Even brilliant writers can benefit from having an editor look at their writing with fresh eyes. You shouldn’t be trying to edit your own work. Neither should you pass the task to your niece because she did well in Grade 12 English. Editing is a critical component of crafting a book and deserves the attention of a professional.

When evaluating and hiring a professional editor, it helps to be clear about what you need and what you can expect.

To start, you should know what kind of editing you are looking for. There are many different levels and varieties of editing. Probably the three you will encounter the most are substantive editing, copyediting, and proofreading.

Substantive editing
Sometimes called developmental editing, substantive editing looks at both the content and structure of a manuscript as a cohesive whole. Does the story or argument flow logically? Are there obvious gaps in a certain area? Too much information someplace else? Substantive editing can involve re-ordering large chunks of text, removing text, adding text, and even rewriting.

Copyediting
Probably the most misused of all the terms, copyediting is often used as a catchall phrase for any and all kinds of editing. Strictly speaking, however, copyediting checks for errors in grammar, usage, spelling, punctuation and other mechanics of style, internal consistency, cross-referencing, labelling, and so on.

Proofreading
Proofreading is the final review of a fully formatted and typeset manuscript. It’s meant only to catch small errors such as the odd spelling mistake or hyphenation snafu that might have been missed at the copyediting stage, or that appeared during the layout process.

The above definitions are fairly standard but there are variations. Not every editor defines editing terms in the same way. It’s therefore crucial that you discuss in detail the exact nature of the services your editor will provide.

Before hiring an editor, make sure you understand the fee arrangements. Some editors charge by the page or word, while others charge by the hour. Still others charge a flat project fee. One method of charging is not necessarily better than other. Just be sure you know what you’ll get for your money. If you are being charged by the hour, ask the editor to provide an upfront estimate of how long the project will take so there are no surprises when the final invoice arrives.

Here are a few final tips for working with an editor:

• Some editors specialize either by format, by topic, or both. For example, an editor might be a specialist in audio scripts or might focus solely on medical books. You may want to look for an editor with particular expertise in your subject matter, especially if you are writing about a highly specialized field.
• Be open-minded towards an editor’s suggestions and changes. It can be hard on the ego to see your painstakingly crafted manuscript go under the editor’s knife. But keep in mind that if an editor is making alterations, it’s because he or she thinks it will improve your work. And in the end, a good product makes you look good too.
• Establish and maintain clear lines of communication. Know what your expectations are and convey them. Ask the editor to keep you in the loop as the work progresses.

I’ve always been a fan of getting straight to the point. Being brief, being concise. Yet I’ve never been a big fan of Ernest Hemingway’s terse and minimalist style. Until the day I read about his 6-word story.

The exact details of how this story came to be are a bit sketchy. Most sources say it was a contest or challenge that Hemingway took up. A handful say he bet his round-table cronies (William Faulkner, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Dororthy Parker et al) that he could write a novel in six words – no more, no less.

Whatever the circumstances surrounding the story’s generation, the result was astounding:

For sale: baby shoes. Never used.

A complete and compelling story in just six words. They are six words that stay forever etched in my memory.

I thought of them the other day as I went to create my next 140-character Twitter post. I wondered how long it would take someone to launch a Twitter writing contest to tell a complete story in 140 characters. I didn’t have long to wonder because the very next day I heard about this contest over at Copyblogger.

The six-word story contest, the 140-character contest and others like them are all about writing fiction. What if you brought the same paucity of words to non-fiction?

Could you write an “all you need to know” guide in say, 25 words or less? I throw down the gauntlet to non-fiction writers everywhere.