What Does a Book Editor Do?
By Mary Kole
Mary Kole is a former literary agent, freelance editor, writing teacher, author of Writing Irresistible Kidlit, and IP developer for major publishers, with over a decade in the publishing industry.
As writers gain skills and consider entering the publishing landscape, they often wonder, “What does a book editor do?” Does every writer need to work with a freelance editor to sell their work? What about publishing house editors? The publishing industry can be tough to get to know, since so much of the operation is locked up behind gatekeepers. Having been in the industry for over a decade, including working at a traditional publishing house and as a literary agent, I can shed some light. So what does a book editor do? Read on to learn more.
What Does a Book Editor Do?: An Overview
Writing a book is an exciting and rewarding process. But once it’s complete, you may still need to make sure your book is ready for submission to agents and publishers, or self-publishing. That’s where a book editor comes in. What does a book editor do? A book editor helps identify areas where your manuscript could use further development or improvement. The goal is that you can present your best work to the world after working with a book editor. Before you have a publishing contract, or if you’re self-publishing, that means working with an editor for hire. After you get a publishing contract, you will work with the publisher’s employee editor—though some writers also work with freelancers for additional advice or problem manuscripts.
What Does a Book Editor Do?: Copy Editing and Proofreading
In terms of mechanics, you might wonder “What does a book editor do when they sit down at their desk?” The obvious answer that comes to mind is copy editing, line editing, and proofreading. All of these disciplines involve working with the text itself and making corrections or suggestions. (Don’t let the definitions and labels throw you. There are different types of editing to learn about, but they’re pretty straightforward, once you get over the terms and some potential confusion over their usage.)
But if you’re imagining an editor in their office, they are probably copy editing, also known as line editing. Copy editors will check for grammar, spelling, punctuation, accuracy, and consistency in style and formatting. This line of work is a nitpicker’s dream job! A copy editor or line editor may also suggest changes to sentences or paragraphs if they feel that the text could be improved in terms of phrasing, writing voice, or clarity.
Once the manuscript has been edited, it will then move on to the proofreading stage. During proofreading, any errors missed during copy editing are identified and corrected before final publication. This kind of polishing is what many people think of when they wonder, What does a book editor do?
But there are editors who don’t catch dangling modifiers, nor do they move commas around (though they very well could). There’s another answer to this question of “What does an editor do?” And that’s structural and developmental editing.
What Does a Book Editor Do?: Structural and Developmental Editing
What does a book editor do beyond checking for typos? Structural editors work with authors to develop manuscripts from the initial idea all the way through to final draft form. What does a book editor do in this realm? Structural editors may help brainstorm plot points or characters, break down scenes into individual beats, develop plot arcs and character outlines, reorganize sequences, review and revise the novel outline, and more, all while maintaining the author’s original vision for the story.
Sometimes this is called developmental editing, and it is focused on overall structure and content rather than sentence-level details like grammar or punctuation. Developmental editors will provide feedback on plot structure, pacing, character development, tone of voice, dialogue, flow and more. This is all done with the higher mission in mind: helping authors create better stories that their readers can enjoy more fully.
This sounds much more involved than copy editing or proofreading, right? Absolutely. Structural and developmental editors are heavily entangled with the story craft of a novel, memoir, or piece of nonfiction. So what does a book editor do? Sometimes they stay involved in a project from the very beginning of the idea to the final draft.
What Does a Book Editor Do? Everything!
What does a book editor do? A book editor provides many services that can help writers bring their stories to life in ways they never thought possible. They can not only catch typos but revolutionize an entire novel structure. It’s important to know what you want (and what you might need) before approaching an editor for hire, though. And you should be ready to receive and interpret writing notes, otherwise you might not get the right takeaways from the experience of working with an editor. Not everyone is ready for the robust feedback they might receive, especially from a developmental edit.
Whether you’re looking for someone to help with copy editing and proofreading, or something much deeper, such as structural editing or developmental feedback, a qualified book editor can make all the difference in improving your work before you submit it for publication or self-publish. What does a book editor do? Whatever it takes to help you level up your work in today’s competitive marketplace.
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