Thread by @melisscaru

I just had a great question that has inspired me to do a thread about the many stages of editing! And also how other people (CPs, agents, editors, etc) get involved in the process, and who ultimately does what.

(Spoiler: Ultimately, you do everything. But other people can be INCREDIBLY SUPER HELPFUL AND AWESOME.)

So, stage one: Write novel. Done? YAY!!! Congratulations!

Stage two: Edit it yourself. You can do this any way you like, but I find it really useful to approach it in rounds that more or less mirror the editing process at a publisher:

Structural edits - In this round, you look at the big picture. Fix issues with stuff like pacing, character arcs, through line, agency, etc. These are edits that affect your outline. You'll probably cut or rewrite whole chapters. Don't be afraid to make really big changes!

If you're cutting up an onion, structural edits are when you cut it in half, cut the ends off, and peel it. You're just getting it into a shape where you can even work with it.

Scene level edits - Once you've finished strucutural edits and have the right things happening in the right order, you can go in and make the book better scene by scene. Raise the scene stakes, fix continuity, scene level pacing, dramatic tension, relationships & emotions, etc.

Somewhere around here, I like to bring in an early reader or two for feedback. A trusted CP (critique partner) or beta reader who is good at structural, big picture stuff. Someone who can tell you which characters are & aren't working, which subplots are & aren't compelling. etc.

If you're agented, this might be your agent. This shouldn't be someone who'll just cheerlead (though it's great to have cheerleading readers too! Morale is important). You need someone who can tell you your MC is unlikeable or your stakes are weak in a way you'll listen to.

You don't have to do everything this trusted reader says, but you should listen to their feedback, look at your book, and try to figure out why they had that reaction and what YOU think is the best way to fix the underlying issue.

This may lead to more structural or scene level edits. Heck, it may lead to starting over from scratch.

If so, that's fine. That's GOOD. You're working on your book to make it better. Making your book better is awesome, and you should feel badass and excited about it.

(Oh, note that this trusted reader might be a paid professional freelancer who gives structural feedback, too. That's also fine, but it's not necessary. There are lots of different avenues to get good feedback on your book. Once you find a good beta reader, TREASURE THEM.)

At this stage, you've sliced the onion.

You're pretty happy with the shape of the book. You think you've made it structurally as good as it can be, and you've infused every scene with as much power as you can. The story itself is as good as you can make it.

Now you can finally do line edits!

I strongly recommend not fiddling around too much at the line level before this point. It sucks to perfectly polish a scene and then wind up cutting or rewriting it. Save the line edits for last!

This is where you do stuff like word choice, making sure you use strong verbs, hunting down your crutch words, grammar & punctuation, glossing up your voice & character voices, etc. Polishing up the language of the story to a high shine.

This is also another place where, if you choose, you could bring in a hired freelance editor. You absolutely don't have to, and I personally don't. But if you think you're weak on grammar/punctuation/etc, then you might consider it (and learn from the process).

Note that if you're self publishing rather than seeking traditional publication, then you probably DO need to hire an editor, but I don't know enough about self publishing to tell you when in the process or how many rounds.

Now if you're seeking an agent, you might get one more round of feedback and then query! Woo hoo! But bear in mind that if you're successful, there is YET MORE EDITING in your future.

If you have an agent, and that agent gives editorial feedback, then at one or more points in this process you may go through some edit rounds with your agent. (This can vary wildly by agent, and so it's good to know your preferences before you sign with one!)

My agent helps me with brainstorming if I want, but generally only sees the book once it's as done as I can make it. But I have friends with agents who like to see a few sample chapters early on. It really varies!

What your agent WON'T do is edit your book for you. That's up to you.

They may give you feedback on things you can improve, and can help you brainstorm ways to fix it, but you're the author and it's ultimately up to you to do the work.

This is actually great, because it means you have creative control. If an agent or editor makes a suggestion you don't like, then a GOOD agent or editor will be cool with it if you want to solve the issue a different way (so long as you solve it).

If you get an offer and a publisher takes you on, WOO HOO! CONGRATULATIONS!!! It's time to PARTY, by which I mean...

START ALL OVER AT THE BEGINNING OF THE EDITING PROCESS.

I'm sure this may vary from publisher to publisher, but I believe the basics are the same.

You get an edit letter and also sometimes a phone call, talking about structural edits the editor wants you to make to your book.

DO NOT BE SCARED. This is good. No, really.

Unpublished me would have thought that getting a 10 page letter about things that weren't good enough about my book would be terrifying and demoralizing. Published me finds it REALLY EXCITING because my editors are AMAZING and I read along nodding and going YES, YES!

Okay, also a little terrifying. BUT the whole time I'm like BWA HA HA YES! I CAN REBUILD YOU, BETTER, FASTER, STRONGER!

Again, the work is all up to you, the writer, though. You have to decide HOW to make it better, and then do the work.

Personally, I get that 10 page edit letter and then in my excited haze think of like 400 other things I can also do to make the book better, and the edit litter winds up only being like 30% of the changes I make.

Yes, this is after already polishing the HELL out of that book.

Then you go through at least one more round of line & scene edits, wiith your editor making suggestions in the text. These can be more specific, but again, how exactly you edit is ultimately up to you, and you'll also keep doing your own edits as well.

I should add that editing is a skill, and a really hard one to learn, and it's okay if you don't feel like you have any idea how to do it. Keep practicing and keep learning, and you'll totally level up.

When your editor is done, the book goes to a copyeditor, who is the one completely amazing individual who will actually fix things for you. They mark up your book fixing all the grammar errors and catching typos and such.

Even here, you can choose to let things stand (stet).

When all is said and done, I usually have done anywhere from 4-10+ edit passes on my own, 0-3 with my agent, and 3-4 with my editors (counting copyedits). Your mileage may vary, but I think this is fairly typical.

Editing is a HUGE part of writing!

And now I need to go eat pancakes (mmm, pancakes), so I'll leave you with that. Happy editing!