Receiving editorial feedback

As a developmental editor, I help authors strengthen their plots, story structures and characterisation, among other aspects of their stories. This often results in suggestions for large scale changes to an author’s manuscript. For example, there could be scenes in a mystery novel that don’t move the story forward in any meaningful way and so I might suggest either deleting these scenes or rewriting them so that they do move the story forward. This can be difficult for authors, especially newer authors, to hear. They may really like these scenes and have had a great time writing them.

This is why I always suggest that authors take time to process any feedback they’re given. Because creative writing is such a personal endeavour, any comments other than praise can sometimes bring up feelings of self doubt, or mean that the author wants to either dismiss the feedback or push back on it rather than openly considering it. Dealing with these difficult feelings so that you can make informed decisions takes time, space, and practice.

I usually recommend that authors take at least a week to sit on any feedback before coming back to me with questions and comments. This allows time to read through the feedback more than once and to take time away for self-care and reflection—processing feedback can be really challenging!

I also always remind writers, both in my editorial reports and in conversations, that they’re in charge of creative decisions. As a developmental editor, I spend a lot of time trying to get to the heart of an author’s story so that I can help them achieve what I believe they set out to do. Still, it’s the author who knows their story best. My job as an editor is to help the author write the best book they can, not to change the story to suit my tastes. And, of course, I try to always phrase my queries and comments diplomatically, and to praise what the author is doing well. This isn’t to say that I never get it wrong either though as editing is subjective to a certain extent.

Are you an author who’s undergone editing? If so, what was your experience of the process? How did you deal with receiving less than positive feedback?

Also, if you’re looking for an editor who might be able to help you with your novel, then I’d love to hear from you. You can contact me using the button below.