Important things to consider when hiring an editor for your book
Why do I want an editor?
As an aspiring novelist, one of the things I heard a lot about editors is that they are either an author’s best friend or manager. Of course, I know the feeling of just wanting to write and write and have someone else do the nitty gritty details of editing, revising and polishing what I wrote–which is probably why I’d want an editor in the first place.
The thing is, they’re not my writing maids. Yes, sure, they are paid and they sure earn as much or more than what I invested in my manuscript that still hasn’t seen the light of day. But it really matters how I utilize having them.
I’ve had writing buddies, fellow writers who I exchange works with to give and receive feedback and I’ve tried multiple editors and dev editors to see that there are some similarities to what they can give me.
What kind of feedback do I want?
Compliments, criticisms, positive and negative comments are all a type of feedback that may or may not benefit our writing in the long run. I think this is better off discussed in a separate blog. (Just wanted to brush up on the topic because it may or may not affect how we view the kind of feedback editors give us). For now, let’s get back to editors.
What kind of feedback do I need?
There might be instances where we’re expecting purely compliments and praises from the feedback we receive. Let’s see what the definition of feedback is.
Britannica Dictionary: helpful information or criticism that is given to someone to say what can be done to improve a performance, product, etc.
Ever since I started writing, sharing my work in public was never an option. Last January 2023, I decided to break out of my shell and throw my work out there for people to see. I signed up on a couple of websites like Nathan Bradsford - The Forum, Critique Circle, Google Critique Group and Critique Match. I vibed more with Critique Match (CM) and stuck with it for the next seven months.
For someone who was unemployed during those times, I spent every day and every night swapping chapters with different authors. I’ve had more than a hundred swap partners and honestly, the things I’ve learned from each partner is worth the experience. Yes, even the ones who had given me no less than two sentences of feedback.
Yes, there are things I want to hear from them, like “OMG I love what you did in this scene” or “I noticed that little bread crumb that led to this, it’s golden!” It’s possible. It’s achievable. But at my current level, I’m not there yet. It’s why I’m doing swaps. I want to improve what I don’t have.
There are so many times I tell myself “Wow, I love the editing I did, I’m getting better.” The next day I get new feedback and tell me “It’s not nuanced enough! There’s characterization but it’s still surface-level.” It may be discouraging or disheartening but these are the kind of people that would help me realize my flaws. They did their part to point it out, it’s my turn to find a way to fix it.
Let’s expand on this another time and skip to the next part.
Helpful comments an editor can give
I’m not saying all editors should do this. What I’m trying to say is that these comments are what I found helpful during the dark years of my writing journey.
There are different types of editors that can help us, depending on how far we are in our manuscript. A short commercial, I actually contacted a writing coach (thinking at the time it’s what I needed on a Draft 3 progress–what do I know lol) and asked for a quote. They kindly explained the difference between a writing coach and a developmental editor–which apparently was what I needed.
For context of this sample: I was working on my Draft 3, 90k manuscript. I’m proud of it but I know and I know that something needs fixing but I don’t know what. Every time I swap, new flaws get pointed out and I never really end with the edits. I want solid feedback on what’s wrong, point out the very roots and not just picking on the fruits one at a time.
One of the things I noticed in most feedback, whether from editors of swap partners, would commonly point out what’s wrong without context. I’ve probably read “show don’t tell!!” so many times when I was a new writer, but rarely has someone helped me understand it. Sometimes it doesn’t help to just say “show don’t tell!” or “dialogue is bland” or “it’s boring”. It may or may not be true, but this kind of feedback could only hurt the author’s feelings.
For me, true feedback is when someone takes the time to explain what’s not working and why it isn’t working.
Since none of my Critique Partners or my Writing Buddies could point out what’s wrong with my writing style or my manuscript, I tried for a developmental editor. I’ll just summarize what she said.
Compliments aside, I’ve already received similar comments of what my strengths are. Her report only confirmed that it really is my strength, but I wanted to know is what I lacked. I’ll use one aspect as an example (World-building/Lore). She explained that my fear of info-dumping the readers has resulted in giving a bony structure of the lore and serving myself a huge disservice by depriving the readers of actual lore. Giving me tips on how to do that and giving me examples of opportunities to insert information was a huge help to me. Eventually, I captured the essence of her advice and now I’m able to find opportunities myself and scatter the lore with just the right amount.
Let’s see an actual example of that.
I tested 10-15 editors, sending them the same chapter with the same context I mentioned above. Each of them provided different results, some satisfactory, some not and some have mutual feedback as the other.
Showing with solution
One of the things some editors did is just indent the next paragraph without explanation. I can see it through the track changes, but doesn’t really say anything. They could assume I made a mistake and missed to indent it–but on the other hand, I also didn’t know it should be consistent. So one editor added a comment to let me know why she kept indenting it.
"Dialogue and paragraphs should both be indented for consistent style."
This helps me, in a sense that, when I write again or revise on my own, I’m aware to keep the indentation consistent instead of having that same mistake all over again (because no one told me why it’s wrong and why it needs to be corrected).
Let’s try another one.
"This kind of sentence delays the action. Cut to the chase."
Comments don't necessarily have to be a long explanation. A comment like this is enough to give me an idea of what I did wrong.
"I would rewrite: (insert suggestion)"
There are some who would be kind enough to give me suggestions, just to give me an idea of the kind of changes I could do and not space out on it.
Showing without solution
"Is this supposed to be the same guy? Fix the term so it’s simpler for the reader to understand."
There are some who would point out what’s wrong and suggest fixing it (without providing a suggested solution). (Disclaimer: My personal preference) It’s okay too because it gives me a wider set of choices on how to fix it. If they suggest a solution, my mind tends to lean on it immediately without exploring other choices.
Opinion on writing style
I encountered a few editors who expressed their personal opinion on how to write certain sentences or words. Now there’s really no official way to do this, I just thought that the way one editor imparted was better than the other.
Word: 10:00 am or Ten o’clock am? Word: 21st century or twenty-first century? Word: bff or BFF?
One of the editors commented (on time): "This is technically okay, but my personal preference is to spell out times in books."
A different editor commented (on BFF): "This is capitalized in Merriam-Webster, though you could make the stylistic choice not to."
Up to you how you want to take that one haha.
Reader reaction
One of my favorite feedback is receiving reader reactions because technically, once my book is out, their reactions (the fangirling, the theories, the shipping and whatnot) is what I’m dreaming they’d do lol. Editors who add this in their report are my favorite.
"This got a laugh out of me!" (At least I know the scene I wanted to be funny, is actually funny and I’m not the only one laughing lol)
"I am hating this character right now!" (Love them, hate them–it’s still a reaction and I love them).
This helps me know if I’m doing characterizations right, pulling scenes together and not just throwing in unnecessary moments into the fray.
Plot-picking
What I love about dev editors is not just them handing me compliments of what they loved. They’re developmental editors because they help me close plot holes, expand on important details, trim the unnecessary and be consistent with what works.
I like this opening sentence - funny :) I just wonder to what extent it sounds less like a statement and more like a sentence that hooks the reader. How is her job connected to the zombie apocalypse?
and...
I think that the opening can introduce the setting of the story more vividly - focus on that, give us more details related to the time and place, the famous tourist destination of your setting, instead of just mentioning it in passing - for atmosphere and set up of the story world.
These are the kind of comments that make me think about the direction I’m going for. Food for thought that “oh this is what the reader thinks, it’s close to what I want them to think” or “the reader’s thoughts is far from what I want, maybe I should shift the direction to…”
Ending
Honestly, there is so much more they can do but these are some green flags for me personally and I’m super happy to have met the editor for my book.
I hope this helps. Happy writing!
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