What Happens to a Manuscript After the Author Hands it In?

A reader asked me to explain what happens to my manuscript after I hand it in.

There are three main editing stages, followed by a final page proofs stage.

Major Revisions

After submission my editor reads my manuscript. If she finds issues with the plot, romance, pacing, chapter hooks or endings etc, she’ll send it back with a revision letter requesting adjustments. Editors typically give authors 30-60 days to make these revisions.

I received a half page revision letter for my first novel, but after that, we addressed plot issues at the proposal stage so subsequent manuscripts have gone directly to the second revision stage.

Update (2026): All of my publishers now combine any major plot revision requests with line edits.

Line Edits

At this stage, an editor (sometimes a different one than the first), marks up the manuscript using track changes. She might make suggestions, ask questions, or point out areas that need to be elaborated, eliminated, tightened etc.

Depending how tight the publisher’s deadline is, an author may have a very short time to turn these edits around. My editor asked me to complete a couple of my LIS manuscripts in three days. So authors need to communicate with their editors how much time they need. Most contracts specify thirty days. But editors can get behind. Thankfully, all the editors I’ve worked with have been great about accommodating vacations etc. 

BTW, this is the stage that earns the author the release of the second half of her advance. 

Copy Edits

Once an author returns their revised line-edited manuscript, it goes to a copy editor. This is always a different editor, who is especially knowledgeable about grammar and style rules. And hopefully when it’s better to break them. I never saw my copy-edited manuscripts from LI, unless the copy editor caught a “content” discrepancy I needed to fix. Many LI authors, however, do see their copy edits, so it varies by editor. 

In contrast to my experience with Love Inspired, I worked closely with the copy editor for Deadly Devotion. She caught things like the heroine’s apartment levitating from the second to third floor from one chapter to the next. Comma issues etc. she simply changed. However, if a phrase felt awkward or a pronoun was unclear, for example, she’d ask me to change it. Or she’d suggest a change and ask if I was okay with it.

She then gave me 2 or 3 weeks to go through the manuscript. She called this stage “galleys.” If I wanted to make any significant content changes, like a character’s name or job, or an entire scene, this was my last chance.

Final Stage – called Page Proofs or AAs for Author Alterations

 At this point, the author used to receive a hard copy of her novel as each page will be printed. Perhaps American authors with American publishers still do. But my novels were always sent electronically, usually as a pdf to preserve typesetting and graphics. Any errors I found I marked up directly in the pdf and emailed it back to my copy editor.

Update: For the multi-author series I write, I don’t see anything after line edits. Authors don’t get to proof the final version. So…I’m sometimes surprised to discover significant scene changes when I receive the printed version. And…since I rarely read my published books, beyond looking up passages for bonus features, I suspect there are changes I don’t know about!

Your Turn: Any questions?

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