Back in the Dark Ages when I got into the publishing business as a writer/illustrator (here’s a list of the books I put into print), a writer with any talent could send in a manuscript plunked out on a manual typewriter, full of corrections, mistakes, and perhaps bread crumbs, and stand a good chance of getting it published. Back then, writers sent “manuscripts” to editors that were typed on scrolls of paper (so the author didn’t type past the end of the page), typed all caps, or even part pen/part typewritten.

Needless to say, nothing was very polished since re-writing meant just that: You started from scratch and often added as many errors to the manuscript as you corrected in the process. White out, correction paper, and even taped in sections and foldouts, often transformed a manuscript into somewhat of a visual puzzle that likely kept many an editor entertained for many extra hours.

Editors often worked with writers polishing a manuscript in the process of creating the galleys and typeset versions of the manuscript. Sometimes editors even did much of the re-writing and were involved in plot changes that went into the final book.

Today that’s changed.

With huge numbers of manuscripts being sent to editors, there’s no time for real editing beyond a few corrections. The days when the editor was often almost a co-author are long gone. Either the manuscript comes in polished and ready-to-go or it’s rejected.

Period.

(The only exceptions being for those few souls who have been best selling authors for a publisher.)

Today’s author must have a flawless manuscript if she wishes to get into print.

So how does an author achieve that?

The answer comes from a new industry of editors and ghost writers who basically go through your manuscript — or in the case of the ghost writer just listen to your idea and/or tapes you’ve dictated — and make all sorts of changes and corrections, giving you back a manuscript that is as perfect as is humanly possible, ready to submit to the publisher.

Of course such a service can get expensive. And if too many changes are called for, the book can be transformed from something that was in your words into a piece that’s in the voice of the editor. That’s why a smart writer will hone and polish his work before hiring someone to edit and proof it for him. This process of editing a carefully re-written and proofed manuscript is called a “light edit.”

A light edit doesn’t cost much. It greatly improves your chances of getting into print. It’s almost always worth every cent you spend on it.

Before I went into illustration work more or less full time, I worked for a short while with Book Editing Associatess (run by Linda Lotman). Lotman requires that anyone wanting to work as an editor pass a written test — which is one humdinger of an exam. If you don’t pass it, you don’t edit with her company. (And, for those English teacher I had in the past, I want to note that I did pass with flying colors.)

Lotman’s stable of editors includes talented people who can handle everything from technical writing to fiction, including various genres, and a few who will even ghost write a title from a basic idea you hand off to them. They can handle everything from a light edit to major manuscript surgery.

When you contact Book Editing Associatess, your request is submitted to a small group of editors who could handle the task, and each editor bids on the work. Thus you’ll get a group of editors to choose from (and can even ask them to do sample edits so you can see their work).

Whether you go with Book Editing Associatess or anther operation, it’s wise to have someone go through your manuscript to help you polish it. Otherwise your chance of getting into print will be greatly reduced.

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Although a writer and editor in his previous life, Duncan Long now works almost exclusively as a book illustrator. You can see his book cover illustrations at http://duncanlong.com/art.html.
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