I spent the last nine years of my life working with publishers, editors, and writing groups. Everyone touts their own writing process. I am no different. So, what follows is the process developed by myself and those I work with closely.
Once your manuscript is complete, it is time to consider what comes next. Most writers who desire to be published will do one of two things: shop their manuscript to publishers or choose to self-publish. Both have benefits and disadvantages. Either way, your manuscript should be combed over by a developmental editor.
Development editing is an extensive review of a manuscript. In fiction, this process looks for plot holes, pacing, and dialogue issues. Are your characters brought together in an organic way? Do your characters have unique personalities and distinct traits? Do they grow or devolve throughout the story in a natural way? Is it likely a car in the 1960s would have a car seat for a child? In nonfiction, this process looks for biasness, confrontation, and educational advancement within a piece. If this biasness is purposeful, does it lead to a call for action. Is the piece meant to be confrontational? If so, is the writer ready to address the confrontation? Educational advancement allows the reader to grow with the knowledge. Is the knowledge accurate or does it spread unverifiable misinformation?
Realistically, this step creates two or more draft of the manuscript.
When looking for a developmental editor, there are questions you need to ask yourself and the editor:
- Does the editor specialize in the genre you write in? A romance editor will not always be able to edit a science-fiction piece.
- Do you need validation in your writing? Do you need to know what you are doing right? Or can the editor simply send you corrections?
- Do you need to communicate face-to-face, in person or via online communications, such as Zoom? Or will email work?
- Are you working on a deadline? If you need a project returned to the publisher by a specific date, your editor will need to know this. The editor may or may not be able to fit you into their schedule.
- Finally, make sure you know how much you can afford to pay an editor and how much the editor charges for their skills. Will the editor require a deposit? Most do. How do they send out invoices? When will the final payment be expected?
If you are comfortable with the communication between you and the editor and the two of you are on the same page, expect the work to take several weeks. An editor should give you an expected completion time for your work to be returned. If this date has passed feel free to email the editor and request follow up information.
Be flexible. Remember editors are humans too and unexpected life experiences can sometimes cause delays.