"This book needed more editing."

Spoilers: no, it probably didn't.

The short version:

More often in book reviews lately, I’ve seen remarks like “This book could’ve used more editing.” I’m guessing someone, somewhere, told people that this was a more professional-sounding thing to say than “This book just wasn’t for me.”

They are wrong. The latter statement is more accurate as well as more professional. Please use that if you want to sound like a more thoughtful reader.

The long version:

I’ve worked as a professional copyeditor and proofreader for over ten years, and have been a published author for even longer. Claiming that a book needs more editing tends to reflect, I’d guess, a misunderstanding of what the job duties are for editor, author, publisher, and everyone else involved in publishing.

When it is accurate to say a book needed more editing:

When there are lots of typos, like at least one every couple of pages. And I do mean typos, not just style choices. If a character says in dialogue, “Me and Jill were at home,” and that is the way that character would talk, then it’s inaccurate to say, “Proper grammar is ‘Jill and I were at home,’ and therefore the book needed more editing.” The author picked that style of speech for the character, and a good editor recognizes that and doesn’t change it.

What about when there are lots of formatting errors? If you’re seeing those in the print version, then yes, they should’ve had a proofreader on that. If you’re seeing them in the ebook version, that could be a whole host of file-conversion issues that may or may not be in the author’s or editor’s domain. If you want to be helpful, send an email to the publisher (or the author if it is self-published) with those problems so they can see about fixing the file.

When it is not accurate to say a book needed more editing:

Pretty much every other time, including perhaps the file-formatting issues.

Basically, unless the issue is too many actual typographic errors, a reader cannot know if the book needed more editing unless they were personally involved in the editing process for that book.

In essentially all instances, it’s quite possible that an editor did flag whatever you, the reader, deemed a problem, but the author responded, “Gotcha, but this is what I want for the book. Let’s leave it as is.”

I’ve done this myself as an author, and I’ve had lots of authors do it when I’m editing for them. Which is fine with me. The author gets the final word. Their name is the one on the cover. That is how the job works. Besides, if you give the same book to five different editors, you’re going to get five different sets of feedback that almost certainly are not identical to each other. We are all readers too, and we all have our own opinions. So by “needed more editing” you might actually mean “needed an editor with tastes closer to mine.” But even then, the author usually gets to override the editor.

· You thought the blend of genres/themes was kind of weird and you’re not sure it worked? Someone else’s review says they adored that mix and it was just what they needed. (And also, that’s how the author wanted it.)

· You thought it was too depressing and slow and you wanted the characters to get it together and do something? Someone else’s review says they found this book a beautiful, powerful exploration of grief/loss/trauma. (And also, that’s how the author wanted it.)

· You thought it was too “tropey” and predictable? Someone else’s review says it was delicious and engaging, the kind of thing they love to read. (And also, that’s how the author wanted it.)

· You thought it went on too long in the second half? Someone else’s review says they loved the second half best, and appreciated that the characters had time to breathe and recover from the events. (And also, that’s how the author wanted it.)

· You thought there was too much backstory or world-building or description, to the point where you might even call it “info-dump”? Someone else’s review says the world-building was fabulous and rich, and they loved being immersed in this universe and are sad to be done with the book. (And also, that’s how the author wanted it.)

For all of the above examples, and hundreds more you could think of, the book did not need more editing just because of those features. It just wasn’t a good fit for you as a reader. That is the far more accurate review to give, and the one that’s going to be much more appreciated by those involved in publishing.

And it’ll be much less insulting to the people who did, in fact, edit the hell out of that book, thank you very much.