7 Steps in the Editorial Process

What to expect from a publisher's editorial process

No work is perfect. That's the truth, so let it liberate you from perfectionism.

No one expects perfection from you. Don't expect perfection from yourself.

No perfect writer exists, which leads to what I want to discuss today. Editing and revision in the course of writing and publishing.

Most books go through several rounds of editing and revision before publication. At one time, I heard that a famous author of epic novels had a non-editing clause in her contract. I don't know if this is truth or internet rumor, but I can assure you, such a thing would be a mistake. Every work can be made stronger through the editorial process.

An editor makes the work better. Writing and editing are collaborative processes. Editors are an asset, not gate guardians (although they can be).

So let's talk about the many ways your book will be polished and improved before publication, because this will demonstrate that every book on the market has gone through multiple stages of editing. What you see on the page is the result of finely honed editing and collaboration skills, not inherent genius (although for some writers that may also be true).

1) Self-editing & Revision pre-submission

You are probably editing and revising as you work. You'll receive critiques, feedback, and workshop commentary to improve your original submissions. You'll read/revise/edit after you finish the first draft. And once you think it's polished, you'll send it to an editor/agent. What follows are the steps in their process.

2) Revise & Resubmit

Some publishers have a little test between the "we like the work and are considering publication" and actual publication. That's called a revise and resubmit letter. The editor sends you a letter in which they say they are interested in contracting with you, but they need you to make some changes before they will go to contract.

I had one of these early in my career, before I jumped onto the mommy-track, and I didn't realize that the editor wasn't saying she hated my work. She was saying she liked my work, but she wanted to see how well I took correction. Obviously, past-me failed that test. If you receive a lovely or not so lovely revise and resubmit, you're working without guarantee of contract, however, the editor took the time to evaluate the work and list what would improve the work and ready it for publication. They wouldn't waste their time if they weren't interested. 

If you get this letter, run-don't-walk to your computer and make the changes.

They're serious about your work, but want to see how you handle the revisions. How long does it take you? What's your attitude about the changes? (please don't argue with an editor/agent at this point... save that for when you have a standing (professional) relationship). How well did you make the proposed changes?

3) Content edits

These are larger revisions. Once you sign the contract, your book will go into a publication schedule based on a timeline your publishing house has preset. SO, you may not get edits for awhile after signing the contract, because it's not on their production timeline. When it is, your direct editor will send content edits. This is big picture editing that focuses on inconsistencies in story, character, plot, etc. My editor broke it down by chapter with about a paragraph of suggestions for each chapter. Others will use the comments and track changes in MS Word.

HOW you make those changes is typically up to you (depending on the editor), and yes, they can be annoying. I once had to change a character name because the publisher had just published a book from another author whose character had the same name. Do the work anyway.

4) Managing editor / Q&A

After content edits, the work goes to the managing editor for the particular line your work will be published under. This ensures the continuity in their published works.

5) Line edits

This is what I thought about when I thought of editing. It's when the editor adds comments and questions at the paragraph and sentence level, typically using comments and track changes. It's done after content/Q&A edits are completed and in the production timeline of the publishing house.

Translation: It feels like there's a lot of wasted time, but while the editor is working on your line edits, they're also working on someone else's content edits.

The process feels a bit like an assembly line, and each time, someone else wants you to make a change. It's all part of the process.

6) Copy Edits

The copy editor is the grammarian and style guide for the publishing house. Here's a for instance. My publishing house has a style sheet that italicizes sounds like boom, bang, clack. The copy editor makes those changes, but is also an expert at grammar and Chicago style who makes the grammar-approved changes so your high school English teacher doesn't email you with a list of grammar errors in your work.

7) Proofreader

The proofreader changes everything the copy editor did.

Sorry, I couldn't help myself. I’m (mostly) joking.

It certainly feels like this is true, because the copy editor will add a comma, and then the proofreader will suggest removing the comma. The real goal of the proofreader is to catch the final errors in the galley before your book goes to print.

When you consider that the work has gone through multiple edits with multiple people, the potential for dangling strings is high. This is why you sometimes see double-typed words or unfinished sentences in a published work. They're often pieces left over after changes during the line editing stage. The proofreader's job is to catch those and more.

Most publishing houses have a hard rule against major editing or revision at this stage, because the work is in the final stages and you don't have time to do another proofreading of the work.

Comparison kills

Don't compare your drafts to someone else's published novel.

These 7 steps represent the editing and revision necessary before a book is published. The goal of sharing this with you is to demonstrate that you can't compare your draft to a published novel. Your work doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to be a compelling story. The rest can be fixed in the editing process.

FMI: If you want to work on the first step (editing, critiques, and revision), join us for the July Lunch & Learn, a one-hour lunchtime workshop. Email Cindy@CSkaggs.com