Is My Book Ready for an Editor?

Over the course of my editing career, I’ve realized that there’s some irony to this question. Sort of a Dunning-Kruger effect, if you will. It always seems like my most self-deprecating clients — who insist that I be upfront with them if their book is a steaming pile of garbage — ultimately end up giving me some of the best manuscripts I’ve ever seen. And on the other side of the equation, I’m sometimes confidently handed long, rambling, nonsensical streams of consciousness that appear to have been written by a monkey on an acid trip. I hand those right back.

I know it’s hard to be objective about your own writing, but you don’t want to send your book off for editing, only to be told that it falls into the “monkey on acid” category. So, how do you know if your book is in tip-top shape and ready for an editor? By asking yourself these questions.

Have I done my own editing/revisions?

Writing is a process, and that process doesn’t end when you type . . . well . . . “The End.” What you have in your hands is a first draft, and now it’s time for you to break out your own red pen. You may also need your security blanket, a few stress balls, and copious amounts of alcohol — because, trust me, you’re going to be mortified by some of the things you wrote. And that’s okay!

What’s important is that you did, in fact, write a whole actual book. Kudos! But now it’s time to dig in and tackle the emotionally challenging task of figuring out everything that’s wrong with your writing. It’ll be rough, potentially embarrassing, and you might even hurt your own feelings, but you'll also come away from it a better writer with a greatly improved manuscript.

Am I still finding obvious errors?

There’s no specific number of edits or revisions that you should do on your own. Some writers are meticulous while writing, making improvements and correcting errors as they go, leaving them with very few issues when they reach the end. But other writers prefer to get all their thoughts and ideas down rapid-fire, then go back and fix mistakes later.

So whether you end up doing one round of editing or one dozen rounds, what’s important is that your manuscript is largely error-free and you feel good about the quality of your writing. If you aren’t confident in your ability to assess your own work, writing groups are great sources for an outside perspective. Which leads us to . . .

Have I gotten outside feedback?

Some writers (me) don’t like people to see their writing until it’s perfect, but like I said earlier, it’s hard to be objective when it comes to your own work. So don’t be afraid to turn to outside sources for feedback. As I already mentioned, online or in-person writing groups can be incredibly helpful, and there are tons of beta readers out there who would love to give their input.

When it comes to outside feedback, the best sources are those that can articulate what works and what doesn’t and give you specific suggestions for improvement. You can rope family and friends into reading your manuscript, but you may not get the quality feedback you need to actually make worthwhile changes.

Is there a particular challenge that’s holding me back?

You may find that there is one area in particular where you are struggling to make any meaningful improvements. Maybe you have a hard time with dialogue, or you can’t write action scenes to save your life. If you keep going back and revisiting the same issues over and over and just can’t seem to get it right, this is a good time to get an editor involved. They can help you define exactly what the problem is and teach you how to fix it. And on that note . . .

Am I making any progress on my own?

Whether your manuscript is as perfect as can be, or you’re stuck and can’t get any further on your own, it’s time to get an editor when you’ve stopped making any real progress. And this can happen at any point in the writing process — even the beginning. So if you’re banging your head against the wall and no new ideas are falling out, send me a message. I can help you take that next step and get your manuscript publishing-ready.