I received an email with a question in response to the recent NSSWM newsletter (see blog post), and I thought that as more than one person probably has the same question, I would answer it on the blog.

Here's the question:

“Back in college I got to sit down with one of my professors who wanted to publish one of my poems in a journal that he edited; we went through the poem, talking about different lines and how they might work better, even coming up with a title that I liked better than what I'd originally named it.

"I'd always figured it was the same with fiction; in fact, I'd sort of looked forward to that part, collaborating with an unbiased editor to make my work stronger… After reading your article, though, I'm wondering what the editing processing is really like when a magazine accepts your short story or a publisher accepts your novel. Does the editor go through the piece, marking suggested changes in red, and then send it back to the writer to revise the piece based on that? Or does the editor make those changes himself, and then send the revised piece back to the author for approval? Or does the editor make the changes and the writer doesn't get to see what was done until she picks up a copy of the magazine or novel at her local bookstore? Or does every publisher handle it differently?

"So, would you mind shedding a little light on how that part of the publishing process works, for those of us who haven't experienced it yet?”

~Andi

Andi was correct in thinking that the process is different for each publisher, but it also varies from editor to editor, and editors sometimes deal with individual writers differently. Confused yet? I’ll give you a basic outline and tell you where things can vary.

First off, let’s talk about publishing short stories. For most magazines and journals they don’t have the time (or money) to go through significant revisions with you unless you happen to be a big name author. That said, some will send back your ms with comments/suggestions, even if they wont publish it (but don’t count on it unless they promise to do so in their guidelines).

Usually magazines/journals will only take stories that require minimal revisions, like “Can we cut this one scene?” or grammar fixes. For grammatical issues, the editors frequently wont contact the author about making changes unless they’re unsure of meaning. Some publishers send you galleys, some don’t.  Basically, don’t expect a warm, fuzzy review process for your short stories.

Moving on to novels. Once again, I make the disclaimer that every publisher and editor functions differently and I’m speaking in broad terms.

Once your manuscript is accepted (or sometimes before that), the editor goes through and does some developmental editing. In this stage, they look at concepts and story flow. Does it make sense for the hero to abandon his friend in chapter six? Is that explanation of New York’s subway system too long and convoluted? Does the author consistently have a problem establishing the point of view? The editor makes notes of these things and composes a letter to the author covering all those issues. The specificity of this letter depends on the issues raised and the editor’s relationship with the writer.  

Speaking for myself, when I’m sending comments and suggestions to one of my writers I try to be as specific as possible, especially if I haven’t worked with them very much or they don’t have much experience. Some writers I just say “Do this instead of that” and let them go at it because I trust their ability to understand and apply what I’m asking of them. Others require a more detailed explanation, and some can't revise very well, and after the fourth try I end up doing the revisions (and make a note not to use them again).

Back to the letter. This letter usually accompanies a marked-up version of your ms (print or digital). Many publishers are going digital, so frequently the whole exchange takes place via email. While I still do my initial edits on paper (it’s so much easier to cross reference items and check things, etc.), I use the Track Changes in Word to make notes for my writers. Some changes I will go ahead and make (like cutting sentences) and others I will just leave a note (eg. "This is confusing; do you mean A or B? If you mean A, please clarify in this way. If you want it be ambigous, make the intent clear").

The author gets to incorporate and apply the editor's suggestions. Sometimes phone calls or a series of emails are initiated if the author doesn't understand what the editor is asking or if they don't agree with the suggestions. This the "fun" part Andi was looking forward to. After speaking with authors and editors, this part of the editorial process can be enjoyable, or incredibly painful. Patience and flexibility are needed on both sides.

After the author returns the manuscript with corrections, the editor goes through it again and sees how well the author has incorporated their suggestions. At this point the manuscript is either sent back for more revisions, or the editors take care of it themselves. If the author was asked to make revisions during the submissions process, this is also the point where the editor decides whether or not to take the manuscript.

Sometimes the editor has no developmental edits, and once your manuscript is accepted you have don't see it again until it arrives in book form. 

Once the developmental edits are done, the manuscript is sent to the copy editors for all the nitty-gritty grammar and style stuff. The text is formatted for the book, the editor edits the proofs and voila, we’re done. It’s a rare thing for the writer to be involved after the developmental stage, except occasionally with the cover.

However, unless your publisher is kind of lame, you don’t have to wait until your book arrives in the bookstore to get a copy. Usually you’re sent a copy (or ten) once the books are in-house.

As I said earlier, this is a basic outline and the editorial experience is different for everyone, even for the editors. I hope this answers the question sufficiently. Feel free to chime in with your own experiences.

I'm off for the holidays and wont return until after New Year's. Have a wonderful holiday season and I'll see you next year!

(Yes, I know that was corny but I just couldn't resist.)