Purposeful Prose Advice Column: The Work of the Editor

Dear Purposeful Prose,

I’ve been writing for myself and submitting short stories to publications for one and a half years. I usually stick to self-editing because I can’t afford an editor right now. How much of a job is it to be an editor? Since I’m editing my own work, I know it really well, and it feels like having an extra pair of eyes has set me back in the past. Doesn’t editing just create more work?

That is an incredibly interesting question, and I’m grateful you asked! 

First of all, I created this blog for authors and fellow editors alike. I try to give self-editing tools that will allow writers to put some distance between themselves and their work. Since you know your material best, you are the one who should make the final decision on your finished product. There’s no denying that. You’re doing your best with what you have. 

I want to break down your question because this is a lot to go over. From what I understand, you want to know what goes into the editing process, and you want to know whether editing intentionally creates more work for the writer. 

As for what goes into the editing process, that depends on the type of edit that you’re doing. While no one method requires less rigor, each method has a focus and purpose for your text. I’ll run through a few. A developmental edit is also known as a big picture edit. It’s more plot-focused than mechanics focused, though a developmental editor might draw attention to an error that compromises the meaning of your narrative or a consistent error in writing. While every editor will have their own approach to a developmental edit, you can usually expect some in-text comments, a deliverable, or both. 

In a developmental edit, you’ll receive an overview on your book’s plot structure (effectiveness, presence of plot holes, inconsistencies), characters (depth thereof and how that affects the story, construction, consistency), dialog, descriptions, setting, and other narrative elements. This requires a different kind of rigor and observation from a copy edit or line edit. 

When I’m giving a developmental edit, my search includes [but is not limited to] anything that could possibly break immersion or give readers a false impression of the author or their world. 

A line edit, also known as a stylistic edit, is mostly focused on language and readability. This type is often mistaken for a copy edit, which is focused on technical accuracy, consistency and formatting. 

As an example, if I were giving a line edit on a paragraph, I might suggest ordering information differently if essential context for the second sentence was found in the sixth sentence. If I’m noticing repetition that’s not serving your story, especially to the point of being monotonous, I would point that out and suggest revisions. 

While some of these decisions might feed into a copy edit and vice versa, I’d be more likely to comment on whether an established fact was applied consistently throughout the paragraph or whether a writer accidentally contradicted themselves. Also, for a copy edit, I might suggest that the paragraph in question be divided into two paragraphs. 

We are dissecting every word, every sentence, and using our expertise, education, experience to elevate your voice. The editor who is right for you knows that this is extremely delicate work. 

Editing can, to your second question, create more work. Some might argue that editing should create more work. I’ve seen others claim that they should be able to send their piece to an editor and receive a fully polished piece that’s ready to publish. 

I could never, in good conscience, send a manuscript back to someone and claim that I’ve “fixed their problems.” I make recommendations and suggestions based on my education, my experience, my research, and I use that as a tool to communicate. I offer the writer choices that they might have not otherwise considered, and sometimes I’ll catch errors that they didn’t notice. If I claim to “fix problems” and hand them a clean copy with no changes, that’s no different from speaking over them. I feel as though writers deserve to be confident in their end product and should have the final say in what happens to it. 

In that sense, editing needs to be a little more work. I believe that you and your writing are worth that extra dedication, and I hope you feel that way too. Often, when you spend a lot of time with your own manuscript, you don’t catch your own errors. I highly recommend this article if you’d like to learn more about why that happens. 

If you have a writing or editing-focused question, I would be more than happy to dedicate a post to you. Contact us with any questions you might have or to schedule a free consultation with yours truly!

All submissions will remain anonymous unless you explicitly request for me to include your name.