What editors can (and can’t) do for you
New year, new resolutions … it’s that time when the Angel Editors start getting an uptick in inquiries about our services. Which means it’s a good time to talk about what editors can do for you and your manuscript—and what we can’t.
Contrary to what you might think, we don’t automatically jump on all the requests for editorial services that come our way just to turn a quick buck. (Be wary of those editors who just quote prices without asking questions!) Editing requires a serious investment of time on our part—time that we might be spending on other clients, our own writing, or just living life. So we want to make sure the project is a good fit, for both editor and client. Can our expertise help the writer improve their manuscript?
The Angel Editors aren’t always chained to our keyboards…
So we often ask questions of our prospective clients beyond the standard “what format-age category-word count-genre is it?” These might include:
Are you looking to publish traditionally, self-publish, or just improve your craft?
What do you think are the biggest concerns with your manuscript?
What are your top goals for the editing process?
How long have you been working on this project, and has it been critiqued before?
What are the last five books you read in this category/genre, and what are your favorites?
Have you read craft books or attended conferences? Are you willing to do “homework” outside of writing?
Your answers to these kinds of questions can help us determine how best to assist you. And sometimes the answer is we can’t help. If someone comes to us and says, “I’ve just finished the first draft of my 100,000 word middle grade fantasy and I want you to line edit it so I can send it to an agent next month,” we’re going to turn that job down as impossible. (Middle-grade novels, even fantasies, rarely exceed 65-75,000 words. Especially not debuts! And you never want to send an agent anything less than your most polished work, meaning it likely needs multiple revision passes.)
Gotta look your best before you parade in front of judges!
So what can an Angel Editor help you do?
For beginners, we can do editorial assessments to help evaluate the potential of your story. Where is it working, and where can it be improved? Is your novel middle-grade or young adult or adult, and does it matter which? Does your picture book have potential to be illustrated, or would it be better as a short story? If it rhymes, does the meter work? Some of us also offer author coaching, where we offer advice on anything from which projects need your focus to how to navigate the querying process.
For those stuck in revision hell, we can do developmental edits. We’ll help you identify the strengths of your story, as well as those places where you can make it better. Does the plot make sense? Does the world feel real? Do the characters change and grow? With a substantial edit, we can also help you polish your prose after you’ve wrestled the story into submission.
For those looking to self-publish, we have Jennifer offering her expertise in navigating the maze of indie publishing. We have copy editors and proofreaders to check grammar, continuity, and spelling, so that your readers won’t be writing you to point out you’re continually mixing up your pronouns.
To put it simply, we’re here to help you make your work blossom.
And how do we do this? We have years and years of editing experience, both as in-house publishing staff and as freelancers. We have master’s degrees in writing, which means we’ve studied craft in depth—and we continue to study it! We’ve read hundreds of books as part of that master’s course—and we continue to read widely, so we have an idea of the market. We’ve attended dozens of professional conferences—some of us help plan them—so we have experience of the publishing industry. And the Angel Editors consult with each other, so when you hire one of us, you’re actually getting access to all our knowledge.
Even so, there are some things that we can’t do for you.
We can’t guarantee you’ll get published. We can help you create the best version of your work that you can make, but there’s an element of serendipity when it comes to publishing. Your book has to be great, yes, but it also has to connect with that one editor who will fall in love and become its fiercest advocate. And even then, their company has to think they can sell it! There are plenty of wonderful stories that don’t get picked up because publishers didn’t think there was a market for them.
We can’t guarantee you’ll find an agent. If anyone is guaranteeing this, please watch your wallet! Again, it’s the serendipity. We can help you polish your manuscript, we can teach you to revise, we can help you write a great query, but we can’t make an agent fall in love. That depends on your story making a personal connection.
We can’t connect you with an agent. We’re in the same industry with agents, but we’re not close colleagues. We don’t have the kind of relationships where we can presume to recommend people to them. We can offer our clients advice on how to query, what to look for in an agent, resources to discover who might be a good fit (MSWL, anyone?), but there’s no shortcut available.
And that’s an idea I want to leave you with. When it comes to writing, there are no shortcuts through the dense, seemingly impenetrable forest that is “publishing success.” The Angel Editors can show you the paths we know, we can help you fight off monsters, we can give you a backpack filled with tools and treats, but you still have to make that journey yourself, step by step.
Diane has been wandering the publishing woods for a while, but she has a map, a good compass, and an endless supply of snacks. If you’d like to hire her as a guide, you can read more here.