How to Prepare Your Manuscript for an Editor — A Practical Guide for Indie Authors

You've finished your book. You've found an editor you'd like to work with. And now you're wondering—is there anything I should do before I send it over?

The short answer is yes. And the slightly longer answer is that a little preparation goes a long way—not because editors expect perfection before the work begins, but because a well-prepared manuscript allows your editor to focus their time and expertise on the things that genuinely matter, rather than working around issues you could easily have addressed yourself.

Here's everything worth doing before your manuscript lands in an editor's inbox.

1. Make Sure Your Story Is Actually Finished

This sounds obvious, but it's worth saying clearly: your manuscript should be complete before it goes to a copy editor or proofreader. Every chapter written, every scene in place, your ending on the page.

A copy editor or proofreader can only work with what's there. Sending an unfinished manuscript wastes time and budget for both of you, and may mean the work needs to be repeated once the missing sections are added.

Developmental editing is a slightly different case, since that stage is concerned with the big picture of your story rather than the language itself. But even then, the entire manuscript should exist before the conversation begins. An editor can't assess the structure of something they can't read all the way through.

2. Do Your Own Self-Editing First

Your editor is not there to catch every spelling mistake and typo you could have spotted yourself. They're there to bring a trained, experienced eye to your work, and the more of the surface-level noise you can clear away before they begin, the more effectively they can do that.

Before you send your manuscript, read it through carefully yourself—ideally after a break of at least a week, so you're seeing it with something approaching fresh eyes. Look for the obvious things: repeated words in close proximity, sentences that don't quite say what you mean, character names that have changed mid-document, placeholder text you forgot to fill in.

Run a spell-check. It takes five minutes and it matters. Check whether the setting is for US spelling, UK spelling or even Canadian spelling.

None of this is about making your manuscript perfect—that's what your editor is for. It's about making sure their attention is focused where it's needed most.

One final note on self-editing: once your manuscript is with your editor, leave it alone. Making changes to the document while editing is in progress creates confusion, risks introducing new errors, and in some cases means sections will need to be re-edited entirely. It's simply not worth it.

3. Sort Out Your Formatting Before You Send

Unusual formatting is one of the most common things that slows down the editorial process unnecessarily, and most of it is completely avoidable.

Decorative fonts, text boxes, elaborate chapter heading designs, and unusual indentation settings are all things that will need to be stripped back before editing can begin properly. Save the beautiful formatting for after the editorial work is done, when your manuscript is ready to be typeset for publication.

For the manuscript you send to your editor, simple is best:

•       Use a standard, readable font — Times New Roman or a similar serif font at 12pt is the professional standard. (A serif font is a font with small strokes or extensions at the end of its longer strokes.)

•       Set your line spacing to double throughout — this gives space for tracked changes and comments.

•       Use standard margins — 1 inch on all sides is the norm.

•       Indent paragraph openings consistently using your word processor's paragraph formatting settings — Please do not Use the tab key!

•       Add page numbers — being able to reference a specific page quickly makes editorial communication considerably more straightforward.

•       Include a title page with your name and the book's title.

4. Format Your Chapter Headings Properly

This is a small thing that makes a world of difference. If you apply a Heading Style to your chapter titles in Microsoft Word—rather than simply making the text bold or increasing the font size—it makes it significantly easier for your editor to navigate the document, check chapter numbering, and move between sections quickly.

It also makes it easier for you to catch any numbering errors before the manuscript goes anywhere. Chapters that have been accidentally duplicated, skipped, or misnumbered are more common than you might expect, and a simple heading structure makes them immediately visible.

5. Use the Right File Format

Unless your editor specifies otherwise, Microsoft Word is the standard working format for editorial manuscripts. It supports Track Changes and Comments—the tools your editor will use to show you every suggestion and query, and it's universally compatible across different operating systems and devices.

If you work in a different programme—Scrivener, Google Docs, or something else entirely—export or convert your manuscript to a Word document before sending. Most word processors make this straightforward, and your editor will thank you for it.

6. One Final Spell-Check Before You Send

It's worth running spell-check one last time immediately before you submit—even if you did it thoroughly during your self-edit. Reformatting and final read-throughs have a habit of introducing small errors, and a quick automated check takes moments and catches things that tired eyes miss.

A Final Word on Preparing Your Manuscript for an Editor

None of this is about presenting a flawless manuscript before your editor has had a chance to work on it. It's about starting the professional relationship well—with care, consideration, and a manuscript that's in the best shape you can get it into on your own.

The cleaner your manuscript arrives, the more effectively your editor can do what you're paying them to do. And the sooner you'll get it back.

If you're approaching the stage where your manuscript is nearly ready and you'd like to talk about what comes next, I'd love to hear from you.