Hiring an editor is easy. It’s hiring the right editor that’s hard.
And part of that is deciding what type of editing you need, depending on where you are in the publishing process.
If you google “How many different types of editing are there?”, you’re going to get a variety of answers. To add to the confusion, some of them might even be called different things by different people.
This post goes through the different types of editing in detail: the different names, what they entail, and when they should take place.
Read on to find out more…
INTRODUCTION TO THE EDITING PROCESS
In this post, I’ve grouped all the different types of editing into three stages that should be undertaken separately and in this order:
- Big-picture editing, where an editor works with you to perfect things like plot, structure, and characters.
- The finer details, where an editor works with you on your sentence-level writing craft.
- The finest details, where an editor tidies up your text to prepare it for publication.
Each of these types editing is a separate skill that requires the full attention of an editor. That’s why it’s so important that you go through each of these stages separately – whether with a professional or on your own.
At each stage, there’s a description of what’s entailed and some examples of the types of changes and comments an editor might make. A book published by a traditional publisher will usually go through all of these stages before publication.
As an indie author, especially if you’re new to self-publishing, it’s helpful to replicate this process yourself (as best you can) if you want your books to have that same professional finish.
Of course, I appreciate that professional help at every stage may not be affordable for everyone. And, since you may have to make a choice about where to target professional editing help, I’ve added some of the benefits of paying for a pro as well as some cheaper alternatives if that’s out of your budget.
If you think you might need to pursue some of the alternatives, use this guide to help you consider where your own strengths and weaknesses lie. Then you can target the professional help where it’s needed most.
BEFORE YOU START…
Okay, I lied before. There are actually four stages of editing. But one of them doesn’t involve a professional editor at all, and that’s why I haven’t included it in the list above.
Self-editing is the first stage your manuscript should go through – usually serveral times.
The more thoroughly you have edited your own work before you engage the services of an editor, the more you will get out of the process. If you know your book is full of plot holes and your main character is unlikeable when you send it to an editor, you may be paying them to tell you what you already know.
It’s worth getting your manuscript into a shape you’re happy with before asking for feedback on it. That way your editor can focus their attention on the things you haven’t spotted, rather than the ones you just haven’t got around to fixing yet.
BIG-PICTURE EDITING
There are two main services aimed at perfecting the bigger picture…
Developmental editing
Developmental editing is an in-depth edit of all of the bigger-picture elements of your book – plots and sub-plots, characters, narrative, and perspective – and a round of developmental editing can substantially change your story. It may sometimes be referred to as “structural editing” or “content editing”.
It covers the same areas as an editorial assessment would, but usually the editor will work with you to address any points they raise. It’s a very intense edit and might involve moving, rewriting, or even cutting parts of your work. You should be prepared to be challenged, and there will be some back and forth with your editor, but it’s all for a good reason: to make your book the best possible version of itself.
A developmental editor will help ensure that your characters’ motivations are clear and that there’s a satisfying structure that keeps your readers interested until the very end. They are, however, unlikely to delve into any of the finer details, like spelling, punctuation, or the way you craft individual sentences.
You can read my description of the service and see an example of part of a developmental edit here.
A developmental editor will…
You can expect a developmental editor to help you wrap up any loose ends in your story or foreshadow events that become important later on. They might tell you that a reader would struggle to understand why your main character does what they do, and will help you to make their motivation clearer. They might work with you to change the ending of your book so that it’s more satisfying and better fits the expectations of readers in your genre.
Why pay for it?
Developmental editing can be expensive, but it’s also a wise investment. A reader might pick up your book if it’s got a great cover and an interesting, well-written blurb, but they won’t stick with it if the story doesn’t engage them. And unsatisfied readers may mean negative reviews and fewer sales.
Alternatives
If a full developmental edit is out of reach, you could get a editorial assessment to help point you in the right direction. Of course, this means you won’t get detailed in-margin notes or the same amount of your editor’s time and attention, but it’s likely to be much more budget-friendly.
Editorial assessment
Sometimes called a “manuscript assessment” or “manuscript critique”, an editorial assessment is exactly what it sounds like: an editor’s assessment of your work.
It takes place before any red pens come out, or the track changes feature gets turned on. The editor will read your manuscript and provide you with feedback on your work without making any changes to the text itself. You’ll receive a report from the editor with their thoughts on the strengths and weaknesses of your plot, characters, perspective, style, and pacing, as well as the book’s marketability and suitability for its target audience. You’ll get their advice, but it’s up to you to decide how/whether to implement it.
An editorial assessment will…
An editorial assessment might point out that you have too many unnecessary side characters distracting from your main character’s important relationships, and give some suggestions about which could be cut. It might tell you that your manuscript is too long for reader expectations in the genre you’re writing in, and offer some ideas about how to carve your story up into a number of books instead. The editor might say that your book is ready for editing, or they might advise you to spend more time workshopping the story before moving ahead.
You can read my description of the service and see the template I use for editorial assessments here.
Why pay for it?
Since an editorial assessment is a one-off, separate document, and it doesn’t involve detailed comments in the margin of your manuscript, the cost is relatively low in comparison with a deeper developmental or structural edit (see the next section). You get a LOT of useful information for a relatively low price and it’s a really useful way to test the viability of your draft without spending more on developmental editing straight away.
Alternatives
If an editorial assessment from a professional editor isn’t in your budget at the moment, you could try to find some beta readers instead. If you’re in writing groups on social media, you may be able to find some volunteers to read your book and give you some feedback for free. Of course, this may be a less structured and rigorous process than a professional evaluation and the quality of the feedback you get might differ from person to person.
THE FINER DETAILS
This is the stage at which we get down to the sentence-level writing, and there’s one main service I’d include here…
Line editing
Line editing is all about keeping the reader engaged on every single page. If your story is good, they may want to stick with the book to find out what happens, but line editing is what ensures that they’ll enjoy the journey. It’s sometimes referred to as “stylistic editing” and it takes place after developmental editing, once the bigger-picture elements of the story are in place.
We understand our own stories so well that it’s difficult to put ourselves in the place of someone hearing it for the first time. A scene feels tense to us because we know what’s coming, but a reader might need some additional help. There may be words or sentence constructions we end up relying on too often without realising that they make the writing feel slow and repetitive, or trip the reader up. A line editor’s job is to ensure that readers remain immersed in the world you create, removing any distractions that will drag them out of it.
Line editing can take place at the same time as copyediting (see next section) as they go hand in hand – though a line editor is focussed on the effectiveness of the writing, while a copyeditor is more focussed on consistency and correctness.
You can read my description of the service and see an example of a line and copyedited manuscript here.
A line editor will…
You can expect a line editor to make creative interventions and suggestions in track changes. They might suggest varying your sentence constructions and eliminating repetition to make your writing flow better or create tension where it’s needed. They can help make your dialogue sound more natural or impactful. And they can help fix any slips in perspective or inconsistent characterisation at sentence level.
Why pay for it?
Just as some people have an ear for music, a good line editor will have an ear for engaging prose. A professional will make sure that any changes they suggest preserve that unique voice that makes your work special, rather than editing it to make it sound generic. You don’t want your book to be boring!
Alternatives
If a professional line editor is out of budget right now, you could exchange manuscripts with another writer and work on each other’s books, looking out for some of these same issues. Of course, you can’t know whether their suggestions will be useful before you see them, and you also run the risk that their suggestions might erase your unique voice in favour of their own.
THE FINEST DETAILS
There are two main services here too. In traditional publishing, the first (copyediting) takes place on a final draft before it it formatted for print, and the second (proofreading) takes place on the formatted manuscript. In self-publishing, especially if an author will sell ebooks that aren’t formatted for print, they’re often combined.
Copyediting and proofreading
Copyediting and proofreading are two different types of editing, but both are aimed at ensuring your final text has a professional finish, with minimal errors that could distract readers from your story.
Copyediting, which usually takes place before a final proofread, is where an editor works to ensure your writing is clear, consistent, and correct. This includes everything from checking the timeline of your novel all adds up to making sure words like “co-operate” are hyphenated consistently throughout (or not!) and correcting any spelling errors that crop up.
Proofreading is a final quality-control check, once all the text has been finalised. We’re all human; there will always be some errors that make it this far – some might even be introduced during the editing process through messy track changes! A proofreader’s job is to go over what looks like a ready-to-print manuscript with a fine-toothed comb to eliminate any lingering typos or formatting issues.
Often an editor will combine both of these services, making changes for consistency and doing a final readthrough to make sure the text is as error-free as possible.
You can read descriptions of the services and see an example of a copyedited or proofread manuscript on the copyediting and proofreading pages.
A copyeditor or proofreader will…
You can expect a copyeditor to ensure that any unusual names are spelled consistently throughout and that your main character doesn’t live two Tuesdays in a row (unless it’s intentional). You can expect a proofreader to spot a leftover typo, add in a missing full stop, or realise that you’ve skipped a chapter number.
Why pay for it?
Good copyediting and proofreading are usually invisible in the final product, but you can spot a book that hasn’t been properly copyedited or proofread a mile away. If your first chapter is riddled with errors, it very quickly tarnishes your readers’ views of your work. At best, they’re a distraction from your readers’ immersion in your world. At worst, readers might assume that you didn’t put time and care into your work, and put your book down.
Alternatives
You could do this yourself, or have a partner or friend do it for you, but the end result will very much depend on their skill level. There’s a lot more to proofreading and copyediting than correcting spelling mistakes and no one will do it better than a professional.
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