The Right Editor for Your Manuscript
You've written a draft. Now hire the right kind of editor.
Hello dear readers! I’m excited because next week I return to writing on Substack. But first, a heatwave and a weekend trip to a wedding in my beloved San Fernando Valley, my birthplace. It’s been 7 years since I’ve even set foot in the valley, and much longer since I actually stayed there. And I’ll be taking a trip to the Huntington Gardens - my mother would be happy about that.
It may seem like I’ve been away, though you may have seen me comment in
and . I’m deep into the reworking of my memoir and working with clients in my editing business. It’s greatly gratifying work, though running a freelance business is still new (and scary) to me. What’s a little fright as Halloween approacheth? (Halloween candy in stores at the end of August? Come on now… so difficult to live in the present moment.)Before I get back to all the crazy, fascinating, sad, traumatic, entertaining stories about my life and family, I wanted to tell you about my editing business.
If you’re looking for an editor, if you’re ready to work with an editor, then I want to hear from you. Here’s a little something I recently posted on Medium.
Take care, happy writing, see y’all next week.
The Right Editing for Your Manuscript
You’ve written a draft. Now hire the right kind of editor.
Just as there are specialists in medicine, the world of publishing includes specific editors and editing.
You might think of editing as one small step in the writing process (prewriting, planning, drafting, revising, editing, proofreading, and then publishing). Many people think of editing as reading a piece of writing over and checking for errant commas and apostrophes, running it through grammar or spell check, and then sending it off.
But editing is so much more than that, and far more important for the success of your writing. At its best, editing is a collaboration between editor and writer to make a manuscript better, to get that manuscript ready for readers and the marketplace.
If you have aspirations to traditionally publish your book, you’ll want to consider hiring an editor. Competition is fierce, and only the very best works get published. You’ll want to put your best writing before an agent or editor, which generally means having your work professionally edited.
Once you have taken your manuscript as far as you can go by yourself, usually through several drafts, you’re ready for an editor.
Most traditional publishing houses contract out editing to freelancers. Having your book professionally edited before querying an agent or acquisitions editor will give your book the best chance to be considered for publication. Even if you intend to self-publish, you’ll want to make sure your book resonates with readers, so you’ll want to consider several levels of editing as well.
The following are descriptions of the most common types of editing for getting your manuscript ready to be published as a book. For each of the services described, you first need a completed manuscript.
Developmental editing
Developmental editing is also called substantive or structural editing. It’s focused on the big pictures items of a manuscript: plot, characters, setting, point of view, structure, pacing, and the like. Developmental editors may consider the length of a work, the conventions of genre fiction (such as science fiction or romance or fantasy), and the plausibility of character and plot development.
Think of a developmental editor as a person who tests the bones of your work. Is your manuscript and story structurally sound? If not, what can you do to make it better?
A developmental editor will make queries on your manuscript (marginal comments, often through Track Changes in Word), pointing out problems and suggesting solutions. As part of the dev edit fee, the editor will provide a detailed revision letter and usually schedule one or two meetings with you to discuss a revision plan.
It’s your manuscript. You get to decide whether to follow the editor’s suggestions or not.
Because of the difference between experienced and inexperienced editors, you’ll find a wide variety of fees for a dev edit in the freelance marketplace. Experienced editors have years of experience working with writers and texts and are often certified. In general, though, you should be able to find someone who provides editing services for your needs at your price point.
Buyer beware: be wary of inexpensive dev edits. You get what you pay for.
Manuscript assessment
A manuscript assessment is often called a “dev edit lite.” An editor will read your manuscript and take detailed notes and then write up a revision letter for you. The editor will not make queries on the manuscript itself, which means an editor can do a manuscript assessment much more quickly.
Depending on the length of the book, a manuscript assessment can be up to 50% less in cost than a developmental edit. Again, prices will vary with the experience levels of the editor.
Line editing
Dev edit is to structure and the whole manuscript as line editing is to paragraphs and sentences. Line editing focuses more directly on the language in a manuscript, writing precise, effective sentences and paragraphs. The line editor helps shape strong sentences, reduces redundancy and repetition, creating a clear, compelling style.
Sometimes dev editors will do a bit of line editing along the way if they see tangled sentences. But more often, line editing aligns with copy editing with its focus on the internal grammar and structure of sentences.
Copy editing
When we think of the five-part writing process (prewriting, planning, drafting, revising, editing), it’s copy editing we are talking about for editing here. Copy editing happens after a manuscript is solid.
The copy editor’s concern is the correct use of language according to a style guide, such as the Chicago Manual of Style (used for the publishing industry), Associated Press Style Guide (for journalism), Modern Language Style (for academics in the humanities), and more.
Clarity, coherence, consistency, and correctness are the watchwords of the copy editor. More than any other editor, the copy editor is concerned about the grammar, mechanics, punctuation, and spelling of a manuscript.
Whereas a dev editor takes a higher-level view of a manuscript, the copy editor is down in the weeds in the details of a manuscript. They are both necessary editing steps to ensure that a work is meeting its potential and is crafted to reach its audience.
Proofreading
Proofreading is the last step in the editing cycle. By this stage, the editor is no longer looking to make structural changes to a manuscript. Sentences and paragraphs sing. Grammar and mechanics are solid.
The proofreader looks to eliminate any egregious errors in spelling and punctuation, errors overlooked along the way in the editing cycle. Does every sentence end with an end stop? Are the apostrophes in the right place? Is every word spelled correctly? Is it the right word (think “your” vs. “you’re” or “there/their/they’re” or “collectable/collectible”), and so on.
Proofreading is a necessary last step to ensure as error-free a manuscript as possible.
I am an Editor
I’m Lee G. Horbrook, Editor and Writing Coach, owner of The Writing Prof Editorial Services and editor of The Writing Prof publication on Medium.
I am certified as a developmental editor. I offer developmental editing, manuscript assessment, line and copy editing, proofreading, beta reading, and much more.
The genres I’m most interested in are memoir, literary fiction, science fiction (dystopian and apocalyptic fiction) and speculative fiction, poetry, and academic writing in both the sciences and humanities, and much more. I welcome LGBTQ+ themes and adult “dark” romances set in alternative communities.
To make sure you are on the path to success, I offer FREE 30-minute Zoom consultations to discuss your writing project. There is no obligation. If we are not compatible to work together, I will help you find an editor from my large and growing network of editing professionals.
A Special for Paid Substack Subscribers:
If you’re a paid subscriber to my substack, I’m offering 10% off editing services for the months of September/October 2024.
You can find out more about me at my website: The Writing Prof Editorial Services.
Follow my progress in getting my memoir published on Substack: My Own Private Waste Land: T. S. Eliot, Mental Illness, and The Making of a Memoir.
Toward the end of your article, when you make your offer...I think you meant to say "10% off" rather than 10% of."