Being edited makes you a better writer

Many years ago I worked with an author on his first book. He was a journalist by training, so he knew what it was like working with a subeditor. But he’d never worked with a book editor before, nor had anything as long as a manuscript edited.

He was a little nervous about what I’d do to his story. This wasn’t a fact-based piece for the newspaper. This was an 80,000 word labour of love.

I did my thing, editing the manuscript and offering suggestions and leaving comments. I wrote up an editorial report that went into detail on specific topics. I sent that all off to the author.

Here’s a secret: I get nervous when I send an edit back. Have I done a good job? Will the writer like what I’ve done? Will my ideas resonate? Did I miss anything obvious? Until I get a reply from the author letting me know how they’ve received the edit, I’m chewing my nails and distracting myself.

So, a week or so later when he asked if we could meet for coffee and talk about the edit, I was my usual nervous self. But I re-read my notes and felt confident that my changes served the story.

Here’s what that writer said when we sat down: “I was blown away with the detail you went into.” He said he was expecting a handful of comments and a bunch of changes to the text. What he got was a lot of comments, ideas, suggestions, and feedback, on top of a bunch of changes to the text. 

At first, he was overwhelmed. When he sent the manuscript to me, he didn’t think the story needed much work. Just tidying up and notes pointing out obvious issues. He even felt a little defensive reading the editorial report. But as he read the report and started working through the edits, he got into the groove and felt more positive. He understood why I was suggesting certain changes; he saw the benefits of cutting certain scenes and developing others.

He even said that I had made him a better writer. Wow! I was blown away with that.

And you know what? When he sent me his next manuscript, his writing was better! He’d taken on board the advice from the first edit and applied it to his second book. Gone were the wordy descriptions. In their place, strong, active sentences and sharp, direct descriptions. I still had lots of editing to do, but I could change direction and give feedback to hone the story even more.

That’s one of the joys of working with an editor. You get to see how editing improves your writing on your own writing. Seeing examples of editing helps – I give examples of filter words and over description in my articles. But there’s nothing like having those filter words and over descriptions pointed out in your own writing, and also getting ideas of how to rewrite them.

And getting to see writers improve from story to story – that’s a real treat. I love seeing how an author whose chapter endings tended to be flat turns them into snappy cliffhangers. Or how passages of dry facts get turned into fascinating anecdotes. The essence is still there – it’s just sharper and clearer.

So, if you want to see how editing can improve your own writing, let’s talk. I offer free sample edits so you can see what I do and how I work. Book yours here.