Vanity Editing and Buyer Asymmetry

One common problem book editors face is being presented with drafts that are not ready for copyediting.

This happens for a variety of reasons: beginner writers often overestimate their skill level, a phenomenon known as the Dunning–Kruger effect. Certain people tend to overestimate their abilities (while others do the opposite). In other cases it’s simple ignorance—it’s not immediately obvious there is a craft to putting creative words down on the page, with issues like point of view to consider, etc.

The editorial course provider Sophie Playle has written an excellent blog post on what editors should or could do when this situation arises.

The core problem here is that the author doesn’t know what they don’t know, whereas the editor should have enough knowledge to make an assessment.

The technical term for this is buyer asymmetry. In practice, it means that authors can ask for and purchase an expensive service they don’t need.

This happens quite often in the self-publishing market for various reasons. If you want to learn how to avoid this situation, read on!

Vanity editing: An editor perspective

Imagine you edit books for a living. You start work and realize the novel needs heavy development. This could be quite demoralizing. A book can take two or three weeks to edit, and to spend that entire time fixing commas and refining sentences when the story structure or wordcraft needs heavy attention is a waste of your time and the author’s money.

It’s the editorial equivalent of putting lipstick on a pig, or hiring a coach who just keeps telling you you’re great instead of pointing out the important work you need to do. And that’s why I call this “vanity editing.”

What vanity editing is not

I’m not suggesting here that all editors should apply incredibly strict criteria that aligns with traditionally published novels. Traditionally published novels have usually had input from several publishing professionals already, so the manuscripts have been refined by a team. With self-publishing authors, the editor is often one of a few people to have seen a manuscript, and sometimes the only publishing professional. And it often takes a book or two before a new self-published author get a firm handle on their writing.

Let’s not be precious about wordcraft either—there are novels out there that make millions, with good storytelling but quite basic sentences that don’t sound “literary.”

What vanity editing is

Vanity editing, then, is when a novel that needs more than polish is taken on. That’s similar to how Sophie Playle defines the situation, too—a novel that needs developmental work is sent for copyediting.

Why does vanity editing happen?

Now, a vanity edit may happen for various reasons. Here they are:

Issue 1: The editor may not be aware there’s a problem:

Editors who haven’t trained in developmental editing may not be aware of a manuscript’s story problems.

Issue 2: The editor may be aware a manuscript is problematic, but choose to take it on for other reasons:

The most likely reason here being money—editors without a full order book could be sorely tempted to take on substandard projects to put bread on the table. This is more likely to happen with newer editors building their business.

Issue 3: The editor may take the problem on in bad faith

Scam editors are a small minority, but they do exist.

Issue 4: The editor’s benchmarks may be relatively low

I’ve said it already—what one editor considers a vanity edit will be different to another editor’s definition. And while traditional publishing sets standards here, the average self-published manuscript sent for copyediting won’t usually be that clean.

What can writers and editors do to avoid a vanity edit?

From a business perspective, editors such as Louise Harnby and Sophie Playle have argued that it’s the author’s responsibility to select the right service—but that doesn’t mean this situation is a good one, and editors do their best to filter out problem manuscripts through their onboarding process.

Here, I want to focus on something more personal: ethics. My view is that, like a good doctor, the editor should be in a position to diagnose and prescribe the best treatment for a text. And an author should be able to recognize that.

None of this is easy, because editors and authors bring all sorts of emotions, biases, and ideas about how stories work to the table.

I believe that, ultimately, good outcomes happen when both sides educate themselves:

• The editor should have a good knowledge of storytelling craft and developmental editing, even if they just offer copyediting or proofreading.

• For writers, ensuring you have learned the basics of writing craft and read books currently being published in your genre is a good start.

  
  

I recommend authors get their whole manuscript professionally appraised by the editor they plan to work with. Although I recognize that not everyone will do this for reasons of time, money, or personal inclination!

There’s a lot of advice out there saying a sample copyedit is useful. And they sure are! But a sample is often not enough to get an overview of the state of a manuscript. I believe the best outcome for author and editor happens when the author is flexible about needing other services (e.g., coaching or developmental help), and if the editor offers some kind of content appraisal of your whole manuscript before choosing to copyedit it.

For some editors, myself included, this appraisal is a manuscript critique as a compulsory first step for unpublished authors. Others offer a briefer triage for a smaller fee.

Conclusion: It’s not easy!

At the end of the day, slip-ups are bound to happen. But if both sides enter the transaction with a strong awareness of how well developed the novel is and what the hoped-for outcome looks like, then that is enough.

However, leaving it solely up to the author to decide is a bit like asking a patient to decide what service a doctor should provide. Just like the second-hand car market, buyer asymmetry means the chances of not getting the deal you hoped for are significant and taking these extra steps will make for a happier editor–author relationship and a better outcome for your book project!

Do you have thoughts on this? Share them in the comments below!