The topic of Editing came up in a recent discussion in a LinkedIn author's group that I belong to. The members discussed their issues with editing, finding editors, and how difficult it is to edit one's work. Somehow this conversation was concluded when some members stated that agents and publishers would help the author edit their work. A person in particular said that as long as you do the best you can, they can't really expect more from you and that Agents and Publishers would help you get your work ready for publication.
Although that sounds like sound advice, it is the WORST advice I've ever heard! The statement is accurate in that you should hand in the best possible work you are capable of producing, and it is true that the publishing house will assign an editor to work with you to get the ms ready, BUT this statement is hugely misleading. Why? because doing your best for most authors may not mean that your work is ready for publishing... and all that it will get you is many rejection letters and waste your time.
This was my response to the group:
However, I respectfully disagree with comments that editing is no longer needed. If you get a sub par manuscript to an agent, they will decline it and tell you that it is not ready. If you are fortunate enough that an agent will take it on, they may then turn around and tell you that you need to hire an editor to get it ready to be sent out to publishers...*
It is true that when the work gets to an editor they will work with you to edit the work, but this does not mean that they will help you get the manuscript ready. More often than not, this means that they want specific changes that they think will make the book more marketable, and if the MS requires lots of editing they will decline it because it's "too much work"... I'm just relaying this from personal experience and it doesn't mean that this is always the case, but I've been around long enough to know that bad editing is distracting to those of us who read a lot, and often just can't make the time to take something on that isn't ready to be put out there.
* I would like to Note that forcing clients to hire editors after we take them on is not our policy at the Corvisiero Literary Agency. We do not take on work that needs extensive edits. If we love a concept, but the work isn't ready, we ask for a rewrite. We do not force clients to hire paid editors.
My advice is simple. Yes, do your best always, before anyone sees your work. Then give it to an experienced writer, or professional editor, to clean it up and catch the things that you would just skim over. Lets face it, after you've read your work a million times, your eyes do tend to miss things. Attend conferences and workshops to learn tricks and get professional critiques of your work. You are never too good to continue to hone and improve your skills. After the editor has had a go at it, and you've incorporated all of your learnings into the manuscript, you then give it to a hand full of qualified beta readers to give you unbiased (and free) critiques. These things can be done in any order that works best for you.
Once you've considered all the comments that you were given and made the necessary improvements, then you can say that you've truly done your best with this project, and that it is ready for submission. Doing your best means improving your knowledge and skills, and having professionals and savvy colleagues help you. It does not mean that you write a novel, and look it over, and whala, you're ready to send it in. It means that you must do anything in your power to get that work to be the best that it can possibly be.
This will make the difference between a rejection letter and a publishing contract.
Happy editing!
~Marisa
