Grammar shouldn't wait for editors

But editors should you help fix it.

Last Updated March 5th 2025.

I’ve had it many times where someone has asked me to give story feedback and ignore the grammar in their book. While I am happy to fulfil this request I think there’s a better approach that will ensure higher quality and more useful feedback from both editors and beta readers.

That approach is to tackle your grammar before you ask for feedback.

What is grammar?

Grammar is a key element of a story. The grammar used in a passage can change a reader’s perspective and understanding and sway their emotions. Without good, clear grammar, it can be hard for a reader to understand what you’re trying to do and to truly connect with your story.

Mixed up tenses can cause flashbacks to feel confusing; simple misphrasings can introduce unwanted head-hopping; and stray commas can wreak havoc on any number of story elements. Even so, if you have asked your beta readers or editors to ignore the grammar, they will and they’ll likely blame a symptom of bad grammar rather than the grammar itself.

Grammar is distinct from spelling mistakes and typos. We can ignore these in early drafts because more often than not it’s clear these are mistakes and nothing more and, while they can sometimes make a mundane passage quite funny (an extra ‘o’ could make someone ‘popping to the shops’ very different), we know what the intention was and can ignore the mistake.

“But isn’t it the editor’s job, to fix grammar?”

Yes, it is, and editors will make their best efforts to fix these mistakes.

If there is a simple solution, an editor will make the fix, but if the solutions are varied, complex, or require a deep dive into the sentence structure, your editor will more than likely ask you to clarify the meaning and intent of the passage before they suggest edits.

Most of the time, these big edits – like changing the verb tenses for a scene or clarifying the subject of a passage – will have more than one solution. Editors aren’t the author, so when text is unclear, we’ll make suggestions for how to improve the text and leave the final decision up to you.

All of this is to say that grammar is one of the core building blocks of a novel and should be addressed alongside plot, character, theme, and pacing.

Does this mean your grammar needs to be perfect in these early drafts? No! Far from it. Let your drafts be as messy as you want. Find the process that works for you but, before sending your work to others for feedback, ask yourself this: is the grammar helping or hindering my story?

I’m interested to hear other people’s thoughts: do you agree or disagree? Let me know.

And if you’re after someone to dive deep into the grammar of your book (a scary editor), get in touch.