How to Evaluate and Implement Editing Feedback

Whether you’d already gotten your developmental editing feedback, are waiting for it (agonizing, I know), or want some orientation before you pull the trigger, you may be wondering: How do I make sense of all those comments, notes, and suggestions? Where do I even start?

As a writer, I’ve been in your shoes. Finding out where your book is strong, weak, underdeveloped, and overwritten is one thing. Knowing what to do about it is another. Because even though developmental editors do their best to offer solutions (at least I do!), it isn’t always easy to do. Or you may want to go a different direction, feel uneasy about the changes, or lack confidence in your abilities, skills, judgment, fill-in-the-blank.

I get it. I’ve been on both sides of the problem, as a writer receiving feedback, and as a developmental editor trying hard to give my clients the best bang for the buck without overwhelming them or discouraging them. I think I’ve gotten a lot better at that as time has gone on. I now include orientation in all of my editor letters, follow-up video calls, and offers of additional support.

Here are my best tips for evaluating feedback and tackling edits, covering:

• The two kinds of editing feedback you’ll get, and their complementary powers
• How to evaluate feedback
• Questions to ask yourself when you hate an editor’s suggestions
• How to recognize misdiagnosed problems/come up with better solutions of your own
• How to deal with overwhelm
• How to handle discouragement
• A basic editing roadmap

1. Two Kinds of Feedback With Complementary Powers

As I mentioned in my post about what a developmental edit is, Developmental editors usually do two things:

First, they read the manuscript with tracked changes enabled, leaving comments and (sometimes) making minimal changes to the text.

Second, they write a letter with their overarching feedback based on reading the entire manuscript. This letter usually offers suggestions for how to address the main issues they’ve identified.

Here’s what you need to know: The editor letter and the margin comments complement each other. When you review them, be sure to give both equal time and consideration. Each offers crucial insights. I can’t stress this enough.

Let me show you why.

Let’s take a look at a selection of the editor’s comments about point of view. While you read, think about the underlying issues her comments reveal.

Margin Comments Reveal the Issues

But before we jump in, here’s the context: In my early manuscript, I had seven or more point of view characters, ranging from the main character to the villain and everyone in between, including multiple side characters, and even an adorable interlude featuring a bit of sentient wind.

I gave the most page time to my main character’s POV and the POVs of two side characters, who essentially functioned as additional main characters. Below, I’ll refer to them as side character 1 and side character 2.

Here are a selection of my first developmental editor’s margin comments:

“Why do we keep moving to different POVs? Especially to characters that aren’t who I want to hear from?”

“Wait who? We’re shifting POVs a third time in one chapter?”

“I really don’t care about [the villain] or what he’s doing. I want to get back to [side character 1] and find out about his life.”

“Another POV?!”

“Aaaaaaaand another POV.
That makes….seven.”

“The breeze has a personality and a POV now?”

“…the problem is I don’t care much for [the villain’s] storyline and tend to start skimming, because I want to get back to the good stuff…”

Clearly, the number of point of view characters in my manuscript bothered and disoriented the editor. Her comments also made it clear that when reading certain POVs, her attention lagged and the pacing dragged. All she wanted to do was get back to the main character. (Or her favorite side character.)

This was a crucial insight.

Editor Letter Offers Solutions

Now, let’s look at the suggestions she made in her editor letter to fix the point of view issues:

“It is my honest opinion that you introduce [MC] too soon [here’s she’s referring to the slow start of the manuscript] and [side character 1] too late. Even [side character 2] too late. If these are your three main characters – which the number of POVs per and the stories they tell suggest it – then they should all be starting from the get go.”

“Even if they don’t cross [the MCs] path necessarily in chapter one (although that would be nice), they should already be present, already dealing with their problems before he comes into play. This is also where we should see [side character 3] frustrated by her place in the [group]. They’ll have meaning and stories before [the MC] even gets there.”

“[The villain] would be much more interesting if he were not in the story as a POV at all.”

Approaching Revisions

Now, you ask, what did I do with this feedback?

I removed the villain’s POV as she suggested. But his wasn’t the only POV I removed. In fact, I cut all of the POVs she complained about being boring or not being a fit for the YA audience. I even cut some of the ones she liked.

I went from seven POV characters to a single POV character. 

But, Yvonne, you might say, she didn’t say you had to do that. She recommended you keep three POV characters.

Yeah, I know.

Here’s the thing: Although point of view was an important consideration, it wasn’t my first consideration. My main concern was to improve the story structure. Because of the huge changes I ended up making to that, it didn’t make sense to have three MCs or three POVs. As much as I loved those side characters and enjoyed writing from their perspective, I decided that they weren’t the story I was telling.

If you want to see what else the editor suggested, and what I did, check out this post.

Takeaway

Do you see why you need to read the comments and consider them alongside the editor’s suggestions in the feedback letter?

The “fix” the editor suggests may not be right for the direction you end up going. If I had kept three POVs, my story would have been much more complex and difficult to pull off structurally. 

What to Look For

In the comments, look for repeated themes and complaints. These offer important insights.

1. Notice what your editor finds most interesting. Pay attention to the places where they say their attention is drifting, to the moments when they say they want to skim instead of read, or if they mention that they are bored.

In my case, the number of POVs was destroying the pace and taking the reader away from the main thrust of the story and what was happening to my protagonist.

2. Usually, if a complaint comes up often enough, the editor will cover it in their letter. So, consider that next. Think about whether the editor’s suggestions will work for you and where you want to take the manuscript.

3. You might take the editor’s advice, or you might not.

Or, as in my case, you may choose to take her advice to a greater extreme. Going down to one POV was the right decision for my novel, and I haven’t looked back.

Getting this developmental edit and my next one were of huge benefit, but it’s up to the writer to decide what to do.

2. Warnings, Disclaimers, and Stuff to Know

I’ve already touched on some of this, but it’s important to cover again. Knowing what to expect of your editor will ease you into the process. Review these notes again when you get your developmental edit back. Review them as often as necessary throughout your editing process.

Editing Feedback is an Opinion

First, editing is a subjective process. It is a matter of opinion, a professional, informed opinion, but an opinion nonetheless. So, if something your editor suggests doesn’t ring true for you or your vision, it’s okay to set it aside. But try not to instantly discount anything.

Sit with the feedback for a while. Mull it over in your thoughts. Think the implications through:

• If you made this choice, or that choice, what new problems will you have to address?
• How would that change the story?
• Does that feel like a good change, or will the story lose something vital? 

I also suggest sitting with the changes that instantly feel right. Ask yourself these same questions. Clarity often comes when we give ourselves some time and space (at least that’s been the case for me).

The Editor’s Solution May Not Be Best

It’s also important to note that just because an editor suggests a solution to a problem doesn’t mean it’s always the best solution. In fact, it might be wrong for your story. An editor’s opinion is professional and informed, but you are the author, and you know your vision for your book best.

Don’t be afraid to brainstorm solutions of your own.

I’ve already given an example of this above. The editor suggested I make two of the side characters into main characters and introduce their points-of-view earlier in the novel. But I decided that I didn’t want three main characters, only one, so I eliminated the extra point-of-view characters and wrote my novel in a single third-person limited point of view.

This was the right choice for my book and the level of expertise I had at the time. Trying to fix all of the plot problems while also trying to craft three main character transformation arcs would have added unnecessary challenge to an already challenging revision process.

Misdiagnosed Problems

There will also be times when an editor might misdiagnose a problem. (I hope not, but it could happen.) This is where we get into tricky territory. The key is to learn to separate what doesn’t ring true or work for your story from the things that you’re simply resistant to because:

• they’ll mean cutting a part you’re attached to
• implementing the change means doing some difficult edits
• you don’t yet know how to fix a particular story problem.

This is where mulling things over and asking yourself questions can help. For example:

• Why am I so resistant to this suggestion?
• What am I afraid of?
• What are the consequences of implementing this change?
• What are the consequences of not implementing this change?
• Can I solve this issue in a different way?

Incidentally, these are also great things to consider when you’re self-editing and getting beta reader feedback.

3. Crucial Mindset Tips

To make the most of your developmental editing feedback, you really need an openness to critique and change alongside a knowledge of who you are as a writer and what you care about and envision for this work.

It’s a paradox, but so are most of the deepest truths in life.

This mindset will make the most difference when it comes to editing and getting feedback, but there are a couple of other handy things to know:

Editing is Time-Consuming

Remember, all of this takes time. Don’t rush the process or put unnecessary pressure on yourself to finish by a certain date. All the effort you put in will be worth it.

Differentiating Between Brainstorm and Prescription

Okay, this one is a bit tricky because let’s be honest, sometimes the feedback you get from an editor is a lot like a doctor’s prescription. It’s like being told your book is sick or underdeveloped. Maybe it has an interiority deficiency or plot scoliosis or dialogue laringitis.

But other times, the feedback will be calling out the things your book could be. Think of this like sitting down with a personal trainer who tells you, if you train this way, you’ll become a lean mean running machine. Or if you train this way, you’ll become a hulking weight lifter with a massive chest and arms like a gorilla.

Although diagnosing problems is a big part of a developmental edit, I don’t necessarily limit myself to that. I also aim to show writers the areas they can work on and strengthen if they choose, the various directions they could take their story, and the wells of potential they’ve left untapped.

4. The Feelings You’ll Feel and How to Deal

Sorry, that heading is a terrible rhyme. But hey, if you’ve just gotten feedback, a bit of comic relief could be just the thing.

Dealing with Overwhelm

In my feedback, I hold nothing back. I know that getting a developmental edit is expensive (tips on how to save $s here), so I do my best to give writers the most in-depth and detailed advice I can to help guide their edits. The downside to this approach is that it can feel like a lot.

The worst possible outcome of getting a developmental edit would be if you gave up and decided to stop working on your story—or worse, stopped writing altogether.

You don’t have to make any of the changes an editor suggests (though I recommend you do as many as are viable/interesting/helpful for you).

But if you find yourself getting lost in the weeds, it’s okay to pull back and say:

• Okay, what is feasible for me to do?
• What am I excited about implementing?
• What changes will help me communicate with readers the most?
• What am I okay with leaving as is?
• What is the heart of my story, and what changes align with my original vision?

Dealing with Discouragement & Deciding When to Move On

You also might need some time to deal with the emotions triggered by getting all this feedback.

If you experience this, take heart. Focus on self-care. It’s okay to take a break. Feel what you need to feel. Most likely, you’ll be ready to circle back to editing in a couple of weeks or a month. Just don’t leave it too long, okay? I know you can do this!

No book is going to be perfect, and while it’s great to get each book to the best level it can be, you’ll also continue to grow and develop your skills as a writer by calling it good and moving on to your next one. 

5. How to Approach Editing – What Do I Do First?

Once you’re ready to tackle edits, there are a few different approaches you could take:

1. Consider implementing the biggest changes first and working your way down to the smaller refinements.

It could go something like this: working on character arcs, refining character motivations, and improving the sense of setting before strengthening the flow of your sentences or removing filler words. The reason this could be a good way to go is because it eliminates unnecessary work, such as improving sentences you’ll end up deleting later.

2. That said, it can also be helpful to rev up the editing engine by making the smaller changes first (those changes that you know will still be relevant/needed for the final draft, rather than things that might get deleted or reworked).

3. If you experience any “Aha!” moments while reading the feedback, starting with those changes could be a great way to begin.

Editing Roadmap

This is the process I use, more or less, when I get feedback and need to make substantial changes to my draft.

1. Consider the feedback: What ideas and suggestions excited you, hit home, or created an aha! moment?

2. Spend time brainstorming? Think over how each suggestion could work, the problems the changes would create, and additional changes you would need to make depending on the direction you go. Write it all out, everything you know, your questions, concerns, and goals for the story. Then set it aside for a while. 

3. After a day or few, come back, read over your notes, and write down any solutions you’ve come up with, how you’re feeling about the changes, and what you want to do. Feel free to repeat this step a few times until you come up with the needed solution and direction.

4. Create a list of changes you want to make. Start with whichever changes will make the most sense to you (see my suggestions in the section above on implementing feedback). Then, work through your book, making the changes. Add any additional changes you need to make to your editing list, and check off those you’ve completed.

5. Once you’ve finished editing everything, set your manuscript aside for a couple of weeks to a month, then come back and read it all again. I find it helpful to read through a physical copy. Note any additional areas that need changing, and make those changes.

6. Listen to your book using text-to-speech tools to catch additional errors, improve the flow, and overcome word blindness. I use the options on my Mac and have gotten used to the monotone, but there are more natural-sounding text-to-speech tools available.

6. I’m ready to hire a developmental editor. How do I pick?

If you came to this post in preparation for hiring a developmental editor, I hope you feel confident and ready. You’re armed with the proper mindset, have the basics down for evaluating feedback, and you’re ready to get going. It’s time to find the right editor for you: An editor who loves your genre, gets your style, and leaves you comments and suggestions that make you go “Aha! That’s dead on.”

In my next post, I’ll cover how to find a developmental editor, where to look, questions to ask, what to know about sample edits, and red flags to watch out for.

Next up: How to Choose the Right Developmental Editor for You.