Retaining Author Voice Through the Editing Stages
It is a valid concern, particularly among indie authors, that working with professional editors will stifle author voice and tone. But I can assure you that good, professional editing is all about enhancing an author’s unique voice and perspective. Editing is as much about achieving consistency and clarity as it is about correctness.
When I first receive a manuscript from an author client, I take time to sit with their writing before I dive in. I want to make sure I understand what makes their voice unique, which is also what will help capture readers. I know many editors who listen to the entire manuscript (using tools like Microsoft’s Read Aloud or NaturalReader) so that they can really get into the rhythm of the writing and story.
How do we identify author voice and style? An author’s unique voice is created through sentence structure, rhythm, word choice, verb tense, mood, perspective, and the use of literary devices. Writers aren’t born with a refined voice—it can take ages to develop your own style through practice and revision (and a lot of painful rewriting).
Editing Tips and Tools for Enhancing Voice:
Queries are comments or questions editors leave in the manuscript to clarify meaning, suggest changes, or flag issues. They give authors the opportunity to make the final call, which helps protect their voice while improving the writing. Most professional editors will not be rewriting your work for you (that’s a red flag!). Instead, you’ll receive queries and suggestions that help you gain the perspective you need to get your writing ready for the reader.
Style sheets are documents editors use to track style choices and conventions like spelling, punctuation, grammar, formatting, character descriptions, invented words, turns of phrase, place names, and so on. By capturing these patterns, editors can maintain consistency and ensure the author's stylistic decisions are respected throughout the work.
Contextual editing means making changes based on the larger narrative, character perspective, and tone rather than applying rigid grammar rules. For instance, sentence fragments, comma splices, or "improper" grammar can absolutely be used in certain characters’ dialogue to make them sound like real people. Scenes with heightened tension or action can also use incomplete sentences to keep the pacing up.
Reader-centric editing means balancing author voice with readability. It can be hard to tell when an author’s risky or unconventional style choices may end up alienating, distracting, or confusing the audience. That’s why editors edit for the reader, smoothing out rough edges only where they risk pulling readers out of the experience.
Open communication between author and editor creates trust, which is essential when editing subjective elements like tone or voice. Through respectful dialogue, editors can better understand an author’s goals and tailor their suggestions to support, not override, the author’s vision. After all, the piece ultimately belongs to the author, not the editor.
When you reach out to potential editors, be clear about your desired tone and voice. Let us know what makes your manuscript unique, and how it will resonate with your readers. Provide examples of authors or books you admire. Ask your editor if you can add certain stylistic choices to their style sheet before they begin. Establish a good level of communication that will become the foundation of your relationship.
But then, once the editing has begun, it’s important to keep an open mind. Your editor may suggest changes that feel completely contrary to what you’ve been envisioning. I always suggest authors sit with certain suggestions to give your mind time to work through them. Do you feel hesitant because change is overwhelming, or will these edits truly muddle your voice? Is there another way you’d like to address the issue your editor identified that is more true to you? Return to our main tenets: If an edit improves consistency, clarity, and/or correctness, it’s probably necessary to enhance the reader’s experience.
If you’ve put time and effort into developing a strong voice as a writer, you can trust that your voice is resilient and that good editing will only build on that foundation make your work shine brighter.
Curious how your voice might come through stronger in your manuscript through line editing? Let’s talk.
