A reader’s love for a book is possible because of those who spend many hours editing the book. It rarely occurs to a person who takes up a book to think about editing whatsoever. Readers notice the plot and remember some of the best phrases and may underline some inspiring thoughts.
They can express admiration of the author’s writing style, the cover of the book, and the organization of the book and its excellent smooth flow from one chapter to the next.
However, editing processes remain unnoticed in the sight of readers.
Editing has to be effective enough to make readers not pay attention to it.
A Manuscript Is Not Yet a Book
An author must recognize that completing a manuscript does not equal the completion of a book.
The manuscript is solely what the author puts together as the raw material.
In the manuscript, the author writes down his ideas, stories, arguments, experience, research, and imagination.
However, that does not imply that the author has expressed them in the most effective way.
Sometimes, the argument is buried in needless explanation.
Sometimes, an important story shows up too late.
Sometimes, chapters are identical.
Sometimes, the best idea sits in a paragraph that can be easily ignored.
Editing can help find all these things.
It does not ask only, "Is this grammatically correct?" But it also includes a more insightful question: "Does it work?"
Editing Is More Than Correcting Errors
Many assume the editor’s role is just to make sure that those spelling errors or misused commas are found.
However, these elements are only part of the editing process. While a manuscript may contain too many mistakes, the editing process does not stop at that point.
Editing has to be effectively done on the other levels too.
The developmental editor assesses things at the level of major elements like the form, the argument, the plot, the characters, the themes and the overall message of the text.
Line editing takes into account all the aspects of good sentences, including the need for clear language and compelling style.
As for copy editing, it implies checking that all the grammatical details are followed along with the other technical aspects of document completion.
The Editor Is Not the Author
The most common erroneous notion regarding editing is that editors should rewrite manuscripts in a way that they sound like the authors.
This is not correct editing.
Editors are not supposed to replace the authors' voices; their work is to help authors to recognize the sound of their voices.
Each writer has certain habits. Some write too much, while others do not write enough. Some people use long and complex sentences, while others overly repeat words.
However, such habits are not necessarily a sign of bad writing; rather, they indicate that somebody else could help you. The best editor is able to tell you, “Here is what I think you mean.
Can we make it clearer?” This is important. The author continues to remain the author, while the editor is his or her helper.
Good Editing Protects the Reader
In the end, the purpose of editing is to serve the reader.
The reader gifts the author with something valuable: time.
No matter if the reader takes three hours or three months reading a book, a certain amount of attention is given to the writer by the reader.
This trust should never be violated.
The reader should not struggle with recalling the meaning of a text.
He or she should not read a sentence a number of times until it becomes understandable.
He or she should not lose immersion into a narrative because of a typo.
A reader should not finish a chapter with the question of why it has been written at all.
Proper editing eliminates all these problems at once.
Sometimes the Best Editorial Decision Is to Cut
As a writer, this may be one of the most difficult lessons to learn.
Not everything you write needs to stay in the manuscript.
Writers get attached to their writing for a number of reasons: they often relate to the story and remember how they wrote down this or that passage, how much they researched some ideas or how difficult it may have been to get a few sentences or even paragraphs right.
However, the number of written words does not determine the efficiency of the book.
Books are acknowledged for the message they convey.
It frequently happens that some paragraph should be eliminated.
Or it may be that a chapter should be cut short.
Or it may be that a favorite story is rather interesting but does not make sense in the context of the book.
Editing implies making these decisions with courage.
The aim is not to keep all words in the manuscript.
The primary objective is to keep only the most important ones.
A Better Manuscript Begins With Better Questions
Effective editors do not simply edit the text.
They inquire.
Who will read this text?
What should the reader know after reading?
What is the main claim?
Where does the writing fall short?
What should be explained in more detail?
What can be left to the reader's discretion?
What does this one chapter do that other chapters cannot?
These questions may seem awkward but are crucial.
They transform the dialogue from "I wrote this" to "Will he/she be able to read this?"
It is an essential shift for a great writer.
The Quiet Standard Behind Great Books
What is interesting about good editing is the fact that when editing works on a book, no one praises the editor.
Instead, the reader makes a comment of what a good book it is because it is very easy to read.
Such ease, however, is not an accident.
It is achieved through the work of experienced professionals in back office: editing is done through people disputing the story's structure, finding inconsistencies, identifying unnecessary paragraphs, maintaining the author's style while improving the argument, and rewriting all the pages several times for the readers to read just once.
This is an unnoticed work of editing.
A good idea must be treated well, an interesting plot must be respected and author's life must be worth more than just a few pages.
It is essential that every manuscript has a qualified editor so that the work is done properly.
