
What to prepare before briefing an editor
What to prepare before briefing an editor
When you want to engage me – or any editor – to provide editing services, it’s important to provide a sample of your writing work, and a synopsis. This helps the editor gauge a few details about you as a writer, and provide a more accurate estimate of the time and work involved, and most importantly, the cost.
Guidelines for Submitting Writing Samples
It’s important to submit samples that showcase your skills and writing abilities, as they are now. Not the polished, best examples of your writing, but the average examples that show your level of expertise at this moment. If you’re a new writer and need extra help, that is important to me. Similarly, if you’re experienced and simply need some spit and polish, that’s important too. Below are guidelines on the type of writing sample to include:
- Significance: Submit a chapter or a significant scene.
- Length: Typically, a sample should be long enough to demonstrate your writing style but concise enough to keep the process efficient. Aim for a few pages or around 1000 to 2000 words.
- Style and Tone: Include passages that showcase your unique voice and tone. This could be humorous, serious, or any other tone relevant to your work. If your tone changes, provide a chapter that represents the most dominant tone in your book.
- Grammar and Mechanics: It’s okay to have errors in your sample text, I am an editor after all and can help you in that area. Ensure that your sample is generally representative of your writing. If you struggle with grammar, I want you to leave those grammatical mistakes in the text. This allows me to focus on the amount of work I need to put in to help you reach a good standard.
What I Look for in a Writing Sample
When reviewing your writing sample, I focus on several key elements:
- Narrative Structure: How well is the story organised? Are transitions smooth, and does the narrative flow logically?
- Character Development: If applicable, how well-developed are the characters? Are they believable and engaging?
- Dialogue: If included, is the dialogue natural and effective in advancing the plot or revealing character traits?
- Style and Voice: Does your writing have a distinct voice or style that engages the reader?
- Pacing: Is the pace well-balanced, keeping the reader interested without feeling rushed or slow?
- Clarity and Conciseness: Are your ideas clearly expressed, and is the language concise without being overly simplistic?
- Emotional Resonance: Does your writing evoke emotions or create a connection with the reader?
By following these guidelines and ensuring your sample includes these key elements, I’ll get a fairly good representative view of your writing abilities. This will enable me to offer a view of the path ahead and the services needed. If you’ve mentioned you need a certain type of edit, but if I feel you need other services, I will detail those in the estimate.
Synopsis – or Story Snapshot
It’s also important to provide a synopsis of your story. A synopsis provides me with an outline – or brief snapshot – of your story. At a minimum, ensure you include:
- Beginning
- Key characters, and their introductions
- Themes
- Crucial moments that occur within the text
- Turning points
- Ending
One page is more than sufficient. This can be provided in bullet points, or even in an Excel spreadsheet, outlining key beats in your story. Here’s an example you can copy and adapt if you’d like to provide more detail on the current structure:
Beat | Description | Percentage |
1. Opening Image | Introduces the protagonist and their world. | 1% |
2. Theme Stated | Hints at the story’s central theme. | 5% |
3. Setup | Explores hero’s flawed status quo, introduces supporting characters. | 1-10% |
4. Catalyst | Inciting incident that disrupts the hero’s world. | 10% |
5. Debate | Hero wrestles with the decision to act on the catalyst. | 10-20% |
6. Break into Act 2 | Hero commits to the adventure or new situation. | 20% |
7. B Story | Introduction of a subplot, often involving a relationship. | 22% |
8. Fun and Games | Hero explores new world, facing challenges and small victories. | 20-50% |
9. Midpoint | Significant event that raises stakes and shifts hero’s perspective. | 50% |
10. Bad Guys Close In | Antagonistic forces intensify, putting pressure on the hero. | 50-75% |
11. All Is Lost | Hero experiences a major setback or low point. | 75% |
12. Dark Night of the Soul | Hero grapples with hopelessness, finds renewed motivation. | 75-80% |
13. Break into Act 3 | Hero discovers a solution, commits to the final push. | 80% |
14. Finale | Hero confronts main conflict, applies what they’ve learned. | 80-99% |
15. Final Image | Closing scene contrasting with the opening image, showing hero’s transformation. | 99-100% |
This table format makes it easier to visualise the structure and key elements of your story. Your story may not have all these elements, that’s ok! This is just an example of a typical 3-Act structure. Feel free to adjust, delete, and add any elements based on your narrative.
Word Count
Ensure you include a word count as the manuscript currently stands. If you plan to expand the word count before the manuscript is edited, let me know.
Next Steps
If I am able to accommodate your deadlines and feel you are ready for editorial intervention, I’ll provide an estimate, listing services and their costs. If you only want structural editing, I can simply provide that cost, and then list future services that may be needed, as a guideline.
If you need advice on the publishing road ahead, please also let me know. I am happy to include guidelines in any report I produce.
Meetings are charged on an as-needed basis.
I may have up to five estimates out for tender at any one time, so I operate on a first-to-accept-a-quote basis. Some authors take months to decide whether to go ahead with editing services, so please do let me know as soon as you have decided whether to go ahead. This helps me plan the months ahead.
I very much appreciate timely responses to estimates.
*Photo by Hümâ H. Yardım on Unsplash.