It’s often said that a writer is only as good as their editor. Here at Blue Balloon Books, we say that a writer is just as good as their editor—but it takes an expert editor to take a writer from good to great.
Our vetted editorial team is here to help you publish the book you’ve always dreamed of. Our editors’ love of red ink and children’s stories will ensure that your manuscript meets the publishing industry’s (and your readers’) standards. Their fresh, unbiased perspective will allow them to edit your manuscript in a way that takes it to the next level while retaining your individual style as an author.
But how exactly do they do it? Here’s a look at our five-step editing process.
1. Your acquisitions editor will conduct an initial, high-level review of your manuscript.
After all, your AE knows you and your book best at this stage! So they are best positioned to perform an initial developmental edit. They will look at how your content is structured, suggest how to flesh out your characters, identify plot holes, and help make sure that your message is coming across. They will also ensure each line of your manuscript makes sense and is important to the story as well as note if any phrases or words take them out of the scene or confuse them as readers, helping improve clarity and narrative flow.
2. We'll match you with one of our expert editors who will help your words shine.
Each of our editors is guided by a simple mantra: It’s your book, not theirs. Their job isn’t to rewrite your words or slash your manuscript apart; it’s to make you sound like the best version of yourself! From smoothing out the cadence of rhyming verses to fixing grammar and spelling to ensuring the text adheres to the Chicago Manual of Style (the industry standard), your editor will make sure each comma and character helps your unique voice shine through.
3. Your editor gets to work.
Our editors record their edits through the Track Changes feature in Microsoft Word. You’ll be able to see every change your editor makes, from deleting extra spaces to restructuring paragraphs, underlined and colored red in the All Markup view. To see the edited document as a whole (sans red ink), switch to the Simple Markup view.
Your editor will also leave comments throughout the document as needed. These comments may explain the reasoning behind an edit, suggest ways to improve a sentence, or ask for your clarification about a particular word or detail.
4. Once your editor is done, you get to review their changes and suggestions until you’re happy with the result.
We acknowledge that your manuscript is ultimately yours; therefore, you get the final say on which edits and suggestions you’d like to incorporate. The Track Changes feature doesn’t actually change your document; instead, each edit is marked as a suggestion. You, as the author, have the power to accept or reject each change.
However, we strongly recommend that you accept every change or leave a comment instead of outright rejecting an edit. Remember, your editor is here to make your manuscript the best it can be, and they wouldn’t have edited something unless they felt it was necessary. If you disagree with an edit, speak to your editor so that you can come to a compromise that satisfies both of you.
5. We’ll conduct final quality checks to make sure it’s perfect.
You’re nearly at the finish line. Your cover design is eye-catching, and each page has been meticulously laid out. What began as just a seed of an idea finally feels like a real book! But before we wave the checkered flag and send your book into the real world, our editorial team will make one final pit stop to ensure it’s 100 percent perfect.
Your manuscript will be in excellent shape by this point, but at Blue Balloon Books, we strive for more than excellence. That’s why our editorial team, including our vice president of publishing, takes the time to review the full cover and each and every page of your manuscript before approving files. Text placement, synopsis, author bio, logos, barcode, copyright information—everything will be thoroughly reviewed. We’ll check the spacing and formatting, identify any inconsistencies and cut-off images or words, and, of course, correct spelling or punctuation errors before clearing your book for publication.
We know it takes a leap of faith to share your words with us and with the world. We’re here to help you take that leap with full confidence. All it takes is trust in yourself—and your editor.