Editing Manuscripts: The Vital Role of Professional Editors in Producing Flawless Manuscripts

Writing is not just about telling a tale, putting thoughts into words, and getting published. Many writers spend hours, days, weeks, or months to create their story. They have to put their thoughts and emotions to work from the start of the writing journey until it is finished. In their passion while writing and in the outpouring of their thoughts, some errors could occur. Mistakes can happen, whether it is wrong verb tenses, incorrect placement of punctuation, or typos in spelling. Completing a story does not automatically mean that it is ready for publication; it means that the editing process is about to start.

Why Is Professional Editing Vital to Your Manuscripts?

Editing is an essential component in the success of every manuscript that will be published. Potential publishers expect to receive a clean, polished copy to avoid bad press reviews against it. A fully edited and flawless document leaves a lasting impression on publishers and readers, thus creating a desire for them to purchase and publish your work in the future.
Manuscripts or documents undergo in-depth review as editors ensure that it is free from spelling and grammar errors. Editors will be able to identify inconsistencies in the story line, revise weak sentences, and suggest to the author ways to improve the manuscript. Professional editing may actually make the difference between winning a publishing deal and getting back to review your draft. 
Writers who make it through the first phase of the selection process will have to submit the full manuscript. Editors from publishing companies are not likely to continue reading if there are pages which are not properly formatted or spelling errors on a certain page, no matter how great the story line goes. It is a lazy mistake for writers to bypass this process. Not calling upon professional editors to check and double check their manuscript runs the risk of providing substandard copies to potential publishers.

Why Can’t Writers Just Edit Their Work?

Writers take time to finish a story, and when they finish, they have an attachment to their work and a tendency to indulge. Many writers doubt the practicality of having their manuscript edited and try to edit their own work. But writers who have spent weeks or month soaked up in their own stories may not be as effective in finding inconsistencies and errors in their manuscripts. They need a fresh pair of eyes to thoroughly check their work.
As the author, you become too close to your work that you hardly see your own mistakes. What may seem clear to you may be unclear to the general audience. Editors will be the second set of eyes which will discover poorly worded sections and small mistakes in grammar that authors might have overlooked. Editors have certain skills to speed up the improvement of your manuscript. They have an eye for detail and are better placed to view the manuscript with a critical eye before submitting them to the publishers.
Editing provides a learning curve for an author’s career. While most authors do not like their work to be edited or criticized, it is the professional editors that improve the writer’s craft. Authors have long relied on editors to represent the eyes and ears of the general reader. Editors bring viewpoints that may never rise spontaneously in the author’s reverie. 

Authors and Editors Are a Team

Authors and editors are a team working to produce the best product for your target audience. The moment that you start engaging your editor is the moment that you become more than just an author—you become your own product’s developer. Keep in mind that readers expect to have professional stories at hand, and missing out on simple errors can leave them disillusioned on the author’s skills based solely on those unedited parts.
Most authors have no way of judging whether their work is really good or bad. They are not objective in their creation because they personally lent on the paper. An editor should be someone that you can trust, someone who is not afraid to tell the truth and will help you better your work.
Not all readers will like the story line for each one have their own thoughts and opinions. However, a highly polished and professionally edited manuscript will help develop recognition for the author’s writing skills and talents. Without editors, some authors will remain positive that they have created a work of a genius though it was only mediocre at best, and others will wallow in self-doubt when they have actually created something great.