Will an Editor Change My Style or Narrative?

No.

An editor will not rewrite your novel in the way they would have written it. They will not change your narrative style because they prefer something different, alter a character because they do not like them or decide your story needs a different ending.

It is your book.

Correcting Doesn't Mean Changing

Fiction does not have to be written in perfectly conventional English. Sentence fragments, repetition, unusual punctuation, dialect and deliberately awkward or abrupt language can all be part of the way a novel is written.

An editor should recognise when something is deliberate.

That does not mean every unusual construction will be left alone. If something looks accidental, is difficult to understand or is used inconsistently, the editor may query it. Once it is clear that it is intentional, it can be treated consistently throughout the manuscript.

The Narrative Belongs to the Author

An editor may notice problems with the narrative, but before any changes are made they will raise it as a question.

If a character is in Amsterdam on Monday and apparently in New York an hour later, the editor will question it. If someone refers to an event before it has happened, that will be queried. If a character's motivation suddenly appears to contradict everything established about them, the editor may point it out.

The author decides what happens next.

There may be a mistake to correct, an explanation missing from the text or a perfectly good reason for what has been written. The editor cannot know which, so they ask.

What Will They Change?

They will correct errors that can be corrected without changing your meaning. Spelling mistakes, punctuation errors, grammatical errors and straightforward inconsistencies do not need to become a discussion every time.

They will make suggestions where a sentence is unclear, awkward or open to an unintended interpretation.

They will question inconsistencies, missing information, problems with timing or chronology, contradictions and anything else for which the correct answer has to come from you.

They will not change your story simply because they prefer some other way of writing it.