A big part of becoming a writer is understanding why we need an editor. When I first began writing short stories and eventually my first novel, I believed that I was my own editor. I didn’t see a reason to pay someone to edit my manuscript. I couldn’t have been more wrong!
Today, I was reading some of the many pages and chapters that I cut from my original manuscript of Life-Line: Diversions. There were many examples of telling instead of showing, drawn-out scenes with no action, and too much world-building. It is now clear why the editor told me to change my manuscript.
So what do I need an editor for? Is it someone who looks for errors and corrects them? What other function do they serve?
While producing manuscripts for the Life-Line series, I found that an editor’s job is to take a raw manuscript and help turn it into a polished, market-ready book that protects my professional reputation. Editors also do a lot of structural work. So, the primary reasons for working with a professional editor include the following:
1. They provide an unbiased and objective perspective. I have always felt too close to my own work. My brain looks at the errors and fills them in, skips over errors, and ignores confusing transitions.
2. The editor looks at the “big picture” pertaining to the manuscript. This is known as Developmental editing. My editor for both novels helped me find plot holes, fix pacing (this was a big one for me), and keep an eye on character behaviour and point of view.
3. The next is line and copy editing. This covers sentence flow, voice, and clarity. This is where the editor refines my manuscript’s mechanics without erasing my writing style. This was an important lesson for me; as I mentioned earlier, I was too close to my book to be objective. They also help with tone, dialogue, and what I am trying to say.
4. Technical precision is the next step to get rid of spelling mistakes, punctuation errors, and formatting glitches in the manuscript. The proofreader acts as a final quality check for errors, typos, and style guidelines.
One thing to note is that I must input the changes based on the editor’s advice. So I fixed the plot holes, pacing, and continuity in my manuscripts. Finally, I corrected any errors after proofreading. This confirmed that I was in control of my manuscript through each revision.
In essence, I did exactly what I told my students in my writing class: “Don’t fall in love with your first draft!”
Carpe diem.