You’re so proud.
You’ve completed the manuscript of your business book or memoir.
It sits before you, pages upon pages of your heart, soul, and imagination poured out as flickering words on a screen or gleaming pages of printed text. There it sits, ready for presentation to your audience to change lives and advance careers. Or is it?
The next step after completing your manuscript is a daunting but critical one: handing it over for a professional edit.
A new pair of eyes can do wonders to improve your work or transform it from a manuscript into a published book. But determining the right time to hand over your masterpiece to a professional editor is a little trickier. The answer depends on you, your writing skill, and most of all, your ability to self-edit your manuscript.
Like a suitor on a first date, you want your manuscript to look its best, make a great impression, and avoid any potential embarrassment. Obvious things, like making sure it’s not riddled with typos and grammatical errors, are critical. But how can you tell when your work is “good enough” to hand over to the editor?
Before we talk about when you do it, know that there are many types of professional editors and the type you need may depend on how far along you are with your manuscript.
What Kind of Professional Editor Do I Need?
Traditionally, there are four types of editors. In the same order as they occur in the publishing process, they are: developmental editors, line editors, copy editors, and proofreaders.
Developmental Editors look at the overall structure of your story or argument, the big picture. They may suggest changes to organization, suggest ways to improve portions of the story and even pay attention to consistency in style. Their deliverable to you is usually an annotated manuscript, a report on the strengths and weaknesses of your book, and a punch list of ways to make it better. Professional editors who do developmental work enter the creative process early to help the author craft the strongest possible manuscript.
Line Editors carefully examine each line for mechanical errors and ensure the author is presenting the story well. These professional editors are gatekeepers against differing tones, overused cliches or other language, repetitious sentence structures, and shifting points of view. They flag any gaps in description or character development, and keep an eye out for typos, grammar, awkward phrasing, use of passive voice, and other conventions that can weaken the reader’s experience. The edits they suggest may take longer to incorporate and require input from the author.
Copy Editors enter the publishing process after the manuscript and line editing is complete. Their work is more objective than the line editor’s. They are concerned about the story’s accuracy, its relevance to its audience, and technical changes, such as adherence to a stylebook. They make quick but important fixes to the manuscript and will deliver your annotated manuscript with markedly different edits from the copy editor.
Proofreaders are eagle-eyed professional editors who make the last pass of your manuscript before publication. The proofreader makes sure that nothing glaring has gotten by any other editors. They’re intent on catching any remaining capitalization, punctuation, and typo errors. Once it leaves their hands, it’s ready for print or publication.
Most of the manuscripts we work with at Big Ideas Writing are in the developmental or copyediting phase. For you, the amount of professional editors that see your work before publishing will depend largely on your publishing plan. If you are publishing traditionally or in a hybrid environment, all four will probably see your work. If you are self-publishing you might want to look for a substantive editor.
Substantive editors are a hybrid between the Developmental, Line, and Copy Editor, and it is what I do as a professional editor at Big Ideas Writing. When I typically receive a completed manuscript, I review it for many things simultaneously:
- Whether the manuscript connects with the author’s intended audience
- Whether the manuscript fulfills the author’s objective
- Whether the manuscript delivers on the author’s promise to the reader
- If the manuscript’s organization, flow, and tone is appropriate
- If the manuscript has missing material, gaps in action, inconsistencies, or areas to improve
- If areas are over- or underwritten to the reader’s satisfaction
- If the author used awkward sentence structure, grammar, and syntax errors, typos, etc.
I make two passes of the manuscript. The first is for feedback to the author in the form of an annotated manuscript and a document with suggestions for improvements. The second pass is after the author has made improvements when I can then focus on editing the sentences themselves.
The term “substantive” is not ubiquitous, but it is catching on, specifically with self-publishing authors.
When Do I Need an Editor?
The decision to engage an editor of any kind, whether a developmental or copy editor, is both objective and emotional. Here are some guidelines.
Objective Signs You Need a Professional Editor
The manuscript is complete. What constitutes a complete manuscript? It’s more than the main content of the book. A complete manuscript includes:
- A copyright page
- A dedication
- An author introduction
- Acknowledgements
- Foreword or Preface (optional)
- About the Author section with your biography and a professional photo
- Captivating book description for the back of the book and online store listings
To eliminate a lot of back and forth with the editor, be sure all of your front and back matter is included in your manuscript before you approach a line or copy editor.
You think it’s a good book and others do too. If possible, enlist some beta readers to review your book. Writing groups work best for fiction books. For nonfiction writers, it’s best to get feedback from others in your profession or professional network, or, if you’re writing a memoir, someone who has known you for a long time.
If you have the fortunate problem of too many beta readers with differing opinions, remember that in the end, it is your book. You make the final decision as to what to keep or cut in this unedited manuscript. Your professional line or copy editor will take it from there.
The length fits the genre. When we talk about “length” of your book, we are not talking about pages; we are talking about word count. The same 100-page manuscript can be published as a 50 page or 200-page book based on the interior layout, additional graphics, font choice, size of the font, etc.
When someone calls me seeking a professional editor for their nonfiction manuscript, one of the first questions I ask them is how many words it has. Business books are typically 25,000 – 60,000 words in length. Memoirs are typically a little longer, anywhere from 50,000-80,000 words.
If you are way under your genre’s word count guideline, think about what you can add that will benefit the story. Are there details, scenes, or dialogue you can add? If your word count is way over what is typical for your genre, try to edit down to the expected word count. Proper length is critical to traditional publishers, but even if you are self-publishing, it is best to look consistent aside other works in your genre.
You are confident about the organization of the story and what you have included. If you can read through your writing without the uneasy feeling that you should make changes, take it as a sign that you are ready to engage a professional editor. If you feel shaky about the actual construction of the book itself, you may need a developmental editor to weigh in about the organization of your book, your progress thus far, and where to go next. Either way, find your editor and move forward.
Further edits feel inconsequential. The biggest sign that your manuscript is “done” and ready for fresh eyes is the ineffectiveness of changes and edits. If you find yourself simply swapping out words that do not necessarily help the reader follow the action or understand the thoughts and actions of those mentioned in the story, you may be done self-editing. It’s time for the professional line or copy editor.
Emotional Signs You Need a Professional Editor
The signs above can be evaluated objectively. However, you must search yourself for the emotional green light to take the next step. Depending on the shape of your manuscript, this can be the most challenging part of the publishing process.
Here are some signs that you are emotionally ready to receive feedback from a professional editor.
You are eager to receive constructive feedback.
You must have the right mindset when you turn your self-edited manuscript over to a professional editor. Don’t expect it to be like school, where a perfect score is possible, and your manuscript will be returned to you unmarked. Chances are your writing needs improvement, and it will be improved by the editor’s input. After all, it’s their job. A solid copyedit will smooth out your sentences but also may give notes on various aspects of your nonfiction writing, especially:
- How a change in organization may make sense for the objective of the book
- Where description is needed or can be improved
- Where scenes, words, or dialogue need to be cut or added
- Where repetition in sentence structure, description, or wording must be changed
- Where questions need to be answered or asked
- Where tone or content is inconsistent
You are willing to make revisions. To get the most benefit from a professional editor, you must be open to making revisions. Never take constructive critiques personally. Any professional editor worth their salt will be able to explain why they are suggesting the edit, and they always have a sound reason. Every edit is meant to improve your reader’s experience, not hurt your feelings. If you engage a professional editor, be open to making revisions.
You’re having trouble finishing your book. This is a sign that you need a DEVELOPMENTAL professional editor. They can review what you have to help you fill in your outline and continue your progress. Chances are you need something reorganized that may be obvious to the professional editor but not to you. Trust their judgment and finish your book!
Wherever you are in your process, I encourage you, as I encourage all the authors I work with, to keep moving forward! Whether that means finishing your manuscript, finding an editor, designing the book cover, or finding a publisher, take the next step.
I’ve seen the authoring of a book change lives. I hope that by using a professional editor and finishing your own, you may experience the joy and potential that comes with becoming an author! If I can help, contact Karen at karen@bigideaswriting.com.
