10 things to look for in a good editor

You’re looking for a good editor, but just what constitutes “good”?

If it’s your first time working with an editor, it can be difficult to know. Even if you’ve worked with editors before, it can be hard to find the right fit.

I’ve been a writer for almost four decades and an editor in different capacities for nearly as long, so I’ve been on both sides of the fence. Although I do offer editorial services, I’m not looking for new clients as of this writing (September 2021); that’s not my motivation.

To be frank, there are a lot of bad editors out there who won’t provide your manuscript with the kind of attention it deserves, and who might end up making you feel worse about your writing in the bargain.

How do you weed out the bad ones and identify the good? Based on my experience, I’ve assembled a list of things to look for in a good editor.

Any editor should do two things: fix errors and make your manuscript better. But those two goals are the bare minimum, and achieving them alone doesn’t make an editor good, so they’re not on my list.  

Here’s what is:

1. Asks for a sample

The first interaction you’ll have with a potential editor will be part of the feeling-out process. Do you want to work with this person, and does the editor want to work with you? Are you a good fit?

The only good way to answer these questions is to provide the editor with a short sample of the material you want edited. A good editor will ask you for this before committing to any job. Any prospective editor who agrees to a job based only on your willingness to pay a set fee isn’t interested in editing. That person is interested in money.

Priorities matter.

Good editors are willing to decline a project that doesn’t fit their skill sets or the amount of time they’re willing to commit, regardless of any potential payday. Bad editors just want your money.

2. Isn’t out to prove anything

There’s a tendency among poor editors to try to “prove their worth” by providing unnecessary edits. If your copy is clean, it’s clean. No good editor tries to fix mistakes that aren’t there. But I’ll be blunt: A lot of editors do precisely this.

Part of their motivation is ego, and part of it is a desire to justify taking your money.

This is another good reason for providing a sample before working with any editor. Good editors will tell you if your copy is clean; they won’t manufacture problems to show you how thorough they supposedly are.

Overly aggressive, ego-driven editors cause a host of problems. They make you pay for changes you don’t need. They can interfere with your voice. They can make you feel like a failure. (“Look at all those red marks!”) And, worst of all, they can actually make your manuscript worse.

3. Lets you be the boss

Along these same lines, remember one simple fact: You’re paying the editor. That makes you the boss. Ego-driven editors like to operate as though THEY’RE the experts, so you should take their advice regardless of whether it’s good or whether it fits your goals for your project. That’s right: They’re YOUR goals, and it’s YOUR project, not theirs.

Editors who take offense when you reject a suggestion care more about their own egos than they do about providing a service to you or helping you meet your goals. They may not even know they’re being pushy or bossy. Many freelance editors come from backgrounds in journalism or public relations, where editors DO call the shots. Writers work for them.

In the freelance world, it’s the opposite: They work for you, and regardless of their personal history, you shouldn’t have to remind them of that fact.

4. Protects your voice

You don’t pay editors to make your work sound like something they would write. If they want to write books or articles on their own time, that’s up to them. But this is your project, and no editor should substitute his or her voice for yours.

Admittedly, there can be a fine line here. A good editor, for example, will do things like make your sentences more concise and remove passive voice. If you use long sentences and passive construction as part of your style, though, changing it can affect your voice. (I don’t advise doing either of these things, but good writers know when to break the rules.)

How do you know when an editor has stepped over the line that stands between cleaning up your writing and changing your voice? Simple: Good editors will return your manuscript to you with their work highlighted in red mark-up. That way, you can compare your original version to the proposed changes. The key word here is “proposed.” Remember: You’re the boss.

5. Reads like a reader

You might notice how I phrased the title to the previous section. It was intentional. Good editors don’t just avoid changing an author’s voice, they go out of their way to protect it. That requires them to do more than simply look for punctuation problems and consistency errors. That’s a proofreader’s job. It requires them to immerse themselves in the story.

Good editors will read your story like a reader. They’ll be able to put themselves in the reader’s shoes and see whether they can connect with the story. A lot of this will be subjective, and a good editor will tell you so.

The main point, though, is that good editors are invested in the story. They have to be in order to see it from your perspective and from the perspective of potential readers. Both of those viewpoints are important. If they’re not invested in the story, two things will happen. First, they won’t care about your goals in writing it, so they won’t be invested in working with you to achieve them. Second, if they’re not invested, they won’t be paying attention, and they might miss something.

6. Reads like an editor

Of course, you’re not hiring an editor to be a beta reader. You’re hiring that person for professional expertise, and you need to get what you’re paying for. A good editor won’t just read like a reader, he or she will read like an editor, too.

In fact, the best editors sometimes make two runs through a manuscript. They’ll read it from a macro perspective, the way a reader does, and they’ll also dig into the details, the way an editor does. These two approaches aren’t mutually exclusive; they complement each other.

Details jump out when an editor is familiar with the big picture, and those details, in turn, bring that big picture to life.

7. Knows your audience

Different styles of writing and different genres are geared toward different audiences. A one-size-fits-all editor isn’t what you need. You need someone who knows your audience and understands what that audience expects.

You don’t want an expert in technical how-to documents editing your epic fantasy, and you don’t want someone who exclusively edits military science fiction working on your young adult romance.

The most successful editors are versatile enough to work in a number of different genres. Just be sure whoever you choose is at least familiar with yours and with your target audience.

8. Improves flow

If your writing flows, it’s like a river that carries your readers along with it almost effortlessly. Bad flow will run your readers aground, and they’ll need to make a conscious effort to “get back into the story.”

Good editors will address places in your story where you might lose the reader. They’ll suggest picking up the pace or deleting scenes that may have no bearing on the plot or character development. (Note the word “suggest.” The ultimate decision is always yours.)

They’ll also suggest ways to help improve your flow on the micro level: Do your sentences carry the reader along easily, or does some choppy writing need to be flagged?

Flow is immensely important for one simple reason: It keeps the reader engaged. A good editor will understand how to make writing flow and will help you improve the pacing of your story.

9. Helps you fix things

A good editor won’t just tell you to fix something, they’ll suggest how to fix it. This might seem obvious, but some editors won’t do it. They’ll send you comments like, “This needs to be addressed.” (How?) Or, “You need to provide more information here.” (What information?)

You shouldn’t expect your editor to do your research for you. If you’re repeatedly leaving out important details, don’t expect an editor to supply them for you. On the other hand, however, if you miss something now and then, a good editor WILL take the time to look for the information that’s lacking and suggest it to you.

Just telling you to fix something without providing guidance can be more frustrating than not knowing there’s a problem in the first place. Good editors don’t just identify problems. They help you solve them.

10. Encourages you

This is an absolute must: Good editors know the importance of constructive criticism.

Writers already deal with enough discouragement, from query rejection letters to one-star reviews on Amazon. You don’t need an editor adding to that negativity.

What you need is an editor who will focus on what you’re doing right and how to make you’re writing even better, not someone who harps on what you’re doing wrong or chastises you for your mistakes. If you find an editor who complains about your writing, chances are you’ve found an editor who’s more interested in demonstrating superiority than in helping you.  

Writer and editor should be on the same team, pursuing the same goals. It’s not a competition. If you ever get the feeling it is, you should probably look for a different editor.

On the other hand, if you find an editor that does each of the 10 things listed here, hold on to that person. You’ve struck gold.

Stephen H. Provost is the author of more than 30 books and the editor of several others. He spent more than 30 years writing and editing for daily newspapers. You can find his books on Amazon.