book deals, theatre tours, poetry prizes, digital serialisation, and more.

At TLC, we meet writers on the page. We look forward to seeing you there.

TLC SUCCESS STORIES

Featured News

• Blog , Publishing

How to Write the Perfect Pitch Letter

• April 1, 2024
• No Comments
• Publishing , Writing Craft

How to Edit Your Own Writing

• March 4, 2024
• Events , News

Self Editing Course Enrolment Open Now

• February 5, 2024

Where are you on your writing journey?

Click on the stage below that best describes where you are to see our recommendations:.

• You are in the early stages of a writing project
• You have a plan, an outline, or perhaps simply a notebook full of ideas. You may be a complete beginner, or a seasoned writer starting something new
• We can offer support and inspiration suited to you at this early stage of the process. From resources and tips, to practical support.

TLC RECOMMENDS…

Inspiration Page (free!) TLC Blog Publishing FAQs Being A Writer (our writers’ membership) Power Hour (your next best step)

• You are  working on your first draft, starting to piece the narrative elements together for your novel, non-fiction book, poetry, short story collection, or script 
• You have a work in progress, and a good sense of your own creative vision, but you may need help to keep momentum going, or a steer in the right direction
• We can help you get a sense of the work and its narrative (craft) elements. We offer truthful, professional feedback services that you can trust

Mentoring (write and finish your book in 12-18 months)  Manuscript assessment (our most popular service) TLC Courses Editor One-to-One

• You are almost at the finishing line with a writing project
• You have  been self-editing as you go, perhaps attended some workshops, and feel generally like you’re on track
• We can  match you with a reader in your genre and format to cast an expert eye over the work and make sure it’s all hanging together, and is appropriate to your target readership

Manuscript assessment Developmental Editing (includes a mark-up) TLC Mini Guides (hone your craft) Being A Writer (find community with other writers)

• You are  finished! You have a draft, perhaps a first, perhaps a fifth or even a tenth. It might not be perfect, but it’s done
• You have  been working on this for a while but feel you need a professional opinion on the writing. You might have an idea about whether you are at this stage looking to submit to a literary agent, a small press, or to self-publish, or you may be open to exploring your options
• We can match you with an editor with the right expertise for you at this stage of your writing journey. That might be a publishing industry specialist who can give honest feedback through the lens of the commercial viability, or a sympathetic but thorough reader who can help you finesse the writing

Manuscript assessment Submission package report (get agent-ready) Copy-editing and proofreading (final polish) Power Hour (targeted consultancy call) TLC Success Stories (be inspired by other writers’ journeys!)

The Literary Consultancy

East Side, Platform 1, Kings Cross Station

London N1C 4AX

0203 751 0757 ext.800

Company number: 4575807

TLC is a founding member of

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