When should you engage with an editor?
At the point, you are confident your manuscript is ready for publication.
I say this as that is when you have most likely gone through beta / CP reads and hopefully, responded to feedback. You want your MS to be polished and to save a lot of your editor’s time.
They shouldn’t be bogged down with typos and punctuation checks. Editors are not cheap, and you want the investment to feedback in story structure and plot evaluation.
My first edit was way too early; some five drafts too soon if truth be told. But I was in a hurry for feedback.
When you do receive the editors’ report and MS markup, browse through the feedback. Don’t digest the details yet. Let their comments simmer gently on the mental backburner.
You won’t agree with everything they say. The child in you may want to throw all the toys out of the pram and pen an angry response back.
DON’T DO IT.
Anything you imagine is INACCURATE.
Any negative thought you have is CLOUDED.
Your editor is on your side, and you have to get to that point of clarity before doing anything.
I’d suggest a minimum of two weeks before rereading the report. During this reading, focus on the positives. What did they like? Skim the negatives for now, but keep an open mind.
Once you can see the negative points as positive suggestions on how to improve your story, then you can engage fully with the report and MS markups.
Yes, it is also true that some suggestions are plain silly. Their vision may cause your feelings for your story to stray so I would suggest considering if the proposal can be translated into an approach which keeps the story real to you.
Let’s say a suggestion for setting a scene in Italy. Only this does not work for you, but you’d love to write about Spain, as you have visited there many times on holiday. Hence you have an affinity for that area. Then you are accommodating the improvement of the editor but at the same time improving your story.
It’s your story, and only you can be faithful to the vision.
Listen to your editor. They will make your story amazing.
During my journey with Earth 101, I have had the honour to work with
Julia A Weber http://www.jaw-editing.com
Lyla Lawless http://www.lylalawless.com
and
Cornerstones Literary Consultancy http://cornerstones.co.uk/uk/
I wish you the best with your Editorial adventure
Emae Church 