Q&A Friday

Diamond in the Rough Edition

Is it a diamond in the rough?

Hey friends!

I’m back from vacation! We had a wonderful time and I am, as always, ready to get back into a normal schedule. Which is why this Q&A Thursday is coming on Friday, LOL.

If you’re new here—hi!—and you want to ask a question for a Q&A, all you have to do is A: be a paid subscriber and B: send me an email to katemckean@substack.com or kate@katemckean.com and ask away! No queries, please. (FYI I’m still closed to queries for a few more weeks. I know none of YOU are doing this, but the way around my closed Query Manager is NOT to email me a query. Thanks for your attention to this matter.)

SO! Let’s get to some questions!

E asks: How much editing do agents do? In your book, manuscript editing is mentioned a few times in passing, so it doesn’t seem to be a big part of your job. Is that a fair assumption?

I’m very interested to know because I’m a freelance editor and book coach. I’m wondering how much editing agents typically do for free. I’m also wondering, from my perspective as a freelance editor, when a manuscript is “good enough” to query an agent.

This is a multifaceted question, and I love that. Let’s start at the top.

How much editing do agents do?

That depends. It depends first and foremost on the agent. Some agents know they don’t have editing skills so they don’t take on projects that require a hefty edit. Some