Why does my work need to be edited?

Why does my work need to be edited?

Russell Celyn Jones (Published writer. Professor of Creative Writing and Director of the MA Programme at Birkbeck College (University of London).) gives expert video advice on: How can I tell if my novel is any good?; Why does my work need to be edited?; Can I edit my own novel? and more...

Writing is re-writing, in that it is a constant editorial process. By the time your book is sent to a publisher, and if they accept it for publication the editor will invariably want to make editorial comments and that tends to be on a structural basis; which has involved sometimes months of re-writes. And you're wise to do it, I think. It should make sense. If it doesn't make sense you can argue your case, but by-and-large you will not get this book exactly as you would like it. And it does help to have a good, sensitive editor make comments on the novel.