By Lori Handelman  »  You've spent hundreds of hours writing, perhaps hundreds more reading and re-reading and fine-tuning. Your friends and family can't say enough great things about your writing, and they eagerly ask you about it whenever they see you. Frankly, you've written something that is unlike anything else, and people will be knocking down your door. But now and then, you wonder if it's really that good, you suspect your friends and family can't offer critical feedback, and you start to think about hiring a professional editor.

What can you expect from professional editing? People often think editing comprises checking spelling, punctuation, and grammar, and spellcheck does that automatically. This type of editing is proofreading, and a professional editor can be helpful because as many of us know to our embarrassment and chagrin, spellcheck only determines whether words are spelled correctly, not whether you've used the right word (e.g., public vs pubic). 

Professional editors' rates frequently escalate with more in-depth editing, so perhaps proofreading fits your budget but the deeper levels of editing are simply too expensive. It's always worth speaking with an editor about ways to spread out the costs, if you have budget restraints but want deeper editing for your book.

The best thing a professional editor does for you goes far beyond the basic mechanics of proofreading. Professional editing considers the forest and the trees - the big picture (flow, organization, structure, pacing) and the more detailed elements (description, dialogue, sentence clarity, and proofreading). Your editor is your ally; he or she watches your back, reads closely to be sure your story is consistent and free of flaws and clunky writing, and helps illuminate your own voice.

A professional novel editor will ensure that your characters' voices are recognizable and that the scenes are as vivid as possible and the dialogue effective. Aside from editing the writing itself, your editor will include marginal notes - queries - asking questions when something is unclear, suggesting additional material, highlighting inconsistencies, etc.

In short, when you hire a professional editor, you are engaging a mind. Editing software, and tools like spellcheck, offer mechanical corrections but cannot provide the subtlety and insight that a thinking person will give you. As your ally, your editor will certainly offer praise and encouragement when it's relevant, but the most important thing you should expect is a critical eye, an intelligent mind completely engaged in what you've written, and professional and detailed feedback. My clients often tell me that they thought their work was wonderful when they gave it to me, but when they got it back they were surprised to see how much better it was, and how difficult it had been for them to see the flaws. That's what a professional editor can do for you.

• Lori Handelman, PhD, is a social psychologist with several years' experience in the publishing industry. She works as a professional editor and encounters these questions regularly. You can contact her at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or visit her website at Clear Voice Editing.