What are the Different Kinds of Editing?

You may not realize it yet, but as you begin your journey towards having your book published , there are several different kinds of editing- and specialty editors. Even in a traditional publishing house (think Random House or Harper Collins), a manuscript isn’t with one editor the entire time. There are stages your book will go through.

Developmental Editing

Developmental editing is the big picture lens. This editor looks at the book as a whole: does the plot make sense? Does it fit the genre expectations? Where are the plot holes? Are the characters flat? Are they making consistent decisions ? And not just the main characters, but secondary chacters as well. Can they be developed more? Does the world-building need help?

Developmental editors don’t get into fine details with your writing, but they will look at things like pacing: is it consistent throughout? Does it need to pick up or slow down anywhere? Do you need to work on showing or telling in your writing? How about point of view? Does the structure work the way it is now, or would it be better off if some scenes were moved-or were even cut entirely?

Often in non-fiction developmental editing is called substantive or content editing, or even structural editing.

Line Editing

You may go back and forth with your developmental editor for several rounds before you move on to the next stage: line editing. In line editing, the editor goes (as the name suggests) line-by-line and looks at the language you’re using.

Line editors look at the impact of your words: are they clear? Do you use too many run-on sentences? They want to help you make sure your writing is as effective as possible, while still keeping the writing sounding like you.

This part is super important. A line editor should always emphasize that they want to keep the writing in your authorial voice. And any professional line editor will do that. At the end of the process, you will still recognize the writing as sounding like you wrote it.

Sometimes line editing gets folded in with copy-editing and sometimes it stands on its own, depending on the editor you’re working with. But you don’t want to do it first.

What if you end up doing lots of re-writing with your developmental editor?

Then all the line editing work has to be redone and you get to pay for it again. So hold off until the developmental editor is finished before bringing in a line editor.

Copy-Editing

Also known as copyediting and copy editing because there is no one way in our line of work.

Where developmental editing and line editing are more art than science, copy-editing actually has rules. Here is where the loved (or feared) Chicago Manual of Style or APA Style may come into play with their rules for formats and citations (even spellings and number systems sometimes).

They might not matter to the general fiction writer, but nonfiction and academic writers know to live by the style guide they’ve chosen and want to hire a copy-editor who is comfortable with that style guide.

Fiction copy-editors will check for punctuation and style inconsistencies, grammar, active or passive voice, awkward phrasing, and may or may not include basic fact checking services.

Proofreading

Last, but by no means least, there is the proofreader. The proofreader is your manuscript’s last stop before being published.

Proofreaders look for errors in punctuation, spelling, grammar, capitalization, missing words and formatting problems that have slipped by other editors.

Questions You Are Absolutely Asking Yourself Right Now

In no particular order some of the things you are probably wondering at this stage are:

Do I really need all these editors?
1. Very possibly not. But one or two of them? Yes. Absolutely. No one should just write a story and post it to KDP or Galatea or another platform without having it looked over by a professional editor. You may have written something good, but with the help of an editor you could have written something great.
2. Many editors will offer an evaluation of your manuscript and tell you what kind of editing it needs, so you don’t need to worry about going through (and paying for) each step unless it is absolutely needed.
3. Think of an editor as an investment in your writing career. Because good editors work with you in ways that mean you learn for your next book and will start writing it from a place of greater strength. They want you to succeed and will do what they can to help you reach your goals.
4. If you’re going to get your book self-published and choose to use a hybrid publisher, the company will often help walk you through the editing process and help you in deciding if your manuscript needs each level of editing or not.
Where do I find good editors?
1. There are several organizations of freelance editors. The Editorial Freelancers Association and National Association of Independent Writers and Editors both offer resources for authors to search their directories and post jobs. There’s always LinkedIn, and I’d probably recommend that before you start searching social media sites or places like Fiverr. Ask author friends you trust, or your local independent bookstore if they would recommend anyone. And always check their websites and do interviews beforehand!

Are you looking for a developmental editor or writing coach? Contact me and let’s talk about your project!