Do you need a book editor? What editors do and why you might like to hire one

If you plan to traditionally publish your book, your manuscript will inevitably face a few rounds of editing—once you’ve signed with an agent, it might happen at this stage to get the piece in the best possible shape before they submit it to publishers. And a publisher will do at least one or two rounds of editing with you, too, after the book is sold. They might do ‘big-picture’ developmental editing, and they will definitely arrange for a round of copyediting before the manuscript is typeset, prepared for printing, and officially published. 

So why might you hire a freelance editor? 

There are a few good reasons to employ a freelance book editor. In the first place, if you do have an agent but you would like to work with a specific editor before your manuscript goes out on submission, they may be open to your suggestion and ready to work with the editor you prefer. Freelancers often come in at this stage. It may even be possible to negotiate something like this with a publisher, depending on their internal flexibility. 

But you also might want to hire someone to perform editorial work for you before you start querying agents. It could be particularly helpful if you’ve sent out a few queries but haven’t yet got a positive response, or you may choose to do it before starting the process at all. And there are various instances where you might reach out to an editor before you have a finished manuscript (more on that below). 

I am of course biased, but I do think it can be an extremely valuable investment. Obviously, an editor can point to the places where a manuscript needs work and help you to refine and improve it. Having a professional look at your work with fresh eyes is an enormously beneficial thing. 

But working with a good editor can provide so much more. If you feel like you’ve lost your passion for your manuscript or you’ve got stuck somewhere along the way, an editor can help get you back on track and find your enthusiasm for the project again. Immersing ourselves in your work with real care and attention, we can provide a crucial boost to your confidence and your future skills. It can be a really fruitful, rewarding relationship. 

What does an editor do?

There are many different types of editing, some of which overlap in confusing and unhelpful ways. I have been trained in pretty much all types, and therefore can provide a bespoke service depending on your particular needs, but each job generally comes under one of the following categories:

Book coaching/writing coach

Do you have an idea for a book, or the first few thousand words, but would like support through the process of compiling or finishing a novel? I can provide book coaching services, which will help keep you on track, and address any issues in the manuscript early on before you get too deep into the project. A book coach can provide accountability and support when it comes to getting words on the page, but can also help you develop your ideas as the book takes shape, and deliver editorial feedback throughout the process. This won’t suit all authors, but it will certainly suit some. Writing can be a lonely task, and a book coach can be a welcome companion in the often dark and obscure process of putting together a book. 

Manuscript Assessment

This is probably one of the most popular services a freelance editor provides. A manuscript assessment would be where an editor reads your manuscript and then provides a written letter or report (mine are typically around 7–12 pages) summarising any findings: what worked, what might be improved upon, and some suggestions for moving forward. This can be performed at any point, really, but is likely most helpful on a finished manuscript, a manuscript that is on its second or third draft (but you’re not quite sure how to improve it), or a manuscript that is 60–70% there. In the last case, for example, perhaps you’re stuck for an ending, and you need someone to help you get unstuck. 

I know that authors I’ve worked with have found this to be a really helpful process, and I also offer follow-up calls to all those who book in for manuscript assessments with me, so that we can go over the report and next steps together.

Developmental Editing

Like the manuscript assessment this form of editing involves a written report that will address the book overall, but a developmental editor will also go into the manuscript itself, and leave more direct comments and prompts on the text. Different editors approach this in different ways, as this is a bit of an artform in itself (and we can discuss options for this, too, depending on what you’d find most helpful). This is a much more hands-on service, and a developmental edit entails many more hours with your book. It can be a really transformative process, and is one of the best ways to refine and improve your work. I recommend this only for manuscripts that you have pushed as far as possible yourself and are as finished as you can get them—if you plan to work more on the manuscript, you don’t want to have to do a developmental edit twice! Having said that, you could do multiple rounds with the same editor to move towards that end goal. 

Line Editing and Copyediting

 The line between these is very blurry, so I have put them under the same heading, though they are slightly different. Line editing is where an editor would go line by line through your work and adjust sentences for consistency and clarity throughout, including consistency in terms of your personal writing style and the themes and aims that you have with the text. It’s a bit of a lost art, and is not often performed by itself these days. That’s partly because it is similar (though not exactly the same) as copyediting. Copyediting is more technical; it also seeks to improve consistency and clarity, but from a more grammatical and punctuation-led standpoint (amongst other things). It is not necessarily about developing your personal authorial voice or applying artistry at the sentence level, though I think some copyeditors do end up performing this kind of work. A copyeditor is going to get the text ready for publishing, polishing all those small things so that it reads smoothly for your future readers. 

I wouldn’t necessarily recommend going to a freelance editor for copyediting, because this is something that will be performed by traditional publishers, and again it’s not something you want to pay for twice. (Traditional publishers—I am fully trained as a copyeditor, so please do get in touch!) I would highly recommend it for authors who are planning to self-publish, because it will bring the book more in line with traditionally published works—you’d be amazed at how these small changes can make a big difference. And I might recommend hiring a freelance editor for line editing, if you are looking for someone to take a very close look at your prose, and to make sure that the vital qualities of great writing are in evidence through the whole piece. 

Proofreading

This is distinct from copyediting in that there is very little changed at the proofreading stage; a manuscript at this point should already have gone through a copyedit before it reaches the proofreader’s hands. A proofreader is catching small errors that would be considered typos once the book is published. There is no rewriting or altering diction at this point. Again, this is not really something you would employ a freelance editor for unless you are self-publishing, in which case it is quite a vital step (and best performed by someone who was not the copyeditor). 

So that’s it! Those are some of the services a book editor can provide, and an overview of which ones I might recommend at any particular stage. If you would like to contact me about any of the above, you can do so here. You can also have a look more about me and my qualifications here.