Teen Fiction Novel Editing Services

You’ve finally completed your teen fiction novel, and you can see teens and young adults flocking to the shelves to buy it. However, before you get to that step, you need an editor. An editor can objectively judge your book and provide feedback that will elevate it to the level of other YA novels such as The Hunger Games or The Fault in Our Stars. They can also revise your manuscript to ensure that it is the best quality it can be before you move forward in your publishing journey.

At Human Editing, we provide such a service and will work alongside you to help polish your book in multiple steps to get it ready for publishing.

Structural Editing

The first thing your editor will do is look at your novel’s structure and overall plot. Is the plot exciting and easy to follow, or does it take unneeded detours that will bore your readers? With the plethora of YA novels available to readers, it is important to have an engaging plot that will keep their eyes glued to the page, and your editor can aid you in developing such a plot. You and your editor will work together to create an interesting overarching story that will capture readers’ attention and make your book stand out.

Content Editing

The next aspect of your novel that your editor will focus on is the content—or, more specifically, the lower-level plot points. What happens in each chapter? What side journeys do your characters take? Your editor will help sharpen these plot points and avoid reader boredom. Additionally, your editor will look at some larger concerns, such as the characters and world. If you’re writing a fantasy or dystopian YA novel, you editor can help you flesh out the world and suggest details that you may not have thought of.

If you’re writing a YA romance, your editor can give you tips on the characters’ personalities and actions to make them more likeable, realistic, or interesting. Regardless of your chosen sub-genre, your editor will help elevate your content to garner maximum interest in your work.

Stylistic and Grammar Editing

While YA fiction does not have the prestige of literary fiction, it still requires interesting diction that will maintain readers’ interest, as well as correct grammar and spelling. Your editor can improve your sentence structure and flow to improve the reading experience and make your readers forget that they are reading a book. Additionally, your editor will catch any spelling or grammatical errors you have made and correct them so your readers can have a seamless reading experience (because there’s nothing worse than an egregious grammatical error that completely takes you out of the novel).

Your editor will improve the overall quality of your writing without altering your unique voice.

Genre Expertise

Teen/YA fiction is essentially its own genre, hence the title of this post. Its style conventions vary widely from those of adult and children’s fiction, and thus it is important to enlist an editor who is well-versed in the structure and content of teen fiction. Discuss the genre experience and editorial approach you need before choosing a service. An editor familiar with YA can help you consider the conventions of the genre and your specific sub-genre. Whether your novel falls under fantasy, sci-fi, dystopian, romance, or another genre, your editor’s familiarity with that particular genre will allow them to edit your novel in accordance with that genre’s conventions.

Audience

Seeing as most authors of YA novels are adults, it is important for them to consider their intended audience in terms of their content and language. YA novels can vary in maturity, but they generally stick to a more “PG” rating than adult fiction in terms of the language the characters use (e.g., swearing), the amount/level of violence and gore, and the level of physical contact between relationship partners (i.e., do they have sex? if so—is it described in detail or simply alluded to?).

All of these are important considerations that can affect your novel’s reception. You and your editor will discuss these considerations and determine exactly who your audience is (are you aiming for 12-year-olds, 16-year-olds, or 20-year-olds?) and what level of maturity your novel should thus possess. Your editor will then go through your novel and ensure that its content and language cater to your intended audience, making it easy to understand as well as appropriate.

Characters

Characters are very important in teen fiction. You have to create characters that your readers will like and root for, but that they can also relate to. It can be tricky to find the right balance, and that’s where an editor comes in. Your editor will examine your characters and highlight any potential changes that need to be made to make them more flawed, interesting, etc. Your main character will be the primary focus, as the main character in a YA novel often serves as a reader insert—they may be entering a new world for the first time (fantasy), they may be the chosen leader in a rebellion (dystopian), or they may be an awkward teen falling in love (romance).

Your editor will ensure that your main character is likeable and accessible to readers, and that your other characters provide interesting additions to your story.

Teen fiction is a challenging yet rewarding genre to write in, with a passionate fanbase that is eager to consume new content. To help your YA novel stand out, be sure to employ an editing service, such as that at Human Editing. We will examine and provide feedback on every aspect of your novel, big and small, to ensure that it is ready to enter the market as an exciting new teen read.