There are many stages to writing a book, and an editor will be useful at different times in the writing project. A book starts with the dreaming stage when an idea arrives in your consciousness. This might be followed by procrastination, more dreaming or some prolonged thinking. A vital point is then reached when the writer becomes so sick of carrying the growing idea in their brain that a blank page is called up and they put down some words.
After many months, years or decades, a first draft will now be sitting in various files on your laptop or even in a multitude of A4 notebooks.
This is a good time to call in help. Of course, a book editor is the ideal person, but at this stage a partner, friend or kindly relative can be a good first sounding post.
An editor would critique the manuscript at this point. A manuscript assessment is an overarching evaluation of the book. The editor will write a detailed report which covers theme and premise, the narrative arc, plot points and structure, pace and flow. They will comment on whether the book fits a genre and assess its marketability. Character development, point of view, writing style and voice, readability and plausibility are also looked at.
This type of review is valuable because it may bring about major changes in the book. The editor will suggest cutting boring parts, moving parts around, or a major rewrite. This does not include any inline editing, but there may be comments throughout. However, the critique is delivered in the form of a report. It may take some time to work through the suggestions made, but it’s essential to give your book a strong foundation.
Once the issues highlighted in the assessment have been addressed, the author may need help with developing the novel. An editor would now be called on for a developmental, structural, or substantive edit. These terms are used interchangeably, but they all focus on the big picture. A developmental edit helps to shape the characters and story arc while structural looks at the order, flow and pace of the narrative. A substantive edit starts drilling down more into the content, tone and readability. The edit names don’t really matter, and a good editor will focus on which of these areas needs it most. This edit focuses less on the actual writing but more on the bones of the piece, ensuring the narrative arc hits the beats, the characters are well-developed and the story is told coherently.
After the narrative is cohesive, believable and follows the expected beats or structure, an editor is now called for the copyedit. This is where we get into the weeds, ensuring the writing is clear, consistent, exciting and using correct grammar and punctuation.
At last, that pesky idea that hounded you all that time ago has now found its form on the page. The story is told to the best of the writer (and editor’s) ability, and all the text is in place. A proofreader is now hired to make it perfect, to clean off any birthing gunk and correct every last typo, misplaced comma and odd formatting.
So a book editor can (and should) be hired at multiple times throughout the writing process. Ideally, the same editor should be used for the developmental and copyediting stages. Often a proofreader who is not familiar with the text will be better at picking up the finer details.
I have enjoyed working with my clients through these various stages. It is so satisfying when they tell me they have learned something about writing. Working with a book editor is a beautiful collaboration at every stage of the writing process.
If you are ready to hire a book editor, contact me here.
