Which Type of Editing Do I Need? - The Three Types of Editing
There are three kinds of professional editing that occur before proofreading, all addressing different levels of a book:
Developmental editing
Line editing
Copyediting
Here’s a little about each so you can understand the differences when finding the right professional editor for you. (LINK)
Developmental editing—I.e. Big-picture editing
Developmental editing is starts with taking a helicopter view of your book. Your editor will make suggestions about character arc, story structure, plot developments, flow, and style, among other things.
Developmental editors work differently. Some will make comments within your manuscript while others will provide you with a document overviewing their notes. However, no matter how they communicate, their notes should be clear and understandable, contain specific solutions for your book, and demonstrate a willingness to step into your world and offer creative input.
You can hire a developmental editor early in your writing process to help organize or structure your book. OR once you’ve finished your manuscript and need help refining it.
Pro tip: If you decide to hire a developmental editor once you’ve written your manuscript, you should make a few editing passes yourself to tidy up loose ends, correct easy errors, and make it your best before handing it to an editor.
If you’re asking yourself:
Is my story / message clear?
Does my story make sense?
Does it have the impact I am seeking?
Does my story fit together into a beautiful narrative?
How can I enhance my characters?
…then seeking a developmental editor will be a worthwhile investment.
Line Editing—I.e. Paragraph-level editing
Line editing addresses your book at the level of your paragraphs. A line editor will assess your clarity of language, flow of sentences, your tendency for repeating certain words or sentence structures, and, above all, helping your message be as clear as possible.
A good line editor enhances your writing while still keeping your voice, your intent, and your ownership over the book. They’ll help spruce up the areas where you could only think of the same words again and again, or uncovering stronger transitions between ideas or scenes.
Hire a line editor when you know your story is solid and you want additional support improving your language, clarity, and message.
Pro tip: Communicate who your target audience is with your line editor so they can help shape your message to speak right to your readers’ hearts.
Copyediting—I.e. Sentence-level editing
Copyediting is your last step before hiring a proofreader (keep in mind, a proofreader only hunts errors; they won’t help improve your book beyond trying to make it error-free).
A copyeditor asks questions like:
Are the details of each character consistent throughout the book (hair color, behavioral tics, spellings of their name, etc.)?
Are spelling and punctuation choices consistent?
Does the timeline, time of year, and weather all make sense?
Does the author use the same terminology for concepts throughout, or change them?
Think of your copyeditor like a fine-toothed comb. They’re making sure your language, concepts, characters, and any other minor details remain consistent and logical. The devil is in the details, and so is the key to great writing. Copyeditors will address proper bolding and italics, syntax, grammar, spelling, footnotes/endnotes, cross-reference facts for accuracy, clean up your document of stray spaces, and even recast sentences, removing wordiness or awkward phrasing.
Seek a copyeditor when you’ve finished the developmental editing and line editing processes. Another pass of copyediting will provide a final polish and make your creation shine — every author’s demonstration of mastery.
Pro tip: Before working with your copyeditor, ask if they can also proofread. Most likely they’ll recommend another pair of eyes before publication.
Every editor is different.
The three types of editing blend into each other, and you might find a developmental editor who also makes line-editing-like comments to help you hone your craft.
Get to know your editor to find out how they work and what process will work the best for you.
And never give up.
{The world deserves your story and you deserve to tell it.}
{About Laura Thomas}
Laura founded Next Level Story to help authors unlock their stories' true potential. She's an in-demand developmental wizard, er, editor and writer who's helped dozens of writers, speakers, and thought leaders. She's been writing and acting for over 20 years, including 2X Storytelling State Champion (Go Eastview!). Laura publishes around the web daily and is a Top Advice Writer for Medium. Full bio
