08 Sep 7 Reasons Hiring a Professional Editor Will Improve Your Book

Why Your Editor is Your Book’s Best Friend

Written by Bryan Szabo and Daniela Cavalletti

Some authors who’ve had their book manuscripts edited by us confess that, initially, they had to work up the courage to approach an editor at all. Many of their concerns stemmed from stories about some bad eggs in the industry (yup, there are cowboys in every industry) that foster myths and misunderstandings about what an editor does, might or doesn’t do.

Working with a book editor is a big step. So we always ensure you have a good long chat with the best-fit editor from our team before committing to working with us.

Building trust and close working relationships takes time, and we ensure we give our clients all the time it takes. Through openness, clarity, and demystifying the book publishing processes.

And once that relationship has been built you have a true friend and supporter in your corner. One whose professional skill and knowledge will help you produce your best book possible:

#1 – We Support Your Passion

Constructive criticism – an independent, professional view – is what you come to an editor for. An improvement of your ideas-presentation, not to have your ideas or writing cruelly pulled apart. A good editor is also a people’s person, with a strong level of empathy, integrity and care. As your editor we work hand in hand with you to bring your manuscript up to publishing standard, but we’ll never criticise you, your process or your writing struggles. A great editor wants you to feel proud of what you’ve accomplished (and any manuscript that’s ready to be edited is a huge accomplishment). Your editor will support you, never put you down.

#2 – We Protect Your Ideas

Your intellectual property (‘IP’) is safe with a reputable, great editor. Under no circumstances will they share them with anybody else. Confidentiality and trust are a crucial part of an editor’s job, and you can rest assured that – no matter how revolutionary your ideas – a professional editor will never betray your confidence. A great editor is protective of your work and ideas – and has a strong moral code.

#3 – We Value Your Writing

You’ve worked hard to prepare your manuscript, and the products of such tenacious mental labour is something you’ll naturally feel proud and protective of. Books often take on their own personality for the writer and to authors a manuscript can almost become like a friend or a child. And so it’s completely normal to feel protective of your work. Your editor will undoubtedly suggest that parts of your manuscript be changed, but they will not respond to your ideas or your work with the kind of criticism you find in unfavourable book reviews. Your editor is on your team, and will help buttress and strengthen your manuscript and writing.

#4 – We Keep Your Book’s Essence Intact

Through each stage of the editing process, your book will be undergoing changes, some of them significant. On this journey, your editor will always help you present your ideas in the best possible light, not change your actual ideas. They will structure and clarify your thinking, and they will add strength and elegance to your writing. But they won’t change your intellectual property, your main premise, your reason for writing the book in the first place. A good editor will always preserve the essence of your book, never change it so much as to make your book unrecognisable for the initial draft and concept you supplied them with.

#5 – We Work as a Team

Asking an author to rewrite a section or chapter of their manuscript without providing concrete guidance is unhelpful. Instead, a reputable editor will provide steadfast guidance and clear instructions on what needs to be amended and why. They’ll ask questions, learn and throw ideas in the ring for you to work through together. They will re-write paragraphs for you, guide and support you. Yes, your editor will be asking you to make changes to your manuscript –  but they’ll be doing so in ways that add clarity and calm to the process, and your book.

#6 – We’re Honest With You

It is important to mention that it is your editor’s job to be entirely honest with you. While family, friends, and colleagues may provide consistently positive feedback, there is a chance that some of this feedback has been coloured by your personal, romantic, or professional relationships. They’ll often end up trying to be ‘nice’, rather than being utterly truthful (or able to, if they re not in the intended target audience). Your editor will tell you straight up what needs changing while always making sure to deliver feedback in respectful ways. They will not tell you that your book is as good as it can be until they can stake their professional reputation on that claim. Your editor may challenge you, but they will never lie to you.

#7 – We Stay the Distance

Sometimes, you might start working with an editor before your manuscript has been finalised. We’ve worked with authors stuck at a number of very different stages when they came to us: honing the main idea, completing the manuscript, finding the right title, fine-tuning their audience-appropriate voice, and many more. A professional editor will be able to jump in at any of those stages and workshop with you through the hurdles you’re facing in getting your book idea, main premise and actual manuscript out into the world. Your editor will never leave you in the cold, but make sure you and your work feel and are cared for.

Which Editor is Right for You?

It’s important to trust your instincts and immediate reaction to a first conversation with your potential editor. Are they caring, patient and curious? Do you feel you like them as a person? Do they seem to ‘get’ you? And do they have experience and a structured process?

Trust and easy communication are the core ingredients of an excellent working relationship with your editor.

And a great editor? They foster and perfect those traits, always putting you and your book first.