There isn’t an easy answer to when an author should find an editorial professional, be that for developmental editing, copyediting, line-editing or proofreading. However, it is best to give a collaboration of this sort some time for consideration. It is good to be clear what the different services provide and to approach suitable candidates with enough time to find a good match to achieve the best outcomes for yourself and your manuscript.
It would be an understatement to say that how writers write varies. The amount of planning which different writers undertake ranges from the highly detailed plotters like John Grisham, who feels that the longer he spends preparing a detailed outline, the easier the book is to write. Through to writers like Steven King, who plans very little, preferring to work things out as he writes. To him, very thoroughly outlined books have a somewhat stale quality.
Some writers use a Pomodoro approach, with disciplined daily word count goals, and others will take a cabin in the woods with the aim of not resurfacing without a completing manuscript. Bashing out a first draft and not looking back is the advice of many how to write books, and some writers edit as they go along.
As a writer, you will know how writing a book is a major accomplishment and the culmination of a great deal of time, discipline, perseverance and not a little emotion. Many will be unable to say the number of hours it took to reach that stage, and will frequently answer with the number of years since the first idea came to them.
Redrafting and editing choices
However, it is arrived at the completed manuscript, it is a good idea for the writer to distance themselves from the manuscript, at least for a while before embarking on the next stage. Self-publishing writers will not have the same set-up as a publishing house, with the team focused to ensure all the necessary stages of the production process are carried out in a coordinated way so that deadlines are met and all the preparations are carried out smoothly.
If you are thinking of using the services of an editorial professional, you may want to involve them at any stage. Once the manuscript is written, you may request a developmental edit or ask for a manuscript critique. This would be to help you identify where there may be difficulties of plot or with the structure of the writing. Perhaps you do not want to change any of the big picture features of your manuscript, and you have time to rework the manuscript through some rounds of redrafting. After this, you may decide to collaborate with a professional copyeditor. You could feel you have reached the point where your latest draft would benefit from being looked at with a fresh pair of eyes. Even if you set aside time and decide that you are going to rely on your self-editing skills, you may seek the reassurance of a proofreader for a last check before it goes in front of a reader, be that publisher, agent or beta readers.
Some authors feel their time is best spent creating the next title and may already be preoccupied with that. From an editor’s standpoint, schedules get filled up, and earlier approaches are easier to accommodate.
If a publisher is already interested in the manuscript, planning for editorial services will help get the manuscript to be as good it can be for the publisher. Experienced authors appreciate the value of booking their editorial collaborations to meet their deadlines and aspirations.
Illustration courtesy of sketchrobin.com
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