Working with an Editor

You've finally finished the book that’s taken years to write. Then, as you read over the polished manuscript a curious thing happens. You begin to notice there are time lapses between paragraphs and some of the character’s dialogue doesn’t seem real.  You get disappointed when you notice there are still typos left here and there; in short, there is still quite a bit of work to be done in the book that you thought was finished just a short time ago.

You're faced with a conundrum and you start to go through the manuscript at a frenzied pace only to find more things that are wrong.  Now, you're faced with only two decisions—either throw the whole manuscript out and start all over again or try to salvage this copy. If you make the second more reasonable decision, you'll come to the conclusion that you need a manuscript editor.

While there are many editors available on the Internet and through other print mediums, finding one that has the talent and experience to be able to see what's wrong with your manuscript and know how to fix it is another matter entirely.  One of the things that you’ll want to look for is someone who knows the path that you are on.  To that end, many writers choose to have experienced writers edit their books. Who better then another writer to know the pratfalls of the writing game?

As well, if you can find someone with previous editing experience in several genres, that’s all the better. A good manuscript editor will know how to recognize problems with narrative structure, tone, dialogue and characterization and be able to make appropriate suggestions to fix each.  The best editors also care a great deal about the written word and will go out of their way to ensure your book is as good and polished as it can possibly be.

There are other aspects to what a good editor does as well. Having a sense of awareness is also a prerequisite for the job. A good editor will be able to spot the tiniest of errors or typos on a page and be able to tell you which page they were on. A good editor will also take an interest in the book and share a real enthusiasm for seeing it become the very best that it can be.

For all their enthusiasm, a good editor knows when to stay out of the way as well. They know the difference between changing something to make it better and allowing the writer to maintain their personal voice without alteration.

They know that the job is to help and not hinder. They know all the techniques that bring out the best in the book without changing any of its meaning.