Different Types of Editing
There are several types of editing. At Bracket, we use the terms developmental editing, line editing, and copy editing to refer to them. It can be confusing to keep them straight or to know which is best for your project. Sometimes even publishing professionals get confused, because terminology and processes can differ across publishing houses. The types can be fluid or all rolled together. Sometimes one person handles all types or levels of editing, and in other cases, three or more editors with distinct roles work on a book at different times. It depends on the publishing house and the book.
As you evaluate the needs of your project, or as you prepare for the editing process at your publishing house, it’s good to have a clear understanding of each level of editing to know to expect. These editing types apply to both fiction and nonfiction.
The cost indications below are not keyed to actual amounts. Your editor can provide estimates for your project based on your book’s word count.
Developmental Editing
Developmental editing—also known as substantive or content editing, or a macro edit—is “big picture” editing. It looks at the book as a whole to determine what’s working and what’s not. Your editor has high level questions in mind during the review:
Does the book have one clear premise, concept, or “hook”? Are additional ideas competing, or is the author trying to cover too much in one book? (Maybe you have more than one book idea and don’t even know it!)
Does the book effectively reach its intended reader? If not, what are the blockers?
Does the book fulfill the promise it makes to the reader?
Is the book organized and structured effectively to make the argument or tell a good story?
Does the pacing pull the reader through the book?
Are there any high-level inconsistencies, such as with the argument, character motivations, or story timeline?
Developmental editing takes place after you’ve written a full manuscript. Perhaps you’ve revised the manuscript several times but still have a nagging feeling that something’s not right, or you received conflicting advice from beta readers or your writers’ group. A developmental editor will give you an objective, professional opinion of how to strengthen your book.
What you’ll get: a memo or report (roughly 5-7 pages) that gives you the areas to address in a revision
Amount of communication: It depends. For some edits, the memo is the primary means of communication. Follow-up questions are expected, but mostly you use the memo to work on revisions independently. In other cases, the editor may walk with you through revisions. This is sometimes called a structural edit. You should ask your editor what to expect.
Cost: $$ (memo only) to $$$ (memo and manuscript notes or revisions)
Line Editing
While developmental editing looks at the book as a whole, line editing—also called stylistic editing—looks at the chapter and paragraph levels. The line editor considers creative aspects like writing style, rhythm, word usage and repetition, active versus passive voice, point of view, and tenses. Consistency issues are noted—whether in capitalization choices or character descriptions. Your editor will conform the book to a style guide like The Chicago Manual of Style and/or a publisher’s house style. Your editor will also flag content that requires permission to use, like song lyrics or charts.
Grammar and spelling are corrected during a line edit, but these mechanics get greater focus in the next edit, the copyedit.
Line editors either suggest changes or make changes and draw attention to them (such as through a comment or the track changes feature in Word). Your editor has these kinds of questions in mind during the review:
Does each chapter accomplish its purpose?
Is the writing engaging from paragraph to paragraph?
Is the author’s voice clear and the tone consistent throughout?
Does the text flow well? Are more transitions needed? Does each scene drive the story forward?
Does your citation method work well for the book’s audience?
What deviations from house style are necessary or preferred? (These items go on a style sheet so your editor can keep track and to inform your proofreader.)
What you’ll get: your manuscript with changes tracked and comments throughout
Amount of communication: A lot—comments within the document and back-and-forth by email
Cost: $$$
Copy Editing
Copy editing is the sentence-level detail work related to the mechanics of writing. The goal for this kind of editing is to achieve accuracy, clarity, and consistency. These editors clear out mistakes so your reader can focus on your story or argument without distraction.
Your editor’s questions are hyper focused on the text:
Are quotations accurate?
Are proper names spelled correctly (or anything else that a spell check might miss)?
Do formatting choices like bold and italics make sense?
Does everything conform to the chosen stylebook, house style, and/or the book’s style sheet?
What you’ll get: your manuscript with changes tracked and some comments
Amount of communication: Not much. This is by design and for your benefit. By this point in the editing process, there shouldn’t be much to rework or question.
Cost: $$
Proofreading
Proofreading is not considered editing but is so closely related that it merits mention. After a book is typeset, it is proofread to catch any remaining errors and inconsistencies, or to find any errors introduced in the page design process. The proofreader also reviews elements new to the typesetting stage, such as page numbers in the table of contents, hyphenated word breaks across lines, and running headers (or the lines at the tops of pages that orient the reader by giving book or chapter title). After every round of corrections with a designer, the proofreader or an editorial assistant checks each correction that was marked against the new page proofs to verify that changes were made correctly.
What you’ll get: your page proofs with errors marked
Amount of communication: There could be a handful of questions by the end, but the proofreader handles almost everything or asks your editor
Cost: $
Editorial services can vary by publisher and by book, but generally these are the kinds of editing you’ll encounter at most publishing houses.