So you’re an author; you’ve written some kind of manuscript or you’re a regular blog writer. You’ve written your first draft, done a self-edit to your second draft, maybe you’re even on a third draft. Now, though, you want a professional editor to look at it. If you are looking to publish traditionally, you want it to be as polished as possible before an agent reads it. If you are going to self-publish, you know that a good edit is what stands between bad reviews and good ones. If you’re a blog or podcast writer, perhaps you want to make sure your work is accessible to your audience.
Whatever you’re doing, you know that your best investment into your own work is an editor, and you want the most you can get for your money. That’s understandable. You know from my last post that the best way to test out your editor—whom you will hopefully have a long and fruitful relationship with—is to get that sample edit. But the question then becomes… “How do I get the most out of the sample edit? And how do I know if the sample edit is good or not?” So here are some things to consider when you’ve got a round up of editors to test.
What pages should I send them?
First, you should ask how many pages the editor will do for free. If you’re a regular content writer, the editor will probably take an entire project as it’s most likely three pages or less. If it’s a manuscript, it will generally be two to five pages. I want three pages from you, minimum, but four or five is better. Don’t worry if your pages don’t have a natural end point.
The easiest way to choose your pages is just to send your first few. It’s often said that the opening sentence is the most important in your book, as it’s what will send the person to the cash register or not (or persuade them to click “Deliver to Kindle”), so giving the editor your first few pages makes sense.
However, you may not feel that your first few pages are the best representation of your writing, or, straight up, they just may not be your favorite. Remember, the purpose of the sample edit is not to clean up your manuscript—that’s just a happy byproduct. The purpose of the sample edit is to see if the editor respects your voice and is someone you would like to work with. As an editor, I want to work with the best depiction of your voice and personality as an author, so I would prefer you to send me your favorite passage! That way, I can get a good feel for your writing and slip into the groove of editing in your authorial voice.
What should I look for when I get the sample edit back?
Once your pages are back in your hands, you may not even know what you’re looking at. You will most likely see your manuscript pages with words crossed out and re-written in another color (in my case, purple!), lines on the side of the page indicating where things were changed, and two sets of language in the margins: one for formatting changes, one for comment bubbles. It may all seem a bit overwhelming, but don’t worry! Nothing is permanent. All of the colored words are what the editor changed. The lines on the side of the page may tell you where something was moved instead of changed. The comment bubbles are the way the editor is communicating with you. So let’s look at each one individually and see how you can assess them.
Words or passages deleted or revised
This will happen for one of many reasons, but here are just a few: your editor is condensing some language, you used a commonly misused word (pour vs pore), a sentence was difficult to understand upon first read, or something just really didn’t fit. Don’t take these changes personally; the editor is making sure your words come across the best way they can to the reader. That being said, the revised version of your manuscript should still sound like you. Editors are human—we’re fallible but we’re also flexible, so a few mistakes or edits you don’t agree with doesn’t mean we’re the wrong person for the job.
However, an editor who is trying to remake your manuscript in their image will be the wrong person for you. If your perfectly fine or perfectly perfect prose has been edited to the point that it’s unrecognizable, the sample edit has told you something valuable: this editor isn’t on your side. Just like many brides want a beautiful face of makeup for their wedding but still want their partner to recognize them, your revised manuscript should still feel like your writing…just polished up!
Passages or paragraphs reorganized
This is done for readability and flow. When we write, it makes sense to us because it came from our own brains; however, it doesn’t always translate to the reader. That doesn’t make it bad writing, it just means it needs a little shuffle. Your editor should be moving things around so they make the most sense while reading. If you read through the reorganized passages and they don’t make sense or it changes the meaning of what you’ve written, that may be a sign that the editor doesn’t really get what you’re going for.
That doesn’t mean they are a bad editor! In fact, this is a good time to test how flexible they are. Talk to them about the passage revisions you don’t understand and take note of their response. They may have a great explanation that makes you rethink the change. Or they may get defensive. Whatever they say to you, are they respecting you and your work?
Queries and comment balloons
Balloons are usually a sign of fun! These should be no different. In your margins you’ll get an idea of the way your copyeditor communicates with you. These comment balloons—or queries, as we call them in the biz—will share with you a range of things. Some will be questions and clarifications (“This character’s name is sometimes Phip and sometimes Phil. Which spelling is correct so I can make them all consistent?”), some will be explanations (“There was a bit of a dangling modifier here, so I revised the sentence to make it clear who exactly had plunged the sword into Phip’s chest.”), and some might be compliments (“Wow, Phip’s dying speech was so powerful. I’m in literal tears!”).
How do these queries make you feel? Do you feel respected and understood? Do they confuse you? Do you feel condescended to? The editor may be blunt and concise, or maybe a bit overly communicative, but if they “get” you, respect your words, and are excited to be working with you, this will come across in their queries.
Overall, trust your authorial gut. If your tattoo artist tells you that two dolphins jumping over a heart sunset is a stupid idea, you probably wouldn’t let them give you your dream tattoo. If your editor seems flippant, condescending, or self-serving in the sample edit, you probably shouldn’t trust them with your brain-baby.
The sample edit is important for both parties, so make sure you use these tips and your instincts to get the most out of it that you can.