Novel Editing Services

Introduction

While I can commend an author’s bravery in self-publishing a novel without having consulted an editor’s opinion, as a book lover, reader, and editor, I cannot comfortably recommend they do so. This is especially the case for works of fiction—specifically, the novel.

For many aspiring writers, you might be wondering how you can get your book into the hands of leading publishers. For most of the authors entering into the industry for the first time and hoping to crack the New York Times Bestsellers list, the books that are reported as world-wide hits are outliers.

Preparing for Publication

The number of hoops authors must jump through to get their books published via the traditional route are increasing all the time. Not only has the market become increasingly competitive as a result of globalization, but the expected quality and level of writing have increased as well. To boost their chances of getting into the door, many authors now have literary agents (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Literary_agent). However, getting a literary agent is not a simple task; manuscripts that agents choose to represent must be fresh, full of ideas, a diamond in the rough, and most of all, well written.

Literary Agents

Literary agents are industry experts with immense knowledge of the inner workings of the publishing industry; their duties range from reviewing contracts to handling the sale of subsidiary translation rights. However, their primary duty is reviewing an author’s manuscript to ensure it is reader for consideration for publication and ensuring to place the manuscript in the hands of the right acquisitions editor and publishing house. Literary agents are sometimes the first set of professionals that will do a light portion of the novel editing process; they will work with the author on areas that might make the book unpublishable.

Before literary agents can aid authors with the big picture process of publishing their novel, the novel itself must be readable and well-presented.

What Will Get Your Work Rejected

Nothing is more insulting than presenting a literary agent or editorial assistant a piece that is riddled with grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. While language is becoming more fluid, and grammar conventions are always changing, nothing is a bigger waste of time than a manuscript that comes across as sloppy and grammatically incoherent. A lack of structure, grammatical correctness, and clarity are red flags that signal to the literary agent or publisher the author’s inarticulateness, their lack of language proficiency, and the fact that they themselves do not take their work seriously.

Not only is the presentation of a sloppy manuscript a sign of disrespect towards the reader, but it is also a sign indicating the author’s lack of confidence in the merit of his or her own work. If the author does not seem bothered to ensure their work is of a good quality, why should the publisher attempt to do so? No one wants to read incomprehensible writing, especially not members of the publishing industry whose standards are the highest.

Getting in the Door

Suppose that you are a good grammarian, and you are confident that you can write a book that is free of errors. Do you then not need an editor? To answer this question, I ask you this: have you ensured your characters fulfill their development arcs? Have you ensured your book is free of plot holes? Have you ensured consistency in narration style? Is your use of symbols and extended metaphors clear? Is your pacing in line with your overall narrative style and structure?

Is the joke you included in chapter 10 actually funny? Beyond answering the questions above, fiction and novel editors will help you polish your work in the following areas:

Premise

Does your book have a compelling background? Is the relevant background information well researched? Are there any pieces of missing information that should be addressed? Is the background behind the conflict believable?

Plot

Does the story begin at the right timepoint? Does it begin in medias res or as a flashback? Does the build up to the conflict make sense? Are there red herrings or subplots? Do the subplots add or detract from the novel? Are there any unnecessary tangents that should be removed? Are the key events or moments adequately highlighted? Is their impact powerful enough? Does the manuscript satisfy the six key points (a protagonist we care about, the protagonist has a strong goal we believe in, obstacles that are believable, a series of causative elements, a natural lead-up to the intensification of the conflict, and a satisfying resolution) of a good plot?

Structure

Does the structure reflect a chronologically sound telling of the events? Should the structure revolve around the characters or events? Does the structure appropriately convey the gravity of certain events?

Authorial voice

Is the author’s voice unique? Does the authorial voice do a good job of conveying the manuscript’s most important ideas?

Point of view (POV)

Whose eyes are we seeing the book from? Is it the right POV? Would the manuscript be more effective if the first-person POV were used? Second-person? Third-person?

Characters

Are the characters compelling? Are they all necessary? Are they static or round?

Dialogue

Is the dialogue natural? Does the dialogue reflect the setting, characters’ personalities, and the characters’ education levels appropriately? Is the dialogue stilted or awkward?

Setting

Is the setting simply descriptive? Does the narration adequately convey the setting? Are there elements of setting that should be further explained, such as social conditions, the historiography context, geographical locations, climate, architecture, or time period? In the case of world building, are there elements of the setting (among social environment, place, and time) that are confusing or under-developed? Does the setting contribute to the overall atmosphere of the plot, or does the setting detract from the mood that has been created?

Tense

Do inconsistencies in tense cause some confusion? Does the usage of tense lend to a further understanding of the chronological timeline of the story?

Chapter length

Is the book appropriate in length? Does the length of some chapters detract from the clarity/overall digestibility of the story?

Relevance/marketability

Will the book do well in today’s market? Is there an audience for the book? How does the book compare to other titles in the genre? Does the book offer a unique take on something current and socially relevant?

Throughout the editing process, an editor will stand in as your target audience: the reader. They will help you tackle any concerns for your manuscript you might have, and what is more, they will help you tackle concerns you did not even know were there. Ensure that your novel has been edited is crucial to its success; a book-length novel encompasses a lot of ideas to keep track of—it is almost impossible for an author to ensure there are no fallacies in their arguments and that all their ideas and thoughts are clear.

A good manuscript will go through many iterations before finally being published; the work of polishing the manuscript does not begin or end with the first professional edit. Even after being accepted by a publisher, a manuscript will go through the acquisitions editor, the stylistic editor, and the copyeditor, before finally being reviewed by the proof-reader. By recruiting an editor into your novel writing and publication processes, you are giving your brilliant ideas the best chance to shine.