You’ve sent your manuscript off for editing. Congratulations! You’re one step closer to publication. Now, let’s look at what might happen when you get your manuscript back.
This bed is too little: Goldilocks barely made any changes. “Wow, I knew I was a good writer, but I honestly expected more input than this” you say.
This bed is too big: Goldi made so many changes your manuscript is unrecognizable. “She’s stripped my voice out of the story and demolished my theme and motifs.”
This bed is just right: Goldi corrected your poor punctuation and spelling, made the story flow more smoothly, and retained the integrity of your voice and the story. “Wow! This is amazing. She’s made me sound so much better.”
Did you simply tell Goldi “I need this edited” and leave it at that? If so, Goldi should have been asking lots of questions, one of which should have been “Do you want a full, queen, or king size?” (In editor-ese that’s a light, medium or heavy edit.) Next week, we’ll dive deeper into levels of editing so surprises like “too little” and “too big” don’t happen.
