Editing ,
5 Steps to Turn Editorial Feedback into Action
By Megan Carroll
So, you’ve sent your manuscript off to an editor, or your agent, and you’ve received your first set of notes – an exciting, if quite overwhelming, time. This might be the first substantial piece of feedback you have received yet and it’s important to know what exactly to do with the notes you’ve been given. (Please note, I will be getting you to read your manuscript several times…)
Even if you haven’t worked with an editor yet, understanding how to approach feedback will save you time, stress, and rewrites later. Here’s a simple 5-step framework to use to help you get the most out of your editorial feedback:
1. Read the editorial notes thoroughly
This might sound incredibly obvious but read the notes through, in their entirety, a few times. Try not to react to anything specific too quickly and allow the ideas time to percolate. Receiving edits on something you thought you’d nailed, or something that’s very close to you personally, can be quite emotional and your first response might be to jump to your manuscripts defense and scream ‘No! You’re wrong!’ but take a moment to look at everything your editor or agent is suggesting – they are doing so for a reason – and don’t jump into edits straight away. I’d advise reading them through, taking a day or two, and then reading them again.
2. What suggestions do you like? Which ones do you hate?
Now for the next stage, take a look at the suggestions and figure out which ones you think will strengthen your book – hopefully the suggestions you love outnumber anything else. Mark those up (highlight, transfer to your own editorial list etc.) and let the ease of those types of suggestions help with the ones that might be a little more challenging to action. It can really help you get into the swing of the edit if at first you pick out everything that’s doable.
Now for the edits you’re not so sure about…keep in mind that a good editor or agent is there to guide you towards the best version of your book, their suggestions are just that – suggestions. Consider why they’re giving the note they’ve given, is it because what you thought was working isn’t quite there yet? Is it due to something not quite making it to the page enough to translate for the reader? If they’ve highlighted something that isn’t working but you’re not sure their fix is quite right, allow it to spark something else that feels more aligned to your work. This is what an editor or agent is always hoping to provoke.
3. Don’t be afraid to ask questions!
Before diving into making changes, check if there’s anything you need further clarification on. Communicating edits in a letter isn’t always easy – your story is much more nuanced than an editor or agent can express in such a restricted format – so don’t be afraid to ask follow up questions: Is this what you meant here? Can you give me an example where I’ve done that? I think perhaps X would work better here, do you agree?
Getting ahead of any lingering questions before you dive into your edit will be so essential, particularly when you’re sending your manuscript back to your agent – the quicker you get those edits nailed down, the sooner you’ll move to the submission stage (or query stage if you’re working with an editor).
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By Megan Carroll
About the author
Megan Carroll is a literary agent with over a decade of experience in the industry. She has been working at Watson, Little Ltd since 2014, first as an assistant and now as a full-time agent. She represents commercial writing across all ages, and her clients include well-established writers of romance and saga Sophie Claire and Rosie Archer, as well as new talent like Lauren Ford and Luci Adams. Megan Carroll is also an Editor at Jericho Writers.