Editing Explained

If you have ever looked into editing services it can be confusing.

There are basically four types of editing:

1) Developmental/Substantive editing:

This type of editing looks at your writing as a whole. This is the first type of editing that should be done, if it even needs to be done. Some manuscripts don’t even need a developmental edit. Your editor will let you know once they start reading your manuscript.

Substantive/developmental changes include things like reorganizing paragraphs, sections, or even chapters to improve how the story is told. You might be asked to delete a whole section or add something to make the story flow better for the reader. I also look for gaps in the story or issues with consistency, plot, tone, characterization… and things that don’t belong or don’t move the story forward.

2) Copyediting

This type of editing is on the sentence-level, looking for problems with grammar, spelling, and punctuation but also consistency with style, story and word usage, good transitions, dialogue attribution, sentence parallelism, wordiness (sentences that are too long or not as “tight” as they could be), too much passive voice, and overuse of adjectives. Clarity is paramount; the text has to be understandable.

For most fiction works, The Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS) is the reference of choice. For non-fiction, it could be the AP Style Manual or the CMOS.

The copy editor can also look at accuracy. They may ask you to check a certain person, place, or thing you reference for accuracy. This is important in any writing, fiction or nonfiction alike. No one loses interest in a story faster then when they know the author doesn’t have their facts correct, even if it’s a fictional story.

Some editors may divide their copyediting into Light, Medium, or Heavy. If a manuscript needs more work than I communicate in my initial evaluation, I will let you know. I don’t want any writer to be surprised by a change in fee after the fact.

I have a certificate in copyediting and have done additional education in children’s book editing.

3) Line editing

Think of this as more of a style edit, the way you use your words and language to convey meaning.

It is considered a sentence level edit but not looking for the same errors as in copyediting (or mostly not the same). It can address syntax/sentence structure, tone, word choice, voice, dialogue, transitions, pacing and consistency.

It might be thought of somewhere between a copyedit and a developmental edit (sort of).

This type of edit costs a bit more because it takes more time to do and takes more skill.

4) Proofing

This is the last stage for your book and where it is checked for errors before it goes off to the printer or e-publishing company. I will look for spelling or punctuation errors that fell through the cracks in the copyediting phase, but also make sure the titles, page numbers, header, footer, paragraphs are correct (no widows or orphans or too many hyphenations at the end of a line of text) and the book meets layout and styling specs. I think this blog post does a great job of explaining how proofing is different than other types of edits: https://ckbookspublishing.com/2013/11/04/proofreading-explained/

As part of my copyediting certificate, I did extra training in proof reading, plus I’ve done extra proofing education since.