What an Editor Won’t Do: The Myth of the Magical Editor

All I have to do is get the story out, the editor will fix the rest, right? Too many times I’ve run across writers who think they don’t need to worry about what they consider “the small stuff” because someone else will take care of it. It’s like the editor is a magical fairy sprinkling pixie dust on your story and poof! It’s the perfect book.

If you are one of those people, you might want to sit down before you read this…the editor will not fix everything in your book. In fact, the editor will not fix most of your book. The person who will be fixing the plot problems and the prose will be YOU.

The Editor’s Job: Content and Copy Editing

Let’s make things clear about what an editor does and does not do. There are several different types of editors, but we’ll focus on the two main tasks an editor can do for your story. Content editing is when a professional reads through your story and gives you feedback on the storyline including plot, character, pacing, setting, and so on. They’ll give suggestions for how to make your story more interesting for the reader and easier to understand. They will not fix content issues they see. That is your job as the writer. Keep in mind that anyone who adds content to a story becomes a co-author. Editors are not co-authors.

Copy editing addresses more technical issues such as grammar, punctuation, syntax, spelling, and word use. The editor will make sure your manuscript follows current standards for the English language. Notice that I did not mention anything about making your sentences sound perfect. There is a misconception floating about that an editor will clean up all your prose for you, giving you those precise lines. Nope. They don’t do that either. An editor works hard to preserve the voice of the author and not introduce their own. Rewording your lines would not only be incredibly time consuming, but it would also give the writing the editor’s voice and style.

Preparing Your Manuscript for an Editor

Make sure your story is the best it can be before handing it over to an editor. These professionals cost money and the messier your story is, the more it will end up costing you. And remember, they won’t fix every single thing. Revise your story several times and have a critique partner who is a writer give you feedback first. Work over your story as best you can on your own before sending it off. Editors often request to see the first page or so to get an idea of how much work your book will be. If your story hasn’t been revised, peer reviewed, and revised again, they may turn it down because it’s “too much work” to help you.

More Help for Revision and Editing

If you’re looking for more information about revision and editing, check out these other FWA blog posts:

• Tighten Up! Seven Tips for Decluttering Your Sentences
• Paring Down Paragraphs: Seven Tips for Paragraph-Level Revision
• Working with an Editor
• Levels of Editing

Editors are skilled professionals who can help get your work ready to publish, but they aren’t miracle workers. Instead of seeing the editor as a magical fairy, look at them as more of a football coach. They’ll guide you with plays and give you specific feedback for what you need to do on the field. They can’t play the game for you. Now get out there, champ, and show ‘em what you got.

FWA offers professional editing services for members. Click here for more info.