The 5 Stages of Being Edited

Ah, editing. That dreaded step of the writing process that seems to be the bane of every writer’s existence. And yet, every writer (yes, all of them) needs an editor.

As the writer, you’re close to your project, almost intimately so. You’re more likely to overlook—or ignore—glaring mistakes or inconsistencies that, if fixed, would drastically improve your writing. So, you need someone, almost like your honest best friend, who can point things out to you and help you kill your darlings.

But knowing that doesn’t make the process any easier. You’re handing your masterpiece, your labor of love, your blessed baby, into the hands of someone whose sole job is to mark it up with red ink (or digital track changes).

Okay, okay, I’m exaggerating, but that’s because I’m an editor myself, so I know what it feels like in the head of an editor. We take a writer’s work and polish up the rough edges—adding clarity, fixing misspellings, clearing up plot irregularities.

Yet, that all gets flipped on its head when the editor is the one getting edited, when the hunter is the one being hunted. I know the drill, I told myself. This is for my own good. I’ll be fine. (Cue omniscient narrator: She was not fine.)

These aren’t official stages by any means, but they convey exactly what was swirling through my head when the time came to review my editor’s changes. Needless to say, I was not expecting it to be such a soul-enriching experience.

Stage 1: Denial

It finally happens. The email hits your inbox. Subject line: Your Editor’s Edits. But in your head, you’re thinking, What could there possibly have been to change? It was basically perfect.

I’ll admit, I had those thoughts. How couldn’t I when I’d already combed through my novel 10,000 times? I’d weeded out every typo, groomed every dialogue beat, and made my characters put on their Sunday best.

Obviously, those thoughts are just a writer’s pride that needs to get tamped down by their expert editor’s loving but critical comments. And of course, the denial doesn’t last long when you start to face the reality of your situation: You still have yet to read your editor’s edits.

Stage 2: Panic

This is where all of that self-doubt starts creeping in. Maybe it wasn’t perfect. Maybe it was garbage. Shoot, what if they actually hated it? What if it’s too terrible to be salvaged?

These are all thoughts that every creative person ever has had to deal with. It’s that moment when you think everyone’s going to expose you for the fraud you are. And your editor has just discovered it all.

Full transparency: I didn’t open my edited novel until the next day after my editor returned it to me. I let it sit there, ignored, abandoned, awaiting the day it would emerge from the shadows of my inbox to hit me with truth.

Stage 3: Obstinance

Do you ever have the feeling when someone tells you to do something that you no longer want to do the thing? No? Just me?

I know, it’s absolutely ridiculous, but as you poise your cursor over the document, you steel yourself, determined to hold your ground and stand up for your writing. The Mama Bear comes out when you think about your defenseless little words going up against that menacing red pen. Who will defend them, if not you?

(In case you didn’t know already, your editor is standing there to defend them right along with you. They’re just the wise sensei who’s going to whip them into shape before sending them out into the world.)

Stage 4: Acceptance

Oh . . . that wasn’t so bad.

It’s true. My stomach a ball of nerves, I pulled up my inbox, downloaded the document, and started scrolling through the comments. As I waded deeper into all of the suggested changes and observations from my editor, my stomach started to relax a little, and by the time I reached the end, I was nodding along with almost everything and thinking, Duh, why didn’t I catch that?

It’s amazing how much you miss when you’re close to a project: “You’re using broach instead of brooch.” Oops, I know how to spell, I promise. “This character said this in Chapter 3 but contradicted herself in Chapter 15.” Yikes, don’t want her to have a split personality. “I want to like this character, but he’s being a bit of a jerk here.” Ah! No, please like him! “This sentence makes absolutely no sense.” Honestly, I’m confused too.

Stage 5: Confidence

All right. I made it through all of the edits. And I survived.

This is the part where the excitement starts to build. You remember that your editor is there to help make your prose shine. They’re not there to change your voice or force your characters to do something they would never do. That means the things they suggest are only for the purpose of making the novel better. And it will be better because of it.

With this in mind, feeling encouraged and supported by a team of people who want to make my novel the best it can be, I forged ahead and began editing. Probably 9.5 times out of 10 I accepted their changes and suggestions. (I’m a bit of a stubborn soul when it comes to commas. #CommaNerd) And the manuscript I was left with is so much better than where it was before my lovely editor got her hands on it.

Editing is a crucial (albeit sometimes painful) part of the process. But it’s necessary. It can’t be replaced. So, the next time you pick up a book, just know that behind that great author is an equally great editor.