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In this article, I explore how I provide editorial feedback in a way that feels supportive and constructive. I explain why interpersonal skills are just as important as technical editing knowledge.

Have you ever felt ‘told off’ by someone about your writing?

As a copy-editor, I’m essentially giving ‘feedback’ on a client’s writing with comments and author queries. When my client receives this feedback, my top priority is that they feel encouraged and clear about what they need to do next. Never ‘told off’ or reprimanded.

I love this quote in the book The Copy Editor’s (Life)Style Guide: Maintaining Your Joy (and Sanity) in a Rapidly Changing Profession by Jameel Pittman:

‘If given a choice between working with an average copy editor who is a joy to work with and a rock-star-level editor who is a complete pain in the ass, I’d wager that most people would rather work with the former’.

In this article, I share some of my approaches to raising queries and adding marginal notes (basically, comments in Word) when working with authors.

How I make editorial feedback feel more constructive

Beyond in-depth knowledge of grammar and style rules, the art of being able to phrase feedback and queries carefully is one of a copy-editor’s most important tasks.

As a copy-editor, I'm often one of the first people to read a piece of writing in detail. It's a unique role: an ally for the reader and the author. If I can improve on the writing, the reader and author both benefit.

Giving author feedback can involve marking up PDFs to using comments and track changes in Word. But editorial work also includes having good interpersonal skills. I know that a key ‘soft skill’ as an editor is my ability to ensure this editorial feedback process stays respectful and constructive, not adversarial.

I also know my clients appreciate that, because their own feedback to me always mentions that it was easy and enjoyable to work with me, and that they feel better about their writing afterwards.

Over the years, I’ve learned that although it may feel that writing a comment or query and sending back to the client should be speedy, it’s vital to take a little time over it. To help make good writing great, the ‘how’ of the feedback matters as much as the feedback itself.

How my own experiences of critique have refined my approach to author queries

There was an excellent session at METM25 by Susan Frekko called ‘How to give constructive feedback to writers (or anyone)’. In the session, Susan asked us to work in pairs and role-play an editor–writer scenario, with the aim of putting ourselves in the writer’s shoes.

In this role play, I was a first-time writer and my colleague was the editor. So I got to experience what it would be like to have someone critique my work in a way that was not constructive. It wasn’t pleasant.

In real-life work, I always remember that the text belongs to the author, and I review my own phrasing of queries and comments before sending them to the author. When making editorial suggestions and recommendations, I must put myself in the writer’s shoes. When I query something with a client, I often rephrase that query several times, after ruminating on how I would feel if it was directed at my own writing.

Before I hit send, I ask myself:

1. How would I feel if I received this?

2. Does this feedback do more than just point out problems?

How I work with an editorial partnership mindset

When I’m editing, I view my relationship with the client (the author) as a partnership, not a confrontation. They wrote the content, so the final call is theirs, always.

I’m there to cast a gently critical eye, to make suggestions, working alongside them. Not as someone who is ‘marking’ their work. The editor is not there to prove they are the better writer, nor are they there to rewrite a text (unless that’s what has been agreed, e.g. in a substantive edit).

First-time authors may not be familiar with the editorial process. They may be concerned that a copy-editor might edit out all their unique voice and style. They may picture themselves opening pages of red tracked changes and long notes in the margins.

Many writers worry that editorial feedback will strip away their personality or authority. By being transparent about my process and explaining the reasoning behind my suggestions, I help authors understand that every query or comment is designed to serve their message and their readers. This reassurance transforms the editing experience from something that may feel like criticism into something that feels like support.

Editing solutions, not problems

I use my professional judgement and experience to know when to edit and query, and when not to. And when to rethink.

Here's what I check when phrasing a query:

Have I used ‘we’ language (as long as it’s appropriate to the author-editor relationship)? Instead of saying, ‘Your sentence is unclear’, how about ‘Could we rephrase this to make sure it is clear to readers?’.
Have I offered options? Instead of ‘This is unclear’, ‘I see what you’re trying to say, but how about?’, or ‘Perhaps you could break this down into separate points like this…?’
Have I flagged repeated issues just once? I use general notes for global changes (when there are systematic issues with a manuscript), and/or a style sheet note, e.g. ‘I’ve standardised these to [X] throughout. Let me know if you’d prefer a different approach and I can adjust them all’.
Have I used open questions? It’s a good idea to avoid closed questions (ones that elicit a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer) and instead offer alternatives that help illustrate your point.

As a copy-editor, I'm an ally for my client's written work, so simply highlighting what is wrong with a sentence or paragraph isn't helpful. This continues the collaborative approach.

Having an explanation and reference for edits and queries

I always work to a specific style guide such as New Hart's Rules, the client's own style guide, while also building a style sheet for the client/author. Without a style guide, inconsistencies creep in and decisions become ad hoc.

For example, I might explain an edit with: ‘For consistency with the style guide, I have amended this to…’. Then, my style sheet will list things like a word list showing spelling choices, hyphenation, abbreviations usage, artwork titles, capitalisation, dates and times, headings style, lists style, footnote style, numbers, punctuation. I send the style sheet to the client with the completed edit, giving them a quick reference document they can reuse in future publications.

Work with an editor who gets it

What motivates me when editing is the shared goal of making your writing the best it can be. I skip anything unnecessary and prioritise changes that improve flow, clarity and meaning.

It’s easy to forget that, at the other end of the email is a real human receiving the feedback. My approach to feedback ensures that, for authors, editing feels less like something they might dread and more like a supportive partnership.

If you’re looking for an editor who catches small inconsistencies, retains your voice, and works with a collaborative, supportive approach, I’d love to hear about your project.

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