Are you a fiction author looking to give your book the professional edge it needs? Substantive editing may be the answer. It can help refine, shape, and perfect your manuscript, taking it from good to great. But what is substantive editing exactly? In this article, we’ll cover all you need to know about substantive editing for fiction authors.
What is Substantive Editing?
Substantive editing is an in-depth and intensive process that looks at the big picture of a manuscript – from content and structure to pacing, character development, style, tone, and more. It is one of the most important types of editing for fiction authors, particularly those looking to publish with a traditional publisher.
It enables an editor to assess the overall quality of a piece of writing and offer guidance on how it could be improved. The aim of substantive editing is not just to make sure your work is free of grammatical errors but to ensure that it meets all the necessary criteria for a successful novel.
The key focus is making sure that your story works as a whole and that every aspect makes sense. This includes ensuring that all elements – characters, plot points, and setting – are consistent and well-developed.
Benefits of Substantive Editing for Fiction Authors
Substantive editing offers a range of benefits for fiction authors. It can help strengthen weak areas in your story and refine existing sections to make them shine brighter than ever before. It can also enable you to look at your manuscript with a more critical eye – giving you greater clarity on where you need to make changes or improvements.
One of the main advantages of substantive editing is that it allows an experienced editor to assess the overall quality of your work. This means they can provide feedback on any aspects they believe could use improvement or restructuring, such as pacing or tone.
An editor can also identify any inconsistencies or flaws in your plot points or character arcs that could be holding back the success of your book. Another benefit of substantive editing is its ability to give you an outside perspective on your work.
Having someone else read through your manuscript with a fresh set of eyes can help you see aspects that you may have missed during the creative process, allowing you to address them before publication. This can help ensure that when readers pick up your book, they get the best possible experience from it.
Substantive Editing Process
Before beginning a substantive edit, it’s important to establish clear goals and expectations with your editor, so everyone knows what needs to be done by the end of the process. These could include things like improving clarity in certain sections or rewriting sections for better flow or consistency.
You should also discuss any particular areas where you’d like extra feedback or guidance so these can be addressed during the edit itself. When it comes to actually carrying out a substantive edit, there are several steps involved:
– Reading:
The editor will read through your entire manuscript carefully and take notes as they go along. They will look at everything from character development to pacing and plot structure as they read, noting down any areas they feel require improvement or further development.
– Outlining:
Once they’ve finished reading through the manuscript of your non fiction editing book, they will outline their thoughts on where changes are needed in order for it to meet their criteria for successful fiction writing.
– Rewriting:
At this stage, the editor will start making changes directly in the text itself (or suggest changes if requested). They may move scenes around or add additional scenes if needed; alter characterization; adjust descriptions; improve dialogue; and more in order to make sure everything fits together smoothly and successfully conveys what was intended by the author.
– Final Review:
After completing all necessary edits, the editor will do one final review of the manuscript before handing it back over to the author. This ensures no mistakes were made during the editing process and that all requested changes have been implemented successfully.
Substantive Editing Tips
If you’re planning on having a substantive edit done on your manuscript, here are some tips that will help ensure the process goes smoothly. Before we start, it must be mentioned that the tips given below may not work for some of you.
However, that does not mean that you should not give it a try. It is advisable to try out different techniques and see for yourself which works the best. With that being said, let us talk more about several tips that could improve your quality of work and time.
– Make sure you have an experienced editor
This is extremely important as you do not want to hand in your work to someone who lacks the necessities and tools you are looking for. Make sure whoever edits your book has plenty of experience in fiction writing so they understand what needs to be done in order for it to meet publishing standards. Look for editors who specialize in fiction books, as this will give you confidence knowing they know exactly what needs doing.
– Don’t rush into things
It must be kept in mind that Substantive editing takes time, so don’t expect immediate results. Take some time before starting out, so both you and your editor have time to properly plan out what needs doing during each step of the process.
– Be prepared for change
Substantive edits involve restructuring large portions, if not all, of a manuscript, so don’t be surprised if some things change quite significantly during this process. Be prepared for these changes ahead of time, as this will make them easier to accept once they happen.
Conclusion
So that is it, folks! We have come to the end of this article. Hopefully, now you know that substantive editing can be an invaluable tool for fiction authors looking to refine their manuscripts before publication.
If done correctly, it can take even good manuscripts up several levels, making them truly great books. We hope this article has given you enough information about substantive editing for fiction authors so that you now feel confident giving yours the professional edge it needs.