Earlier this year I had a fantastic conversation with Georgina Green, book coach and founder of the wonderful writers’ group Calliope Writers. The chat was wide-ranging, from the Woman of Willendorf as a self-portrait, to the identity-earthquake of becoming a mother, to how to write like a human in academia, to autotheory, neurodivergence and the need to tell our stories. You can listen here.
One part of the conversation that stuck with me was talking about the various editing stages a manuscript goes through, as we both reminded ourselves how much of a collaborative process bringing a book to fruition can be.
We had to remind ourselves, because of course when we read we hold the illusion that a writer sat down and well-crafted, coherent prose poured straight from their hands onto the page.
I read imagining that the words came to the writer easily and always in the correct order. That the idea for the book or the essay came full-formed and without struggle. I read without thinking of the process of drafts and revisions, edits and deletions. Because the architecture of a book should be invisible on a first read, even as the text is a palimpsest of all the words that came before.
A book is a collaborative effort. Even Jack Kerouac’s On The Road, famed for having been written in just three-weeks on one continuous scroll, was actually subject to edits, both by Kerouac and his publisher, before it was published by Viking Press.
But the extent to which books are edited is often something shrouded in mystery. Not long after I got a book deal for MILK, I attended a free workshop hosted by Calliope Writers on Demystifying the Editorial Process. For the first time, I learned for the difference between ‘structural edits’ and ‘line edits’. And this is despite having published in academia for many years!
So I thought I’d outline the process here, not only to further demystify these stages, but also to offer reassurance - maybe to you - but to myself especially, as I wrestle with a terrible draft. I must remember that the lumpen clay can be shaped into something quite elegant.
Drafts
I’d like to say that the draft for MILK came easily. But as you will see from my previous post, there were many layers of text that came before I had anything resembling a first draft to send to an editor.
What I eventually did send to my editor, Jenny Lord, was roughly 80,000 words, which were structured across multiple chapters, each placed into four sections. However, working on those thematic sections was a hellish process. I knew that the narrative thread had to come from the chronology of my own experience, from pre-motherhood expectations through to birth then to weaning.
That seemed like an easy enough thing to achieve, yet being a book that blurs genres made that approach more difficult. Not only that, but early motherhood felt quite cyclical. I kept revisiting memories, revisiting my body, each time the same yet different.
However, the deadline loomed and I knew that the manuscript needed fresh eyes.
So I delivered it, along with a long list of issues I knew were there but which I couldn’t quite solve on my own.
Structural edits
My editor took that manuscript and worked her magic. The first round of edits undertaken by my editor were structural edits. One important part of this process was addressing the issue above: the narrative order of chapters and organising them together within some kind of thematic arc.
The editorial feedback didn’t focus on the specifics of language or whether I had repeated the same word within one paragraph. Instead, these edits focus on getting the structure right. In fiction, this would include the plot, the characters, the narrative arc. In nonfiction, it’s making sure the information is in the right order and told in a way that is compelling.
Thankfully, my editor was hugely insightful and was able to suggest ways to restructure the book within four parts, which themselves told a story. She leant into the slightly recursive aspect of mothering rather than worrying that everything had to be mapped chronologically. She really was open to making it more thematic and drawing out some of these issues around motherhood.
She sent me about 3-4 pages of detailed notes, plus comments on the manuscript itself.
I worked on editing the manuscript based on this feedback for about 2 or 3 months and, by the end, had something that felt much more like a finished book. Of course, I didn’t agree with all of her suggestions, but I trusted Jenny too. I love working with editors to polish a text. I know I am becoming a better writer for having worked with highly talented editors and, as someone who only took some creative writing electives as a undergraduate, I appreciate the chance it offers me to learn the craft.
Line Edits
Once I was happy with the structural edits I had made, I redrafted the text to incorporate my own line edits, before I sent it back to my editor. She then undertook her own line edit.
Line edits are where you go through the text with a fine toothed comb, to make the prose sing. This is the part of editing I really love, where you can bury yourself deep into the text. Clunky sentences can become smooth and elegant. Repetitive word choices are picked up on and changed, so that the language becomes richer. This is where the book becomes polished, where you can play with words and, ultimately, push ideas further.
I would happily line edit work for people all day, everyday.
Copy Edits
On the other hand copy edits are something I will happily outsource and have done so in the past. This is where the text is looked at more closely. Errors relating to grammar and syntax are identified and fixed. Typos are hopefully spotted. They are also looking for tone inconsistencies, awkward sentence construction, and poor word choice. Grammar is picked apart and made consistent throughout.
When Annie Kwan and I co-edited the book ASIA-ART-ACTIVISM, one very first things we discussed in our first editorial meeting was setting aside some of our own fee to pay for a copy editor. It was the best money we spent.
Publishers also bring in a new editor to undertake copy edits. Not only do they come with a fresh set of eyes, they also know their stuff when it comes to grammar, punctuation and formatting. My copy editor also picked up on some ambiguities in the text and noted a couple of historical errors!
Proofing
This is it.
Once the copy editor’s changes have been dealt with and the editor is happy, then the manuscript has one final proofread before it is typeset. There is no other feeling like seeing the typeset pages! How the words dance differently on the page. How it finally looks like a whole book!
There’s a chance to proof the typeset pages, although unproofed, bounded copies may be sent out to advance readers.
And then, that’s it. The clunky paragraphs that existed across multiple documents are smoothed into a whole, the ADD MORE HERE notes to self are long gone, ideas that seemed unconnected are suddenly - correctly - connected. There is a book. And soon it will be out in the world.
Thank you for reading, as ever xxx
Work with me….
This is also the time to mention that I offer services for established and emerging writers, which draw on my years of guiding undergraduate and postgraduate students, helping them to hone their ideas and communicate them with precision. It also draws on my work as an editor and of course working as a published non fiction writer. I offer bespoke blends of editorial feedback, support and consultancy for non-fiction writers, from developing book proposals to finishing manuscripts. Please do get in contact with me to find out more if you are interested.