Tips for Working with a Copyeditor: Navigating the Editing Process

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The thought of working with a copyeditor can be overwhelming if you’ve never done it before. Sending your manuscript to a copyeditor is exciting because you’re moving on to the next stage of the process and getting one step closer to publishing your book. It’s also nerve-wracking because you may be spending a lot of money on this venture and are worried that you will fall for a scam. Or you may be worried that your editor will take one look at your manuscript and think you’re a terrible writer. (We’re not here to judge you. We want the same thing you do: to make sure your book is as good as it can be before being published.)

To try to alleviate some of the overwhelm, I’ve put together a guide to navigating the copyediting process so you can enjoy working with an editor and publish your book confident that it won’t be ridiculed for bad spelling and grammar mistakes.

Table of Contents

Before You Hire a Copyeditor

Give the Editor Information About Your Manuscript

When you contact an editor(s), make sure you give them as much information as you can about your manuscript so that they can decide whether they’re a good fit for the project.

Some important information you could include in your email:

What genre your manuscript falls under: Tell your editor what genre your book is and whether it is fiction or nonfiction. Not all editors edit every genre, so this will allow them to understand whether this project is in their wheelhouse. To avoid wasting your time contacting editors who don’t edit your book’s genre, do your research first. Many editors will say on their websites whether they edit fiction or nonfiction, and some include a list of genres they have experience editing.
Who your reader is: Say who your reader/target audience is.
Where you plan to publish your manuscript: Do you plan to send it to agents and traditional publishing houses or do you plan to self-publish? If you’re planning to send it to a particular publishing house, make sure you’re aware of any formatting requirements they may have so your editor can apply them.
What dialect you’re publishing the book in: What dialect of English have you written the book in? British, US, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand, etc.? Some editors may not be up to date with the punctuation and spelling rules of all these dialects.
What citation style you used/need to use: If your manuscript has footnotes and references, discuss with your editor what citation style these will need to be formatted in and whether there will be an extra charge for that.
When you are hoping to publish: Do you have a set deadline or a rough date you would like to publish by?
What level of editing you think you need: The editor will likely ask to see the manuscript (see next section) so they can determine what level of editing the manuscript needs, but if the manuscript has already been through any level of professional editing, you can mention it in your communications with the editor.
Any questions you may have for the editor.

Send Your Manuscript to Editors

It’s a good idea to send your manuscript to one or more editors before you hire someone so that they can analyze the manuscript to see what level of editing it needs and to make sure that they’re a good fit for the project.

As a copyeditor, I prefer to see the entire manuscript before I commit to giving a quote because authors tend to self-edit the introduction, first couple of chapters, and conclusion chapter quite a bit but lose steam in the middle of the book. I look at the middle of the book to get a true reflection of the writing and the level of editing it will require.

The editor may advise that your book isn’t ready for copyediting yet and that you may want to do a round of developmental editing first. They may refer you to one of their colleagues if they don’t offer developmental editing as one of their services.

Pro Tip: It’s not usually necessary to get the editor to sign a nondisclosure agreement before you send them the manuscript. Editors have nothing to gain from stealing your work. The reputational damage alone is not worth the risk.

By the way, if you send inquiries to more than one editor, after you choose one, it’s polite to let the others know that you have decided to go with someone else. You don’t have to go into a lot of detail; a simple “I decided to go with another editor” will suffice. But it will stop them going to the trouble of sending you follow-up emails.

Expect to Pay a Deposit

Many editors will charge a deposit to hold your space in their schedule. This deposit is often nonrefundable because if you cancel at the last minute, it may be difficult for the editor to fill this gap in their schedule. The deposit can range from 10 percent to 50 percent as each editor sets their own payment policies.

Make Sure You’re Clear on What to Expect

Make sure you have a good idea of what the editing process will entail. The editor should address the following in their communications; if they don’t, make sure to follow up with them before you agree to work with them.

How many rounds of editing are included in the quote
When you will need to send the document by and in what format
When you can expect to receive the edited document back
When you will be expected to pay
What platform you will need to use to make the payment

This information should be laid out clearly by the editor in an email or in a contract that you will need to sign. If you have any concerns about any of these elements, now is the time to address them with the editor.

Avoid Using Fancy Formatting

Before you send your manuscript to your editor, avoid trying to make the book look like a book. You don’t need to add headers, page numbers, drop caps, or anything fancy like that at this stage. It can make your editor’s job harder! Instead, if you can, apply some standard formatting:

Times New Roman, font size 12
First line paragraph indents (not tabs)
No spaces between paragraphs (particularly if it is a fiction manuscript, as a line space between paragraphs in nonfiction books is becoming more common)
Double line spacing (I actually prefer single line spacing, but I think I’m in the minority there)

Don’t worry too much if you can’t figure out paragraph indents and line spacing. Many editors are okay with setting up the manuscript themselves.

Make Sure You Send the File on Time

Do your best to stick to the schedule you have agreed with your editor. If you send your manuscript even a day or two late, this can throw off the rest of their upcoming projects. If you are unable to meet the deadline, communicate this to your editor as early as you can so they can try to work around it.

If you’re not sure how to choose the right copyeditor for your nonfiction book, I wrote a blog post full of tips for how to find the right editor for your project.

During the Copyedit

Be Patient

Editing is not a linear process. While editors do read your book word for word from start to finish, they also jump around the file searching for particular issues. This is why most editors prefer not to return chapters one by one as they are edited. Yes, we’ve edited the chapter, but we may change our mind about something when we get further into the book and have more context.

It’s also important to be patient when waiting for feedback or questions from your editor. Avoid the urge to email them every day asking for an update. I know, it’s exciting/nerve-wracking waiting to hear what your editor thinks, but you need to give them time to read through the manuscript first. Reading while editing takes a lot longer than reading for pleasure! A good editor will manage your expectations by giving you a rough idea of when they will next be in touch. I always try to check in around once a week to ask questions or update my clients on my progress.

Respond in a Timely Manner

When your editor emails you to ask questions or clarify something from your manuscript, try to reply as quickly as you can. Within twenty-four hours is ideal. The longer it takes you to reply, the more likely it is that there will be a delay in the author returning your manuscript to you. It also means that their next project could be delayed as well. Prompt responses are always appreciated.

Make Sure You’re Familiar with Microsoft Word and Track Changes

It’s extremely important that you familiarize yourself with using Microsoft Word before you receive your edited documents. Your editor will use the Track Changes and Comments features to fix errors and ask questions. You will need to know how to accept or reject their suggested edits and how to reply to their questions (if you will be returning the document to them for a clean-up round) or how to delete the comments when they have been addressed.

You will need to use the paid version of Microsoft Word as the free version doesn’t have all the functionality you will need to review the edits. Sign up for Microsoft Office for less than $10 per month, and you can cancel it later if you find you don’t need it any longer.

Why Do Editors Prefer Microsoft Word?

Most editors prefer to work in Microsoft Word. It’s the standard editing software, used by editors around the world. Microsoft Word is the preferred software because it allows editors to use different add-ins and macros so they can work more efficiently. Don’t worry; your editor is still using their expertise to edit your book. Many editors use these add-ins and macros to quickly scan the manuscript for common typos and consistency and formatting issues so that they can focus on making sure that the writing makes sense and flows well.

In addition, Word is much better at accommodating large numbers of annotations in comparison with Google Docs. Google Docs isn’t able to cope with documents of more than a couple of thousand words that have lots of editing suggestions made. It starts to glitch.

After the Copyedit

Take Your Time

Take your time reading through the edits to make sure you understand what your editor is suggesting before you accept or reject the changes. If your editor has provided a style sheet and/or editorial letter, read them first to get an overview of the main changes they suggested. Then read through the annotated document slowly to digest the suggested changes.

Try Not to Be Overwhelmed

Editing, particularly copyediting, can generate hundreds if not thousands of markups in a manuscript. When Track Changes is turned on, this can look like a bloodbath if you’re not used to reading annotated files. It can be overwhelming.

Many of these changes will be spelling and punctuation typos, so there’s no need to feel bad or feel like you’re a terrible writer. Your job is to be creative; your copyeditor’s job is to fix typos.

If you find the sea of red marks off-putting when you’re reading through the file, you can switch to Simple Markup mode in Microsoft Word so that the edits are still there, but what you’re seeing is what it would look like if you accepted all the suggestions. Some editors also send a “comments only” file where all the changes have been accepted and all that remains are the comments they raised to explain a change they made or ask for your input on something. If you agree with the majority of changes they suggested, you might prefer to work on this file.

Understand That It’s Still Your Book

Don’t forget that the changes your editor made are just suggestions. Yes, most of them will be based on established grammar and punctuation rules or aligned with the guidance of a particular style manual, so technically they’re correct, but if you feel they don’t fit your author voice, you can reject them. If you’re not sure why the editor made the change, feel free to ask them to clarify.

It’s your book, so you can do what you want. However, it’s important that you are open to receiving feedback, some of which may not be as positive as you may have hoped for. Understand that your editor wants your book to be the best it can be so they will only give feedback that they genuinely feel will be helpful.

Understand That There Will Still Be Errors

It’s not possible for an editor to fix every single error in your manuscript, particularly if you’re only doing one round of copyediting. The more errors there are to find, the more likely some will remain after editing. It’s a good idea to hire a separate proofreader when you’ve completed the copyediting stage to find as many remaining errors as possible. However, there will always be a few, even in traditionally published books that have gone through multiple rounds of editing with several different editors.

Don’t forget that if you continue to make changes after your manuscript has been edited, you run the risk of introducing errors.

Thank Your Editor

To the outside world, editing may seem like it’s just reading, but it actually involves a lot of skill and time on the part of the editor. Some people who haven’t been through the editing process don’t quite grasp how important editing and editors are to the publishing process. We editors need all the cheerleaders we can get to help spread this message! Not to mention the fact that it makes us feel good to hear that our clients are happy!

If you had a positive experience working with your editor, tell your author friends. Consider recommending your editor to other writers so they can also work with a professional editor to get their manuscript ready for publishing.

Ask your editor whether they would like you to write a testimonial. Testimonials are wonderful marketing tools for editors because they show the kind of experience other authors had.

When I ask my clients for testimonials, I ask them to include their headshot and their book cover image so I can add them to the testimonial on my website. I also like to include a link to the book on Amazon if it has been published. This is good advertising for the author as well. Win-win!

Final Thoughts on Working with a Copyeditor

I hope this blog post has made you feel more comfortable about working with a copyeditor. Remember to provide your editor with information, make sure you’re clear on what the process will entail, and keep the lines of communication open, and you should have a positive experience.

If you’re looking for help with your manuscript, check out my copyediting service or read some of the kind words authors have said about working with me.