All rights reserved. A Publishing Story and its related articles, Submitting the Manuscript , Acquiring the Manuscript , Editing the Manuscript , and Marketing and Sales , were published in their original form in Writer's Digest in 1998 and later reprinted in the 1998 Writer's Yearbook Extra. I revised and significantly expanded the story for online publication. The amount of editing that an author can expect these days varies hugely. This makes editing more of a volunteer effort, and a lot of editors don't have the energy or make the time to do as much editing as necessary.
Editors have different styles.
Some will do it all in one long phone call, or ask you to come in for a meeting. Others will walk every step of the way with you, in writing and by phone, fax and e-mail. Editors' comments may be few or many, and that may reflect more how much they're willing to do than how much you and your book can benefit from. How to Write Your Book series elsewhere on this site. The best thing you can do is be receptive and responsive.