Tag: editing

Is My Manuscript Ready for Professional Editing?

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By Caylah Coffeen

You’ve completed your manuscript! Congratulations! That’s a huge milestone that many writers never reach. But how do you know if your book is ready for professional editing?

You may have a lot of conflicting thoughts and emotions. Authors are known for beating themselves up. You may think your work could never be good enough or that there’s no way anyone would ever buy your book. These feelings of doubt may make you think that a professional edit will never be worth it.

Or you may love your story and characters so much that you find it difficult to receive feedback or think of your book from a business angle. It’s hard to step back and ask, “is this a marketable product?” Some authors double down about making any changes to their story.

With so many emotions tangled up in your projects, how can you attain a clear perspective on the current state of your manuscript?

We’ve got a checklist for you.

But first, tell yourself two things (try saying them out loud):

  1. My story is wonderful! I am a valuable writer. I work hard to improve and can! There are readers out there who will love my book! Be kind to yourself! Everyone starts somewhere.

  2. Every book will benefit from an outside perspective and edit, no matter how talented the author. No one should complete a book in a vacuum. Stories are made for other people, and while you may not incorporate all advice you receive, feedback is invaluable.

The Checklist

The easiest way to self-assess your manuscript’s readiness is to consider how many edits you have already completed and how much feedback you’ve received from others.

Did you know that most published books undergo 8-10 edits before reaching shelves? That’s right. 8-10! And many manuscripts undergo 3-5 edits before they’re ready for a professional editor.

Here’s an editing checklist I recommend every author complete before investing in a professional edit:

  • Step 1: “The Cleanup Edit”
    Complete 1 self-edit – this will help you catch many inconsistencies or errors in your first draft and improve readability for others.

  • Step 2: “The Critique Edit”
    Find a critique partner (a fellow writer in your genre) and complete 1 edit incorporating their feedback.

  • Step 3: “The Alpha Edit”
    Find 1-3 alpha readers to provide feedback about their reading experience (what they liked, what they found confusing, when/if they lost interest) and make edits accordingly. Alpha readers perform the same tasks as beta readers, but betas often offer feedback later in the process, after a developmental edit, since their role is to offer subjective feedback about what readers experience, not editorial advice.

  • Step 4: “The Workshop Edit”
    Consider joining a writing group or workshop to receive multiple perspectives from fellow authors at once. Or exchange your manuscript with your initial, or a second, critique partner. Edit accordingly.

The Work is Worth it

We know this task list sounds daunting – it’s a lot of work! Potentially years worth of work. But don’t be too hard on yourself, as this is the case with every specialty. It takes time to perfect your craft. Doctors spend 7 years in school and residency programs before they can practice independently. Artisans spend decades in apprenticeships and working before they can be considered a master. Acclaimed photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson famously once said:

“Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst.”

Henri Cartier-Bresson

Wildly popular SFF author Brandon Sanderson says he wrote 13 novels over 8 years before he ever sold his first!

Consider this period of drafting and editing to be your “author apprenticeship.” It’s worth putting in the time to complete these 4 rounds of edits, and you will save a lot of pain and money in the long run if you do.

You may be coming off the high of finishing your first manuscript and are excited to see what an editor would think. Perhaps it feels less daunting to recruit a professional than it does to start again at the very beginning (that’s what coaching is for!). But let me assure you that a first draft is not ready for a professional edit. Likely, neither is a second.

How We Can Help

But our team here at Creative Cornerstones offers support through all of these stages! You don’t have to figure it out alone. We can suggest training resources, conferences, offer 1:1 coaching, and even help you find critique partners and alpha readers through social media or local groups.

Even if you have not completed 4 rounds of edits on your manuscript, you are always welcome to send us your first 1000 words to receive a sample edit. Email them to creativecornerstones@gmail.com.

Or schedule a free 20 min consultation over Zoom to discuss your goals and best next steps!

Schedule a Free Consultation!

We want to help you achieve your dream of becoming a successfully published author!

Hi, I’m Caylah Coffeen, a freelance editor and marketer of sci-fi and fantasy books. I love reading and writing and am a follower of Jesus Christ.

I’ve worked for Monster Ivy Publishing and Eschler Editing, and am currently a weekly editor with Havok Publishing. Reach out to chat about books and publishing!

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