How to Know If Your Novel Is Ready for an Editor?

You've finished your manuscript. You've revised it, edited it, and read it approximately 138 times. But how do you know if it's actually ready for a professional edit? If you are a first-time author, the answer to this question might not be obvious. Even experienced authors with several published books can struggle with the decision to let go of their book baby and leave it in the hands of an editor.

As a professional, full-time editor of six years, I'm here to give you some pointers to help you determine when the moment is right.

I always say that the first step after finishing the first draft of your manuscript is to walk away. Give it a couple of weeks, a month, even a couple of months. Allow yourself to forget what you've written. Then, when you come back to the manuscript for your first major revision, you'll have a fresh perspective and will see things you've read a hundred times but still have missed. This also happens to me, even with a chapter I've written a couple of days ago. 

Your first major revision might focus on different aspects, depending on your specific strengths and weaknesses as a writer. The main goal of this step is to make sure you have a strong plot, character arcs, and narrative. You might also want to review your scenes: Are they grounding the reader? Does each scene offer new information or move the plot forward? Does it have tension (either dramatic or subtle)?

Once you've completed that first major revision, you are one step closer to sending your manuscript for a professional edit. 

The result of this first major revision should also provide you with a story structure that is reasonably settled. Even if you plan to engage a developmental/structural editor, make sure you give them a solid story structure to build on.

Your plot should also be pretty much set before you send your manuscript to an editor. If you are no longer making major plot changes, your manuscript may be ready for a professional review.

Tip: If you've changed one or more characters' names midway through writing your book, search the entire document to make sure you didn't accidentally leave an old name. Yes, a copy editor should catch that. I can't tell how many times I've seen it in manuscripts I've edited, but a full document search takes only a couple of minutes and gives you peace of mind.

Another common issue I've seen while editing manuscripts is an inexplicable change in character details. He had blue eyes in Chapter 3, but in Chapter 7, his eyes are green. Her hair was curly in the previous scene, but now she's brushing her straight hair. The same goes for characters' traits, circumstances, and behaviors. I'm not saying people can't change, but this change needs to be explained or at least properly addressed. Otherwise, the reader is immediately pulled out of the story, and we don't want that. We want the reader to be sucked in from the first word to the last. Make sure your character details are consistent.

Before handing over your manuscript to a professional, make sure you've done at least one round of self-editing. If you're not sure what that entails, here's a useful self-editing guide for fiction writers. 

After you've completed your self-edit, you'll likely start looking for feedback. You might ask your partner/spouse, your mother, your friends, or colleagues to read your work and share their opinion. There's nothing wrong with that. However, remember these are subjective opinions. Think of your friends and family as alpha readers, but remember they have a personal connection to you. They might be afraid of hurting your feelings, or might not be fans of your particular genre, or might not even enjoy your writing style. That's perfectly normal. There's a reason professional editors exist, and that's to give you professional, objective, constructive, and actionable feedback to create the best version of your book.

The final and probably most important sign that it might be time to reach out to a professional book editor is that you are ready to receive feedback. You are itching for others to read your work and share their opinion. You've spent countless hours alone with these characters, and you can't wait for others to meet them, to get to know them, to see the world through their perspective. 

Your manuscript doesn't have to be perfect before you hire an editor. That's pretty much what you're hiring the editor for.

Not sure whether your manuscript is ready or whether we would be a good fit? Send me a sample, and I'll take a look.