What Happens When You Send Your Manuscript to an Editor? Understanding Editorial Services and the Creative Process
Sending your manuscript to an editor can feel a little daunting, especially if you're a first-time author. Writing your book likely took months, or even years, and now someone is going to read it.
What will they think? What if they don't like it? Will they be mean or just tell me what they think I want to hear?
With so many unknowns circling your brain, it's understandable why this step can feel intimidating.
But an editor is not there to mock your writing skills, your misplaced commas or remove your voice from your book. A good editor sees what you've written, learns what you're trying to do and guides you on fleshing out the book you intended to write.
An Editor Will Not Judge the Author Behind the Book
Every writer has one, usually unasked, question behind their editing enquiries: will an editor judge my writing?
Personally, I'm not a fan of the word 'judge'. It has negative connotations.
I prefer 'assess', which feels less critical and allows for thoughtful encouragement.
The truth is, an editor will 'assess' what's on the page (that's what you've hired them for), but they aren't judging you as a person or your abilities.
Editors are used to drafts and have seen manuscripts arrive at many stages of development. They have seen confusing timelines, characters whose names change halfway through the book, missing words and repeated phrases. These things are normal and all part of drafting.
Their job is to notice what a future reader might notice, then help solve it before the book reaches that reader.
That said, feedback isn't always easy to accept, and a comment about something you've worked so hard on can sting. But good editorial feedback will feel respectful whilst still being constructive. It will be based on the effect the issue will have on the reader and not personal likes or dislikes.
For self-publishing authors, editing is also part of quality control. Without a traditional publishing team behind the book, it's up to the author to choose the right support at the right time. That might mean a broad manuscript evaluation for big-picture feedback, a close line and copyedit for consistency, flow and a smooth reading experience, a final proofread to catch any lingering or introduced errors, or even audiobook script editing if they plan to have the story narrated.
Different services solve different problems. Knowing the difference makes the process less confusing and much less intimidating.
What Happens After an Author Sends Their Manuscript to an Editor?
The exact process varies from editor to editor, and will depend on the service you've requested or discussed during initial conversations. (Below is my process for each service I offer, so be sure to ask questions before hiring an editor to make sure you're happy with their process.)
Manuscript Evaluation
A manuscript evaluation is a big-picture assessment of your novel. It is often the right choice if you want professional feedback when a manuscript feels 'nearly there', but you sense something isn't working. It is also useful when early readers give conflicting feedback. My manuscript evaluations can help separate personal preference from craft issues and give you a clear revision path before you invest in detailed sentence-level editing.
The Process:
At least 24 hours before our agreed start date, you send me your whole manuscript in either a PDF or Word document (at this stage, it doesn't matter what format you send it to me in as no direct changes or comments will be made to the file) and note any specific things you want feedback on. I open the file to ensure there are no issues and the evaluation can go ahead as scheduled.
I read the full manuscript, making notes as I go.
Once the read-through is complete, I then type up a report. The content of the report will always be tailored to your story's needs. This may cover structure, plot, pacing, character development, point of view, info-dumping, chapter order, genre expectations and/or reader experience.
My reports tend to follow an organised structure so they don't feel chaotic and overwhelming to read; however, I'm also happy to adapt my reports to a way that works for you (e.g. if you are neurodivergent and need feedback to be exact and to point specifically to the target areas in need).
The report usually follows:
Story summary: this is a summary of how I've interpreted your novel. This means you get to see how an outsider follows your story and if it mirrors your intention.
Strengths: this is where I detail what you do well. Not only does it give you encouragement, it helps you recognise what you are good at and where you might be able to implement these in other places within this particular manuscript, but also in your future writing.
Potential areas to improve: here I highlight some of your weaker areas and suggest ways you could improve them. Where possible, I'll steer you towards resources you might find helpful.
Other points observed: as I read your manuscript, I might come across some recurring or stand-out problems. This can range from incorrect chapter numbering or a repeated phrase to confusing characters in a scene.
What to do now: in this section, I guide you on revising your novel and what your next steps should be.
Final thoughts: this is where I summarise the report and get to remind you that you have done something truly amazing and that you can do it!
As no direct changes or comments are left in the manuscript, I may mention examples or quote short passages, but the main deliverable is guidance.
You will receive weekly updates from me so you aren't left in the dark as to how things are going whilst your novel is in my care.
Upon return, if you have any questions about anything written in the report, we can have a chat about them.
Combined Line and Copyediting
Many editors offer these as two separate services, but I find it's extremely unusual for the services not to overlap. This is why I combined the services, which also aids self-publishers with budget constraints who may struggle to afford both services.
Both of these look at your manuscript on a sentence level and improve how your writing reads, sounds and affects your reader.
Line editing is all about improving flow, readability and engagement, whilst copyediting looks at the technicalities, such as accuracy, consistency and grammar.
The Process:
After confirming that this is the service you require, I will send you a pre-edit questionnaire. It doesn't take long to fill out, but it helps guide my edits and advice. It asks things like your spelling preferences (e.g. US or UK), your target audience (e.g. so I can ensure word choices are suitable), or whether you've written or published a book before (e.g. so I can tailor my advice given what you might or might not already know).
At least 24 hours before the agreed start date, you send me the manuscript as a Word document and any supporting files you may have created as you wrote your story (e.g. a style sheet, a timeline, a map). I open them to ensure there are no issues and the edit can go ahead as scheduled.
I read through your entire manuscript, making direct changes (e.g. adding a missing full stop or correcting a typo); querying anything that seems a little awkward, confusing or vague (where possible, I'll suggest a fix to consider); or commenting to provide an explanation as to why I've suggested an edit.
Every edit is thoughtful, considered and made by me (a human!). The aim is to protect your writer voice whilst ensuring readers enjoy a fluid reading experience without distractions pulling them out of the story.
As I edit, I will create a style sheet documenting all the editorial decisions I make, such as:
Preferred spellings
Character names
Place names
Timeline details
Treatment of numbers
Capitalisation choices
Special terms
Decisions on punctuation style
I also include a 'Global Notes/Queries' sheet, which documents any changes or queries that appear throughout. This saves me cluttering up the margins with the same query over and over again.
Each week I'll send you an email to let you know how the edit is going, and you can ask me any questions you may have.
Once complete, I'll return the manuscript, along with the style sheet and Global Notes/Queries sheet. If you have any questions about anything in any of the documents, we can discuss them.
Proofreading
Proofreading is the final stage before publication. This is not the time to make any structural changes or heavily rewrite your prose. This is about fixing definitive errors in text and formatting so your finished manuscript is polished for your readers. It should have been edited and typeset (the pages designed and print-ready).
Proofreading does not make a rough draft publication-ready. It protects a finished book from avoidable mistakes.
Proofreading is usually carried out on a PDF after typesetting. The proofreader works on proofs of what the finished book will look like, better enabling them to spot issues such as widows and orphans.
The Process:
At least 24 hours before work is scheduled to begin, you'll send me the PDF for proofreading and any supporting documents, such as a style sheet from your editor. If you haven't yet got a style sheet from an earlier editor, I can create one for you during proofreading. I can check the files opens without issue and that the proofread can begin as planned.
I read through your entire manuscript, using Adobe's annotation tools, such as strikethrough, 'insert text at cursor' and comments to flag any changes to be made.
I'll update you each week on how the proofread is going, and you can ask me any questions you may have.
Once complete, I'll return the proofread PDF along with a style sheet (if required). We can discuss anything in either file should you wish.
Audiobook Script Editing
Audiobook script editing is different from general manuscript editing. Where general manuscript editing can be looser with things like dialogue tags, cut-off speech and abbreviations, these don't often transfer well over audio.
Audio relies on spoken cues that print doesn't require because it has visual cues instead (e.g. a new line for a new speaker, an em dash for cut-off speech). Things like sentence structure and length might also need addressing so the narrator can breathe.
For self-publishing authors looking to have their novels narrated, you may decide to go straight for audiobook script editing. This service covers everything in my combined line and copyediting service, but with special attention to audio accessibility.
The Process:
Before work on your novel begins, I will send you a pre-edit questionnaire. It doesn't take long to fill out, but it helps guide my edits and advice. It asks things like your spelling preferences (e.g. US or UK) and your target audience (e.g. so I can ensure word choices are suitable).
I read through your entire manuscript, making direct changes (e.g. correcting capitalisation or applying a style); querying anything that seems a little awkward, confusing or vague (where possible, I'll suggest a fix to consider); or commenting to provide an explanation as to why I've suggested an edit.
I'll be paying close attention to details that might not transfer well over audio and suggesting ways to make them clearer for the listener.
Every edit is suggested based on knowledge, training, experience and made by me (a human!). The aim is to protect your writer voice whilst ensuring listeners can easily follow your story when there are no visual cues and they can't easily look back to check something.
As I edit, I will create a style sheet documenting all the editorial decisions I make, such as:
Preferred spellings
Character names
Place names
Timeline details
Treatment of numbers
Capitalisation choices
Special terms
Decisions on punctuation style
I also include a 'Global Notes/Queries' sheet, which documents any changes or queries that appear throughout. This saves me cluttering up the margins with the same query over and over again.
You will receive weekly updates from me so you know how things are going whilst your novel is in my care.
Upon return, if you have any questions about anything in any document I return, we can have a chat about them.
The Best Editorial Work Is Collaborative
Editors and authors have the same goal: to make the book the best it can be.
The editor brings craft knowledge, reader awareness and attention to detail. The author keeps creative authority.
An editor helps shape a book by guiding the author with editorial and industry knowledge, experience and skill. They protect the reader from experiencing disengagement, confusion or weakened trust. But the author still gets to overrule anything they disagree with or don't feel matches their vision.
However, there is also a quieter kind of shaping, built on positivity and encouragement. It's easy to point out the flaws, but what about the strengths?
This is why I like offering manuscript evaluations. I get a designated space to highlight what authors are good at and remind them what they've achieved. I also like to include positive comments in line and copyedits when a particular sentence, character, etc. makes an impression on me.
Wrapping Up
Handing your novel over to an editor can be intimidating, and you may be wondering whether they'll be judging your writing.
But it doesn't have to feel scary when you know what happens after you send your manuscript to an editor and understand the creative process.
The whole thing is collaborative, which is why a good editor-author relationship is key.
So now you know what happens when you send a manuscript over to me,
why don't you?
Hayley Rushbrook is a respectful, human fiction line and copyeditor and proofreader specialising in mystery, crime and thriller, romance, and general fiction, children's, middle grade, and YA.
She gives your hard work the careful attention it deserves, so it is remembered for all the right reasons.
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