In front of me were a newbie author and his first fiction manuscript. He was hesitant to speak as I welcomed him and then started asking a few questions. Before he arrived in my office, I had quietly sat down and read the first three chapters to get a feel for his story and style of writing. I knew it needed editing, but so do all books to some degree. The opening chapter had legs and moved me to the next, always a good sign. Could it move to the editing stage? My recommendation to him would be a yes, as was with the editor I would assign it to who had already done a pre-screening of the manuscript felt that it was ready to start formal editing.