The manuscript you submit, hopefully double lined, will land on the editor's desk. Even with the help of technology and the spell checker, I am still the editor's worst nightmare. The editor will read your manuscript word by word, analyzing the meaning of every sentence, checking all the speech and advising if it is computer speak to use italics or when and where the breaks and new lines should be added. They will also have to check the spelling. If you have invented a "Zandaision" life form they will have to note the spelling from your first use of the name and ensure it is correct every time it appears. Now how many wonderful and weird names can be included and repeated in the average science fiction novel?
It makes me wonder why anyone would willingly accept such a major task. These people who you will maybe never get to meet will be the expert guide that put the final finishing touch to your work. They will possibly be the first person outside your friends and family to read and assess the whole work. The editor will also write the cover blurb for your book. From their reading and interpretation, writing in so few lines and words without giving away to much of the book but enough to wet the appetite of the potential reader, enough to ensure the book is taken to the checkout. An unbiased open-minded opinion formed while they slowly and meticulously prepare the book for printing.
Eventually the manuscript will be returned to you. I just received a manuscript back from the editor. I noticed immediately the different style used from my previous book, it did however still have the same if not more red ink than before. It looked like a spider had dipped it's legs in red ink and then had run over every page.
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