Congrats! You’ve written your manuscript. Your friends like it. Your mom thinks it’s great. Why bother with an editor? Let’s get this thing printed!
Now, just hold your horses.
I’ve been a professional editor for a long time, and I’ve heard every misconception there is: that editing is a punishment writers have to endure; that editing will take all the creativity out of your prose for the sake of some mysterious Grammar Police; that writers and editors are natural enemies.
Those mistaken ideas miss the point entirely. There’s a reason that the big publishing houses put their manuscripts through multiple rounds of editing.
But if you’re a self-published author, you may be wondering if all this extra work is necessary. Maybe you’re thinking it will be an expensive annoyance. You’re the boss, and you can decide to avoid the whole issue.
But you shouldn’t.
Good editors will make your work as readable as it can be for its intended audience. They make you look good in print—or at least prevent you from looking bad in print. Your editor is your colleague, your partner, your fairy godmother, your biggest supporter. You may wish to send her flowers when she’s done. (Just an idea! Chocolate is also acceptable!)
Assuming that I’ve convinced you to have your prose professionally polished, you now need to find these magical wordsmiths. But what exactly should you be looking for?
The terminology can be quirky, the boundaries fluid. No wonder you’re confused!
Here’s a quick overview of different types of editorial help for you to consider. You don’t necessarily need all these specialists, but do think about what kind of help would give you the most bang for your buck.
Developmental editors
After your first draft is complete, you should consider working with a developmental editor, someone whose specialty is seeing the big picture of your manuscript. This is the time for major changes, and your dev ed should (gently and positively) help you see how your work can be the best version of itself. Are you getting your point across? Are you telling your story in the most engaging way possible? Is your work wordy? Confusing? Unfocused? This is the time to find out.
The great thing about developmental editors is that they want to help you realize your goals, not substitute their own. They will zero in on technical problems you never noticed—and they will suggest solutions.
Trust is paramount in this relationship. A good way to decide if a dev ed is right for you is to send a few representative pages of your work (offer to pay; the cost will be modest). Their response should be respectful, enthusiastic, curious. You should find their comments energizing. If you like their approach and decide to hire them, you’ll look forward to tackling that second draft together.
Beta readers
After you’ve done another draft (or two), you might consider sending your whole manuscript to a beta reader, an early stand-in for your eventual readers. This is someone who has no connection to your story. Their feedback serves as a gut check to see how your writing appears to an outsider.
The best way to work with a beta reader is to send your manuscript along with a cover letter that includes your overall goals as well as some questions you would like answered. So you might mention, say, that your manuscript is a memoir that will be distributed to family. Your questions might include: Does my tone seem appropriate for this audience? Is the chronology clear and/or should I delete those flashbacks? Is the lack of a family tree problematic?
You should expect to receive feedback in a written form, usually a long memo that answers your questions and also offers further insights into how your work reads. If anything is unclear, it’s fine to follow up.
You don’t have to accept everything a beta reader says or suggests—but you’d be foolish to dismiss all of it. This is a great opportunity to get inside your readers’ heads while you still have time to make significant changes.
Copyeditors
Copyeditors are the grunts of the publishing world, the kind of people who have strong opinions about whether “copyediting” or “copy editing” is preferable. Their job is to make sure that everything in your final manuscript is clear, correct, and consistent. They usually do some light fact-checking, because they can’t help themselves. They will find typos, factual mistakes, convoluted sentences, and embarrassing omissions.
Contrary to what you must be thinking, they are almost never humorless, inflexible types. They’re super-smart, but they’re all about you. They want your work to be the best it can be. They are advocates for your readers. You should send them flowers and chocolate!
Copyeditors usually create a stylesheet, which is essentially a giant reference guide to the editorial choices they’ve made. (There are a lot, and you don’t need to worry about any of them.) A stylesheet will also include every proper name, unfamiliar word, and idiosyncrasy in your work, so that these oddities can be made consistent, and so that the proofreader won’t pull her hair out trying to figure out if they’re all mistakes. Speaking of which…
Bonus: Proofreaders
You want one. Not a family member or friend who loves to read. Trust me.
You can find these editorial gods by asking published friends for referrals or consulting the Editorial Freelancers Association website. Teamwork makes the dream work!
Samantha Shubert, a co-founder of Manhattan–based Remarkable Life Memoirs, is a writer, editor, and writing coach.