Purpose of editor within a publishing company

field19

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I just need to understand something. If I need to use a freelance editor to get a manuscript into publishing shape, then what exactly is the role of the editor who works for the publisher?
 

lizmonster

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I just need to understand something. If I need to use a freelance editor to get a manuscript into publishing shape, then what exactly is the role of the editor who works for the publisher?

Personal experience only here, YMMV, publishers differ, etc.

The editor is the person to whom your MS is submitted, and decides whether or not they want the imprint to buy it. I don't believe, in most cases, that they have the absolute final say; but they're the ones who take your book to the board and explain why it would be a fabulous choice for the imprint.

Beyond that - no matter how many fingers have been on your MS by the time it's acquired, the publisher's editor will have their own feedback, which may or may not be extensive. And they will be your primary contact with the publisher throughout the lifecycle of your book.

IOW, they are your best friend, after your agent. :)
 

Maggie Maxwell

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If you're going for trade publishing, you do not need a freelance editor. You should be able to edit your story sufficiently on your own, with the help of beta readers, to attract an agent and publisher. If you're self-publishing, though, well, you don't NEED a freelance editor, but it can't hurt. They would basically fill the role a publisher's editor would.

Lizmonster makes an excellent point. A freelance editor and a publisher's editor may have two conflicting visions for your story, so even though you'll have made the changes for Freelance, it may not be sufficient for the publishing editor, and they're the one to make happy.
 
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lizmonster

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Who's telling you that you need a freelance editor?

IIRC, OP has a book self-published already. (Apologies if I'm misremembering, field19!)

When you're self-publishing, I think a freelance editor is an excellent idea (back when I was exploring self-pub possibilities, that was part of my budget). But yeah, there's a strong argument that if you're going with a publisher, you shouldn't waste your money, since they'll have their own editor which you won't have to pay for.

But I can also see a freelance editor as a sanity check, someone who can give you professional, unbiased feedback. Especially when you're starting out, it can be steadying to have someone else (who's not your friend or your mom :)) look at your work and give you an honest assessment.
 

Richard White

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Liz,

It's just the way the original message was phrased. It almost sounded like he was being asked to "get a freelance editor". If this was a publisher asking him to get (or pay for) his own editors, I was going to try and nip that in the bud as quickly as possible.

That is NOT how publishing works.

*Yes, I know you know this, Liz. Just putting that out for posterity and drive-by readers.*
 

lizmonster

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It's just the way the original message was phrased. It almost sounded like he was being asked to "get a freelance editor". If this was a publisher asking him to get (or pay for) his own editors, I was going to try and nip that in the bud as quickly as possible.

That is NOT how publishing works.

Agreed, 100%.
 

veinglory

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It is possible for an author to need a editor just to get a manuscript in good enough shape to submit, but it is preferable for the author to learn to do that by themselves whenever possible.
 

Richard White

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Emily,

Completely agree. Heck, I have a friend who's a freelance editor who'll go over things for me when I really need a sanity check.

However, that's me just taking advantage of an opportunity and "my" decision.

If a publisher asked me to get something edited before they'd look at it (accept it, publish it), that would be wrong. Especially if the publisher was recommending specific editors to the author.

We've seen this road enough times before.
 

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I just need to understand something. If I need to use a freelance editor to get a manuscript into publishing shape, then what exactly is the role of the editor who works for the publisher?

Editors you can hire to edit your book do just that: editing.

Editors at publishing houses do a lot more than editing. Editing is only a small part of the work, to be honest. Editing in this case involves acquiring and commissioning titles, driving those titles through the publication process, keeping an eye on budgets, making sure marketing has all the information they need, and so on. All the things involved in getting books published.

Whether or not you should use a freelance editor before submitting to publishers is a personal choice. I've seen some writers benefit from doing so; but most of the ones I've worked with haven't needed to do that, and have found their editor--usually me!--enough for their needs.
 

Maryn

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It's also worth noting, as I have so many times, that there are people who have hung out an Editor shingle who have no business doing so.You need to research before you buy.

I know a man online whose native language is not English. He wrote a novel in English and feared he'd made all kinds of mistakes, so he found an editor online, paid her nearly $10,000 (ulp!) total, a quarter of it up front and more as she completed and returned significant portions, and got almost nothing for it except--and this is rich--a $200 discount at the end.

This self-titled editor allowed existing mistakes, bad ones, to stand, and "corrected" text that wasn't wrong so it now had errors. The result was a complete embarrassment. He self-published and asked me to read the Look Inside portion visible at Amazon and tell him what I thought, which I did as gently as I could, which is how I learned of the editor. He refused to tell me her name.
 

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I just need to understand something. If I need to use a freelance editor to get a manuscript into publishing shape, then what exactly is the role of the editor who works for the publisher?

If you're subbing to trade publishers, generally speaking, hiring an editor is not required, and may very well be unwise.

If you know smart readers you trust, external readers are often very helpful.

I would not allow an external to actually change the words; use notes or track changes or edit on hardcopy.

You can then approve the changes.
 
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MRFAndover

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...A freelance editor and a publisher's editor may have two conflicting visions for your story, so even though you'll have made the changes for Freelance, it may not be sufficient for the publishing editor, and they're the one to make happy.

Just wanted to add my 2 cents here, as I'm a freelance developmental editor, albeit nonfiction rather than fiction. A freelance editor should edit to one vision: the author's vision. They might suggest ways to refine the author's vision. They might suggest that tweaking the vision this way or that might yield better results in the market. But whether those suggestions are incorporated into the vision is up to the author.

I've also worked on staff as a DE at two different publishing companies. When an author works with a publishing company, in some respects, everything is up for grabs. But in my experience, the very best books have a strong kernel that is the author's vision. It's possible to have a book for which the acquisitions editor and the author come up with the book's vision together, and that's an OK model as well. Most acquisitions editors know that their job is to help bring a vision to life, not impose a vision on an author.

There are these other books that I would call managed. In these cases, the editor comes up with the vision and finds a writer to implement it. But that's a completely different scenario.

I'm going to go back to lurking around this topic because I'm here to support me-the-writer, not to let me-the-editor spout off about whatnot. And I think I managed to climb up on a soapbox. :e2tomato:
 

veinglory

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Well, as a contrasting perspective, I use freelance editors, and when they have a valid and accurate perspective on how to reach a wider audience that is beyond the scope of my vision/experience, that makes me a repeat customer. My vision is what created the draft as it is, I bring in an editor (not a copyeditor, a full editor) to add value beyond that. I want my vision to live and I am quite capable of protecting the integrity of the work, but I also want that puppy to sell and I will make changes in pursuit of that goal.
 
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I agree with veinglory. An editor and an author should agree on how the book is going to be refined; but an editor HAS to have strong opinions about a book to do a good job with it. They have to care. We editors can't be neutral in our approach to a book: if we don't love it, it will show in our work.
 

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I just need to understand something. If I need to use a freelance editor to get a manuscript into publishing shape, then what exactly is the role of the editor who works for the publisher?

Which editor at a publisher? I had an editor, tech editor, line editor, proofreader and layout editor. :)

I have never used a freelance editor to get a submission ready to send out, but some people probably should and others really need to. The purpose of an editor before hand is to get you a better product to market. After it's at a publisher, it's to get them a better product to market. Or even one that simply meets their layout and publishing requirements.

If you self-publish, then the freelance editor, or editors, performs the same functions those at a traditional publisher would.

Jeff