An Interview with Copyeditor Jeanette Smith

Finding the right editor for your work lets your voice shine through your prose. Jeanette Smith loves diving into an editing job, finding the writer's true voice, and teasing out any weaknesses in the piece to showcase the brilliance of that voice. She was kind enough to share some of her wisdom with us as we wondered how you find the perfect editor for your work.

What is your role and how are you involved in editing?

I am a freelance line editor and copyeditor who has been working in the editing field for about eight years. My role comes into play after the author has edited for big-picture elements. Line editing would adjust wording and flow, making the prose smooth and ensuring every word is the exact right one. Copyediting comes after that and deals mostly with grammar, spelling, and punctuation, providing that final polish before formatting.

What do you love about your job? What do you not love?

The thing I love most about editing is that I’m helping other people’s dreams come true. Writing a book is such a HUGE triumph that very few people achieve. Taking it to the finish line with self-editing and professional editing is something even fewer people do. To be a part of that is so rewarding. There are downsides, however, the biggest being my lack of pleasure reading. After you stare at words all day, the last thing you want to do for fun is stare at more. So despite reading twenty to thirty books a year to edit them, I don’t read as much for fun as I used to.

What makes you reject a prospective editing or proofreading job?

There are some obvious reasons I might turn down a project: the author wants developmental editing (I only do line and copy), the genre isn’t one I work on (Sorry, no horror or poetry), the timeline doesn’t fit with my schedule (I’m usually booked a few weeks ahead of time), or their budget doesn’t match the work requested (I follow standard rates as published by the EFA). But even if all those things align, I still might turn down a project based on personality. The author–editor relationship requires a huge amount of trust between both parties, and you both need to be on the same page about the style and depth of the edit. If I feel the author and I don’t align on those things, then the project isn’t going to be the right fit.

What exactly does an editor do? How is it different from proofreading?

There are actually many roles in the writing and publishing world that have the title “Editor.” You might have developmental editors (big picture), line editors (wording and flow), and copyeditors (grammar), who all help with polishing the book for publication. Then there are also acquisitions editors (people at publishing houses who decide which books to acquire), lead editors (people who oversee other editorial professionals but don’t edit themselves), and executive editors (higher-ups who manage lead editors). A proofreader is also an important part of the editorial arts, but unlike developmental, line, and copyeditors, proofreaders aren’t making any changes or decisions about the book. They are using the style guide supplied by the copyeditor and taking a last look at the formatted document to ensure no final goofs remain.

Are editors able to edit their own writing?

In addition to my editing work, I am also a creative writer, and I can unequivocally say that every writer needs an editor, even if the writer is an editor. Not every editor specializes in every type of editing. For example, I don’t provide developmental editing because my brain just doesn’t work the way it needs to for that service. So I absolutely need critique partners, beta readers, and professional editors to help me with big-picture edits. Even copyediting shouldn’t always be done by the author/editor because they are too close to the book. I had a separate copyeditor and proofreader for the nonfiction book I self-published because I knew I couldn’t get it there by myself. Every author needs an editor!

What are the differences in the skillsets you need to be a good writer verses a good editor verses a good proofreader?

While there is some overlap between these skills, they do require different mentalities and outlooks. Writing is the process of creation. We are spinning something out of nothing and being as creative as possible. Being a successful writer means being both inventive and productive, getting words on the page and making sure they are entertaining. Editing, on the other hand, is about curation. Now we have all these words, so we need to go through and pick out just the exact right ones we need for the story. This is like the difference between buying books and then trying to clean out your bookshelf. They simply require different mindsets. Proofreading is part of the editorial mindset, but it is more focused on correctness then creation or curation.

What are your writing and editing pet peeves?

While I don’t have specific things like commas that drive me up the wall, there are two aspects of writing and editing that are absolutely pet peeves. For writing, my pet peeve is when someone says it’s easy. They clearly haven’t researched everything it involves if they think crafting an emotional and compelling story and then publishing it will be easy. Do your research. Learn what makes a good book. Learn how to query an agent. Don’t just go on Facebook after you’ve finished the first draft and ask to have it published; that’s a way to bring scammers out of the woodwork. It’s sort of the same for editing. My biggest peeve is when people obviously don’t self-edit. Readers will know if you took time to fill plot holes or deepen characters or put the commas in the right place. Skipping self-editing is a big no no, but many people do it anyway in a rush to publication. If you as an author don’t care enough to put in the work to make it better, then why should I, a reader, care to read it?

What are the qualities of good writing? Does it differ depending on genre?

This is an incredibly subjective question, but I do see some qualities of good writing that span across genres, age groups, or other aspects. The first quality of good writing is truth. It sounds strange to say we need to write the truth if we are writing fiction, but what it means is that we need to spin that fictional world as closely as possible to the emotional truth of being a human. People read for entertainment, yes, but they also read to understand the world better and learn about themselves through your stories and characters. Use your real feelings, your actual senses, and your distinct viewpoint. Put those into your book, no matter how fictional it may be. The other aspect of good writing that spans all books is voice. Voice is that elusive aspect of writing that allows us to read something we’ve never seen before and go “So and so must have written this.” It’s your cadence, tone, mood, word choice, sentence structure, and style all rolled into one hard-to-define quality. Voice develops as we write in our own distinct voice.

How does AI change things for professional editors? Is there still value in hiring a human?

AI is a rapidly evolving technology, so even as I write this, the circumstances are changing. But at this moment in 2025, AI cannot replace a human editor. Some writers and editors may choose to use it as an aid in their editing, but human discernment and contextual understanding will always be critical to editing, and a computer program can’t provide those things. I once ran a story of mine through generative AI. The story took place entirely underwater on scuba equipment, but the AI said the story could benefit from some dialogue (*facepalm*). I have also tested this with copyediting. I introduced eighteen errors—things copyeditors are trained to find—into a story and fed it to five different AI programs. The one that did the best only found five of the eighteen errors. And based on its feedback, it would only have corrected three of those properly. The other two suggestions would have introduced other errors. AI is not a replacement for a human yet. Please, please, please hire a human.

Are you willing to edit AI derived writing? Why?

Personally, I will not edit AI generated work. As a line editor and copyeditor, my job is to find your unique author voice and enhance it while smoothing things out for the reader. If your voice was never in the document to begin with, then there is nothing for me to strive for, no “you” to pull out of the wording.

Are you worried that AI will take over for human editors? Why or why not?

At this moment, I am not worried that AI will take over human editing. It simply can’t do the job properly. What I am worried about is writers not realizing this and trusting AI for everything. Despite how amazing it seems, AI has major limits, and we need to be objective in how we see the value of the technology. It’s not as valuable yet for what people want to or try to use it for. Writers still need to learn to trust their own instincts, to gather feedback from other writers and readers, and to outsource parts of the process they know they can’t complete to a high enough standard. AI should not be your sole source of feedback or the last word on an important decision. It’s a machine that strings words together in an order it thinks you want to hear. A human editor will only ever do what’s in your best interests and the interests of your book. A computer program has no stakes in the matter, no reason to do a good job.

If someone is already a good writer, why would they need an editor?

This goes back to the idea of the two different mindsets: accumulation versus curation. As writers, we’ve spent too much time filling our proverbial closet with words. Now, when we have to edit and cut them down, we can’t because we’re too emotionally invested in the work. Bringing in an editor for your work is like bringing in a friend to help pare down your closet. You might have a particular attachment to that pink paisley shirt, but if your friend says it doesn’t flatter you, then you can think again and maybe get rid of it. Editors are just the friends sitting on the end of your bed helping you curate your closet. That being said, not every writer will need a professional for every stage of the process. I have a short Self-Editing Assessment that helps writers understand where their strengths lie and where they might bring in someone else to help.