Listening to the Author, the Manuscript, and Yourself

Keen listening can make or break any relationship, and this holds true for many aspects of editing.

Editors do their best work when listening to the author, to the manuscript, and to their own inner voices and needs.

Listening to the Author

Intake forms and introductory conversations enable authors to express valuable information that enhances the editor–author relationship (or indicates that the author might not be ready for an editor or might be a better fit with another editor).

The following are important questions to keep in mind:

What are the author’s goals?

An author who wants to post a book to achieve a life goal and who has no expectation of readership beyond a few close friends or family members may have different needs than an author who hopes their book becomes a runaway bestseller. This will affect their budget and the levels of editing they are willing to embrace.

An author who wants only for their book to be given a good copyedit may be happy with that, but the editor needs to question whether it’s the kind the book the editor wants to work on, knowing larger structural issues are likely present, and whether the author will actually be happy in the long run (the author might be driven by the rush to publish or secretly believe their book is fine because they aren’t aware of the structural issues).

An editor can perform a great service for the author by laying out the full editing process, from developmental editing to proofreading, and giving the author the knowledge to reconsider their options in light of their budget and goals.

What kind of story is the author trying to tell?

An author who provides their genre, a log line, and a story blurb can tell the editor a lot about the story the author wants to tell. A romance without a happily ever after or happily for now would indicate that the story isn’t actually a romance and could be indicative of other misunderstandings about genre conventions and reader expectations. Helping the author match their intent with their output can be a wonderful aid.

Is the author ready for editing?

The rush to publication can affect decision-making. If it’s the first week of December and the author is ready to have their NaNoWriMo novel go through the editing process, they may need to let it sit for a spell and then get down to the hard work of self-editing.

Before any level of editing, the farther along the author can develop the manuscript, the farther along the editor can ultimately take it.

Is the author comfortable paying for a service?

Editing can be expensive, especially when putting a manuscript through multiple levels of editing, and authors may need to shop around for an editor in their price range. But at any fee, an author who understands the need for the editor’s services and is willing (and able) to pay the editor and receive value from the editor is more likely to enjoy a worthwhile relationship with that editor.

Authors have budgets that are a reality and that are specific to every author and their particular situation, and editors, of course, should provide the best value for their services. But if an author is uncomfortable with paying a fee, or if the fee is too far outside their budget, then they are more likely to oppose editorial suggestions, because they will be looking for ways to devalue the service and justify why they shouldn’t be paying for it.

A healthier relationship is one where the author values the service and is able to weigh suggestions, make decisions, and communicate preferences to the editor. The editor, again, needs to provide good value, and part of that value is listening to and being responsive to the author’s needs.

What level of editing does the author need?

Authors often contact editors looking for a “quick proof,” believing that’s all that’s necessary, but this is usually far from what the manuscript needs.

New authors are often unaware of the levels of editing and might be confused by the differences among developmental editing, line editing, copyediting, and proofreading. And to be fair, editors’ definitions for these levels aren’t always entirely consistent, so that conversation between the author and editor about what each level entails is extremely important.

Just as it’s important for an author to satisfy reader expectations for their genre (or subvert those expectations in interesting ways without falling out of the genre entirely), it’s important for an editor to fulfill author expectations. And the first step is listening to the author.

Listening to the Manuscript

The manuscript itself can tell the editor a lot about how the editor should edit, and it may even tell the editor something different from what the author has expressed.

What is the manuscript telling me about how I should edit?

Different manuscripts have different needs, and there’s no absolute right way to edit at any level (two equally adept editors may take different approaches to a manuscript). At the level of punctuation, for example, a copyeditor will likely embrace sparser punctuation for a fast-paced thriller than for something like a literary novel.

With a structural edit, the editor may need to address ways in which the creation doesn’t match the author’s stated intent, which can be quite revealing for the author.

Are there tools that can help me listen to the manuscript in a different way?

Word’s ReadAloud feature or any text-to-voice feature provides another way of listening and is fantastic for catching cleanup edits such as missing words or transposed words. Listening to the manuscript being read aloud helps you process the text in a different way, whether listening for sentence-level edits or bigger story concerns, and it’s become an invaluable tool.

Listening to Yourself

Editors do their best work when they have good feeling toward the author and the manuscript, and also when the editor’s mental and physical health are in the best place they can be.

Am I the best editor for this book or author?

An editor might not like working on a particular kind of book. I love to work on horror and romance and am comfortable with extreme horror and open-door romance. Some editors aren’t, and they would likely gravitate to the kind of work that makes them happy.

Moving into another kind of editing (from copyediting to line editing, for example) can be a wonderful part of an editor’s journey, but an editor has to listen to their inner voice to know whether they’ve had sufficient training and are ready to make that step.

Editors also work in different ways and have their own ways of communicating, and this might not be a good fit for an author. That’s okay too. There are a lot of great editors out there, and one is bound to be a good fit for the story and author.

What kind of editing should I be doing?

Again, I believe that editors do their best work when they work on material they love. I have preferred genres, though I also like varying my work, but if an editor has a kind of work they don’t enjoy, that’s bound to come out in some way in all the little decisions they make while editing.

Where an editor takes joy might change as well, so this involves monitoring oneself. Am I still enjoying copyediting? How do I feel about line editing? Developmental editing? Editors, like authors, are on journeys, and it’s a wonderful part of the profession.

What is that little voice telling me?

A little voice might be telling an editor that they aren’t right for a job or that they should look something up or that some little bit of continuity seems a bit off. It always pays to listen to that voice.

How do I feel physically?

So much of editing is physical and is affected by sleep and physical requirements. We spend uncountable hours at our workspace, so always asking how we can make that space better suited for our bodies can help us do better work. What is our body telling us? What can we do to answer its concerns?

How’s my concentration?

For freelancers, deadlines can conflict with getting sick or other life events, so there are undoubtedly times when editors have to push through when they’re not in a good place for editing. Scheduling is a challenge, but building in extra time for jobs (when possible) and overlapping work are strategies that can help editors care for themselves while still hitting client deadlines.

Freelancers can also listen to themselves in terms of the best time of day to do their work. When are their concentration levels highest? Can they do their editing work at this time and more mechanical tasks at a time when their concentration isn’t necessarily at its best? Life and family may decide when work can be done, but being aware of ideal times can at least give editors a work schedule to aim for.

Am I loving the work?

I’ve mentioned this a few times, but it’s a good thought to end on, even just for wishing other editors an abundance of joy in their work. Freelance editing isn’t the easiest path, and challenges upon challenges await for running your own business. But a love for authors and a desire to help authors improve their craft, a love for story, and a love for the work goes a long way toward making us better at our jobs.