After the Editing: When an agent says it’s ready!

Not that long ago I put up a post about what it’s like editing with an agent. Well it’s time to take that a step farther. Because Deity Six, my very first completed novel, has since transitioned from 1) finding an agent. And 2) going through and finishing edits with said agent. To step 3) searching for and acquiring an editor and a publishing deal. With steps 4) and maybe even 5) to be determined at a later date. So let’s explore Step 3 and those smaller steps in-between.

Developmental edits:

Before this post I talked about the beginning steps of agent editing. Now here’s the ending. While you’re editing with your agent, unless you’re book is perfect (Ha, ahahahahahaha!!!!!), you’ll likely go through what are called developmental edits. These are basically how they sound; edits that address any issues with plot, characters, or things like theme.

Being as close to your book as you likely are, you probably can’t see some of its problems. And even if you can, you may not know how to fix them. This being the case, your agent will go through and identify (often line by line) some of the problems that require adjustment, or even removal before the book is ready to move onto the next phase of its life.  This can go on for… a while.

For me it lasted about three months from the time I signed the contract with my agent. Yours could be faster, or longer. Either way it will be different according to the needs of your story, and how dramatic of a tantrum you feel like throwing when your agent tells you cut an entire five pages (or chapters) out of the book!  After you’ve made the necessary changes (and note that these are generally optional and not required by your agent, but advised before moving on), hopefully your story is in much better shape. And it’s time to move on to…

Copy edits:

So far, my experience with copy edits is thus: “Hi Josh, doesn’t look like we need to do any more developmental edits. I’m performing some copy edits, then it’ll be ready to go out.” The book didn’t come back to me again, so my assumption is that whatever changes were made to the story were all so minor as not require either my attention, or my approval (such as typos and minor re-wording). So…whoopie!

Submission time:

The next part is perhaps the worst for many. This is where your agent embarks on putting the book into the “real world.” And by “real world,” I mean editors currently acquiring works like yours, for publishers who publish books like yours.

So here’s the process as I understand it: Your agent identifies editors looking for ideas similar to yours, or enough like yours to be interested in taking it on as an editing project in order to then publish the book, and/or offer you, the author, a publishing contract. A partial submission goes to the editor. If the editor isn’t interested, they reject it (duh). If they do like it they request a full manuscript, which your agent sends to them.

Now for that pie in that sky. If the editor likes the book the process doesn’t end there. They then give it to some of their peers (other editors). If they like it, it then moves on to the editorial manager. If the manager likes it and agrees with the acquiring editor that the publishing house should represent it (i.e. they think they will make money off of it), then you will be offered a contract.

**Note: I have no details on this just yet and may cover it in a future post when I can offer firsthand experience. As of the writing of this post I have been updated about three occurrences following the release of my book to acquiring editors. Two rejections, as it did not fit into a specific category they were looking to use it for. And one request for the full manuscript. So… fingers crossed.

The Big Wait:

For now, this is the line in the sand. As me and my agent wait for the editor to read the full manuscript and either reject it, or send it on for approval from their higher ups. It’s all about waiting now. So when you get to this part remember…this can take months. Months, and months, with a chance that you will only get a rejection. But this is the world we live in. This is the altar to which we pray, sacrifice, and divvy up an unhealthy portion of our souls to these gatekeepers of traditional publishing bliss. So settle in, buck’o’s. It’s going to be a long winter.