Haven’t been online too much lately. The main reason is I’m about armpit deep in the last series of edits for The Tanglewood Murders. Working with a professional editor is a unique experience.
If a publisher is taking on your book, you’re going to go through this experience too. If you’re self-publishing your book, you should force yourself to do it.
The first time I ever handed a manuscript to an editor, she smiled kindly at me and said, “It’s like giving birth, isn’t it.”
I wish she hadn’t used that analogy. Because when she returned the manuscript to me, splattered in red ink, it was a bit like having a child butchered – it was almost unrecognizable. (Mind you, in hindsight, that first novel was a bloody mess to begin with, and I probably shouldn’t have shown it to anyone, except that I learned so much from the process.)
It’s better to think of your manuscript as a young sapling. You’ve given it your attention, your love, your sweat and tears. Now, it needs more attention, more sweat, and probably a lot of pruning. The first time you go through the editing process with a professional editor, you’re probably going to hear horrible, nasty, mean-spirited things like:
- Do we really need this chapter?
- This part makes no sense to me!
- Too much description.
- Too wordy!
- Do people really talk like this?
- Yesterday? I thought this happened a week ago.
- Is her hair brown or blonde? Make up your mind!
- I don’t think this character adds to the story.
These are all things a proofreader will probably not be able to do for your work, but which a professional editor – if you’re lucky – will have no qualms about saying.
The first time you go through the process working with a professional editor, it’s going to be a highly emotional process, if you love your work that is, and especially if your editor loves it too. Always keep in mind that this is for the benefit of the work itself, and your skills as a writer. Don’t take anything personally. Be prepared to debate and argue over issues large and small. Be prepared to feel really stupid, and be prepared to feel like some kind of literary genius, sometimes all in the span of a few minutes. It’s natural to feel some level of hatred for your editor at times, and to want to pout. Or cry. Or scream. Stomp your foot, scream into a pillow if you need to, or rant in your journal… but keep these things to yourself. Because as you go through the emotional ups and downs, the most important thing you will develop through the editing process is a new level of detachment from your work. This is called professionalism.
By the end of the process, you may even feel an emotional bond with your editor. This is natural too. After all, it’s an intimate process.
I wish I could recommend a good editor for you, but any that I know are already overworked. I can tell you, however, that a good freelance editor is not going to come cheap. A thousand dollars for a professional editor is a pretty good deal for a full-length book. It takes time to read a book, remember. And it takes more time to think about it, go back, compare, make notes, and then read it all over again. Depending on the editor, the length of your book, and how much editing is needed, the process can take weeks, months, and sometimes more than a year. So consider that when you’re looking at fees and the experience a professional editor is going to bring to your work.
I wish you the best.
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Dear David,
You have no idea how timely this post is. So timely that I was actually going to email you to ask where you had been and moreover your thoughts on this exact topic.
Yesterday during #litchat while everyone else was discussing agents etc. I asked about having a professional editor. Moreover, I shared that I had learned the difference between a development editor and copy editor, a term I had only learned 24 hours prior. I was told to be wary of “development editors” as they want your money under the guise of helping you finish your story etc. After a few back and forths, I showed them the web page of a very high caliber “development editor.” Anyway, I don’t want to get into the discussion that took place. I took what I found helpful, filed other thoughts under question mark, and called it a night.
and then this post. so timely.
what are you thoughts in re development editor? helpful? not? finish MS and get copy editor? do copy editors leave the kind of comments that you mention in terms of plot development, narration etc. ? I have heard both: they do and they don’t.
So glad for your perspective.
annie
Hi Annie,
I’ve worked with a few editors and while your mileage may vary, this is my experience. An editor deals with changes large and small – from typos to major plot or character issues. But this is usually after you’ve finished the final draft.
“A thousand dollars for a professional editor is a pretty good deal for a full-length book.” You can say that again. It does take time, as you mentioned. These days, even beyond reading and rereading it and pondering over style inconsistencies, there is the added time of marking up the electronic document with tracked changes.
My recommendation is to do a couple of chapters first and let the author see what you’re up to before incurring too much time. I know people have their preferences and though a good editor can make structural revisions, the author still has a specific voice they may want to maintain.
AMEN! In the screenwriter world, our editor equivalent is a script consultant. I cannot express more adamantly how imperative it is to have a professional rip your work to shreds before putting in front of a producer.
If a writer scoffs at the $1000 fee, they should ask themselves how much they would pay to have the chance for a do-over after the agent has rejected their work because it wasn’t professional enough. I bet they’d pay that grand in a minute!
Thanks, David!
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