Manuscript critique or
book editing? Serious writers know that these are tools for success. But which is appropriate for your stage of writing?
Michael Garrett—Stephen King’s first editor and publisher—has 40+ years of editing experience to help you decide which is best for you.
There is no universal truth as to what a manuscript critique or book editing includes. Each editor has his or her own opinion. From my perspective, a manuscript critique is basically an overall evaluation of a manuscript, akin to a satellite view, whereas book editing provides a microscopic evaluation.
A manuscript critique provides an overall assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of your writing, much like a book review. It’s primarily an opinion as to the general effectiveness of your writing. It should be performed by a professional with strong industry credentials, otherwise it’s worthless.
An overall evaluation can help improve your writing before you’re ready for deeper book editing, which can sometimes be intimidating to a new writer.
Don’t trust your critique group for an analysis of your writing. They likely don’t know anymore about it than you do.
Book editing, performed by a professional editor, is the process of reviewing and refining a manuscript to help its author improve its clarity, coherence, readability, and overall quality. It involves multiple stages, each with a specific focus:
Book editing is essential to ensure a manuscript is polished and professional before it reaches readers.
Book editing provides comprehensive line-by-line editing to guide the author in refinement and polishing of the writing to make it publication-ready, addressing all levels of writing and technical details, such as:
If you’re a relatively new writer at the early draft stage, you might start with a manuscript critique, which is less expensive, to get a sense of where you stand as a beginner.
If you’ve completed an entire manuscript and have rewritten it and corrected everything to the best of your knowledge and feel your writing is close to being finished, a professional edit will fill you in on all of the issues that you don’t know about.
Remember, it’s ultimately the author’s responsibility to make his/her writing publishable, not the editor’s.
Be prepared for critical feedback. The truth hurts, but that’s what you need. You're paying for criticism, not praise.
Can you get by without either service? Again, if you’re a serious writer, absolutely not, especially if you’re writing a novel. As the Washington Post notes, "every great novelist needs an editor."
When you seek writing help, the best resource is someone with experience in the publishing industry—an editor who understands what commercial publishers look for in a manuscript. A writing mentor, who can offer insights through manuscript critique services or book editing services, is a valuable ally on your journey to publication.
As Stephen King's first editor and publisher, I've obviously been around awhile. Why should you trust 
me to give you
honest writing advice? Check out my bio and see.
Unpublished writers can be easy targets for industry scammers who play by a loose set of rules. You’ve likely been exposed to their tactics already and perhaps have even come to accept some. If you don't read anything else on this site, please don't miss my Frequently Asked Questions page.
Whether it comes to a simple critique or a full scope edit, please use the advice on this website to avoid the pitfalls that inexperienced writers often fall into.
The unbiased writing tips that you'll find on this website is based upon my 40+ years of publishing industry
and editing experience.
I do not benefit in any way from the external links on this site.
The unencumbered opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.
Michael Garrett's writing advice is right on!
— Kirk Polking, former director, Writer's Digest School
Related Articles:
Don't Trust Online Searches!
Best Book Editors? Says Who?
This site is listed on webwiki.