Writing Is Hard; Good Editors Can Help
Four editors from the 5E independent editors group — Patricia Mulcahy, Jane Rosenman, Leslie Wells, and Sulay Hernandez — talked with CFF President Ken Schept and answered viewers’ questions at the March 2026 CFF Presents online conversation. Here are three takeaways from CFF’s conversation with the 5E editors group:
- Your novel’s beginning and ending may be terrific, but don’t allow it to sag in the middle.
- A good editor can help you make your work better, but that doesn’t guarantee publication.
- The way a writer describes their novel to a publisher is important. Good editors can help with that, too.
To succeed in today’s tough publishing climate, fiction manuscripts need to be “99 percent perfect,” independent editor Leslie Wells told Fiction Foundry members.
That may mean you need an independent editor’s help, even before you send queries to agents or publishers. A good editor can help identify problems with dialog, characters, a “sagging middle,” voice, and the other issues that can condemn your manuscript to an agent’s slush pile, the editors said.
How does a writer know when she needs an editor? Schept asked.
When a writer is pretty far along on a project — the novel’s been written, rewritten, revised and workshopped — and she feels she has taken it as far as she can, “it’s a good idea to get an editor,” said Jane Rosenman. The editor can help identify cuts and suggest ways to make the book better, before a gatekeeper ever sees it, she said.
Because 5E’s independent editors have had experience at major publishing houses, they can also help writers describe their novels “in a way that sounds really good,” Rosenman said. “That can be a huge help to a writer.”
The editors offer somewhat different services and they structure charges differently — by the word or the time they spend on a project, for example. They all look at big picture issues rather than line by line copy editing, which is very expensive.
Sulay Hernandez said she generally reads a manuscript three times, deals with one client at a time and has a four to six-week turn around.
Leslie Wells’ services include a “read and review” and a full edit. For a read and review, she considers pacing, plot, dialogue, character, depth and how well the book holds together. A full edit includes more detail and an editorial letter. She looks for places to trim.
“Writing is not a walk in the park,” Patricia Mulcahy said. She tries to be both honest and encouraging with writers. And, like the others, she understands the publishing business.
To help clients understand the business, the group sponsors sessions called “office hours” on Zoom with tips on getting an agent, writing queries, and exploring small presses. More information on the editors and how to contact them is on the 5E Independent Editors webpage. —Linda Raymond Ellison
Watch the full conversation with the 5E Editor editors: