How to prepare your manuscript

How to Prepare Your Manuscript for a Story Edit

Note: A story edit, is also known as a structural or developmental or substantive edit. I will use the words ‘story edit’ in this document.

A story editor shapes the organization and content of your story. A story edit is the most complex, in-depth, and time-consuming stage of editing. Thus, this is where most writers start their editing journey.

During a professional edit, editors focus on the structure of three primary sections of your manuscript. We evaluate your:

Characters
Scenes
Plot

Remember, story editing is the first editing stage (style and copy edits occur later, once your story is structurally sound). It is the most comprehensive and intense. A story edit provides you with deep insight into the strengths and weaknesses of your manuscript so you can revise accordingly.

To provide this type of knowledge, I have done extensive training and certification and gained much experience from getting my own books through the editing process. Today, I will share with you some of my secrets when providing a fiction story edit.

I will outline the first ten things I look for in a story edit for fiction. This is part of the process I use when coaching fiction writers. You are welcome to use this as a guideline during your self-editing process.

Below is a mildly compressed outline of a very lengthy process. These are the first ten things that I look for in your manuscript. However, it is not a complete list. These are the initial steps in a very in-depth process for creating your strong story foundation.

How Do You Prepare Your Manuscript for a Story Editor?

Editing starts with technical preparation.

To begin a story edit, I look for a firm foundation. Ensure you complete the first three tasks below. Without them, a complete structural edit is not feasible. An editor could provide some basic line editing or copyediting without these first three steps, but they could not begin a deep structural edit of your book.

If you see a *, then you must complete these initial steps as the groundwork for your manuscript’s story edit before submitting your manuscript to me. (Everything else on this list is optional as I will do this as part of my story edit service).

* 1. Is your manuscript finished?

Your book’s story needs to be complete. You must submit an entire manuscript. There should be no further outlining, creative design, or obvious plot holes. You are ready to review it as a whole.

Your story must have a beginning, middle, and end.

If this is not the case, you can use my StoryCoach service to help you out.

* 2. Have you written your blurb?

Your blurb is essential during story editing. I use this as the compass for evaluating, scene-by-scene, every aspect of your manuscript. You can also use this during self-editing to assess your story’s focus.

Define the purpose of your story. Your blurb clearly outlines your writing aim and method to engage your readers.

Introduce your character and plot (conflict and stakes) within your blurb. Create some intrigue, but don’t give away any spoilers.

Why should someone read you story?

How Does a Story Editor Evaluate Book Structure?

The remaining steps are the tasks an editor completes prior to performing their editorial critique and subjective assessment of the overall presentation. Again, this list is not a complete outline of the entire story editing process. These are the first ten steps that I as an editor review.

4. Have you outlined your scenes accurately?

I look for a clear outline of your overall story, ensuring each scene is essential and contributes to the overall story arc.

To replicate this step, you should:

Give a name to each scene
Use the scene names as a table of contents for plotting the story arc
Evaluate the scene as part of the plot

5. Are your characters balanced and essential to the scenes?

Story editors judge your characters’ importance to your plot. Does every character have a purpose and a goal?

To do this, they identify the characters in each scene to see how often each character appears throughout your novel. This allows them to assess whether you have balanced their role with their participation level in your story. You can then adjust as needed.

To test your own characters, do this:

Create a list of names of all your characters
Eliminate any misspellings or confusion
Outline the character roles
Designate the antagonist and protagonist
Identify each character’s presence and purpose in each scene
Specify the point of view (POV) for each scene
Check if the POV matches the purpose of the scene & the character’s presence

6. Have you created a strong story arc?

I will evaluate your plot’s structure against the standard story arc form. Then, I will identify and locate the position of your key scenes within your story to create a story arc. The form of a strong, lasting story has been around since the beginning of time. If your story deviates too far from this general pattern, your editor will recommend some changes.

You can check your own story arc by identifying these five key scenes:

Inciting Incident—The scene in which your protagonist’s world changes significantly.
Plot Point 1—The scene that changes your protagonist’s world permanently. Their desire leads them on a different path. It is the point of no return.
Middle—This scene is where your protagonist switches from being reactive to the events and becomes proactive. It includes a significant event that keeps your story exciting and engaging.
Plot Point 2—This scene is normally a low point for your protagonist where they become determined to win or they will lose everything.
Climax—This scene is your protagonist’s ultimate battle to determine their fate. It contains the most conflict of your entire story.

Use your outline of scenes to create your story arc and compare with the standard form.

I will assess your narrative arc for balance. During the story edit, I will look at the word count and key scene allocation. I can then evaluate your content using this information.

7. Are your scenes and characters well balanced?

Another thing I look for is structural balance. If a scene has more words, it should be more important. The same rule applies to characters and their overall presence in more scenes.

First, you count the words per scene and the words per character. Once you have these, compare the totals for each with their purpose and significance within your manuscript.

You can use general software to capture the word counts for each scene, but the StoryCoach software I use will show these as visual (graphs) insights, and are included in my Summary Letter.

Now, evaluate your characters’ presence.

Can you confirm your key characters’ significance by including them in the key scenes?

Do the protagonist and antagonist have the appropriate total word count for their role compared to other roles?

Are your scenes balanced in size with an overall equal division of word count from scene to scene?

Are you allocating larger or smaller word counts for conscious scene impact within the plot?

8. Does your story arc correspond to the standard writing form?

Editors look for strong story arcs with a traditional outline for conflict and resolution. By structurally evaluating the word count and key scene positions, they can identify potential weak areas.

You can also evaluate your story arc using this technique. First, determine the word count for each scene. Visually compose your story arc according to the word count and determine its structural balance.

Next, locate your key plot points. Compare the key scenes’ placement using the word count percentage. This determines if the key scenes are within the ideal story arc framework.

Where are your key scenes positioned within the overall story arc?

The inciting incident normally happens in the first 0-15% of your story.

The first plot point’s scene is in between 20-30% of your book.

The middle should be located 45-55% of the way through your novel.

The second plot point happens approximately 70-80% within your manuscript.

The climax scene should occur at approximately 85-90% of your adventure.

Once you have completed these structural evaluations of your story arc, you can more easily adjust and revise your scenes accordingly.

9. Are you addressing the remaining essential story elements of each scene?

I will review and edit each scene of your book objectively. Then, I use a checklist of thirty-eight story elements to ensure every scene has purpose and clarity. Finally, I evaluate if any of the story elements are used inappropriately. If this is the case, it tends to bog down the overall plot. Story editing effectively creates a powerful scene to support reader engagement.

10. Does your blurb match the actual story?

The reason your story blurb is important is that I look for clear delivery of your promise. I will re-evaluate your story against your blurb’s promise during and after the structural edit process. If there is a discrepancy between your promise and delivery, then you need to alter either the blurb or the disconnect within your narrative.

Part of the role of a story editor is to look for your story’s strengths and weaknesses and to evaluate your blurb’s promise and purpose. The blurb needs to match your manuscript. As you self-edit your book’s structure, you need to evaluate accordingly.

What Happens After a Story Edit?

These are the foundations of a story edit. From Point 4 onwards, I am happy to provide this service to you. If you engage me as your story editor, once I complete the above, I will provide you with the following:

A summary letter (printable illustrated document, usually of 5000+ words)
Comments on the Fictionary Story Elements (on the StoryCoach platform)
Per scene notes (downloadable and on the StoryCoach platform)
In-line comments & track changes (on the StoryCoach platform)
Visual insights (on the StoryCoach platform and in the Summary Letter)
Three hours of personal time with me to discuss the story.

To revise your story, you’ll receive the feedback in your own StoryCoach account with two copies of your edit.

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