Is Your Manuscript Ready for an Editor?

(and What to Do If It’s Not)

First draft? Done.

Sigh of relief? Absolutely.

Total panic at what comes next? Oh, yes!

Do you send it off to an editor now, or dive into self-editing?

Let's save you some time, money, and a stress headache, and figure out whether your manuscript is really ready for that next step.

Should You Hire an Editor after Draft One?

Hiring an editor is a big step, and timing is important – bring one in too early, and you risk paying for fixes you could have caught yourself.

But waiting too long could mean that you get stuck in a cycle of endless revisions and rewrites, tweaking this and that, and not making any real progress on moving the manuscript forward.

As authors, we're often too close to our work to really see what it needs, and at some point – somewhere between drafts 1 and 101 – we need the outside perspective of a professional editor.

I've worked on it all – first drafts to final polishes, and everything in between. So, let's get you where you need to go.

What Should You Do First?

Some people live for the writing, the storytelling, the getting it all down, while others love the editing part, making it perfect, dotting those i's, crossing those t's, and making sure your main character's hair doesn’t change from blonde to brown in chapter 17. (I've been there! I once didn’t realise until Draft 3 that not only did my main character’s eyes change colour, but the way I was spelling her name did too!)

Whether edits are your happy place or something you dread, before you pick up that red pen, let your story breathe. Step away for a week, maybe three, and when you go back with fresh eyes, you’ll notice things you didn’t see before.

And it's then that you get to figure out what's next for that story.

Your Book Isn't Ready for a Professional Editor If:

It's a first draft.

You're celebrating typing 'The End' and are excited to get this thing off to an editor to make it the best it can be, right?

Well, hold off for a moment. (But don’t stop celebrating, finishing a book is a massive achievement!)

First drafts are meant to be messy and ugly. I see mine as me telling myself the story. I've thrown everything at the laptop, gotten it all down... but it's quite often full of plot holes, dodgy pacing, clunky sentences, and characters with as much depth as a puddle. And that's perfectly fine. It's normal. It just means it still needs some work before it's ready for someone else to read it.

You've not read it through.

You're the person who knows your story best; it started off in your brain, after all. This means you're the perfect person to spot any issues. You'll be surprised at how many repeated scenes or inconsistencies you spot once you've done another full pass. You'll understand your story better than any editor at this stage.

It's unfinished.

An editor needs a completed draft to work on, so if you're missing vital scenes, have placeholders for names or several 'insert romantic scene here', or notes such as, 'make this more dramatic', it's best to get those filled in first.

You know there are big-picture issues.

If you know there are glaringly obvious problems – the plot meanders, the timeline wanders, your main character achieves nothing in sixteen chapters – make an attempt to fix it yourself first.

If you don't, at this point, an editor will most likely suggest a developmental edit, and all you'll be paying for is a report that tells you what you already know.

You're not sure what you want it to be.

An editor can only develop what you already have, so if you’re still torn between whether it’s a romance or a mystery, don’t know your themes and stakes, have a sub-plot you think might be better than your main plot, and don’t know if your ending is right, you’ve still got work to do.

Only you have read it.

Beta readers, critique partners, a trusted friend – all of these can provide great feedback from a reader’s perspective. They'll catch problems that we authors are too close to see, those things we know in our minds but that we forget to share on the page, the things we think are perfectly understandable, but in reality, are about as clear as mud. Honestly, get someone else to read it. It'll save you time, money, and likely highlight things you never even thought of.

What Should You Do if Your Manuscript Isn't Ready for an Editor?

If you've read the above and decided you're not ready, the best course of action is to make a revision plan.

There's a great guide on my website (link below), and once you've worked through that and pushed the manuscript as far as you can, it might be time to find yourself an editor.

Can You Say Yes to These? Then maybe it’s time to send it on.

Your manuscript has been revised at least once.

You're confident your characters do what they should, the pacing works, the timeline is on point, and the plot is as tight as you can get it.

You know where your problems lie.

You've revised and revised, but just can't quite get the sub-plot right, or you feel the main character's voice has been lost along the way. That's all fine. Knowing the issues means you can communicate these to an editor.

You want some truth with that encouragement.

An editor's job is to be open and honest; they'll tell you the tough truths – we'll do it with care, and if you're me, most likely a dash of humour too – but you have to be ready for that objective feedback. We want your book to be the best it can be, so however much you love that one side character, if that darling needs killing, we will tell you. I've had many conversations with my own editor over such things. The words 'platform guy' can still spark a whole debate. (He won, if you're interested.)

Now you know you’re ready for editing, but…

Which Type of Editing Do You Need?

There are several types of editing, and knowing which you need will save you time and money.

Some editors will specialise in one, some can undertake all. Making sure you're hiring someone who will bring out what you need in your manuscript, and who you feel comfortable with, is important.

Here's a brief breakdown of the different types of editing. Any good editor will be happy to discuss your concerns and point you in the right direction if you're still unsure.

Developmental Editing. Often the first stop after a first draft and self-editing. It's the big-picture stuff – plot, structure, characterisation, pacing, and stakes.

Line Editing. This is the sentence-level, stylistic editing that improves tone, flow, voice, and clarity. This comes in after your developmental edit.

Copy Editing. This covers spelling, grammar, punctuation, consistency, and style, and is often done near the final draft. Some editors, like me, offer it as a combined service with line editing.

Proofreading. This is the final polish before publication. It's all about catching those sneaky little typos and formatting issues that have made it through all the other edits.

What's Next Right Now?

Feeling overwhelmed? Grab my free Revision Plan for Stressed-Out Fiction Writers here. It walks you through the editing process with useful manuscript editing tips along the way.

We often overlook things when working on our own pieces, and if you’re questioning whether it’s time to hire an editor or how to prepare your manuscript for editing, this guide could give you the confidence you need to move forward.

If you then decide it’s time to hire an editor, do some research, reach out, consider getting some sample edits, see who you gel with, and most importantly, who you feel understands you and the vision for your book.

You might even consider me. Who knows? Why not take a look at my website, testimonials, other resources, or drop me a message via the contact page?