Whether you’re a new author looking for guidance or an experienced author who needs a refresher, you’re in the right place to learn.
Editing is the part of publishing that happens after you’ve written your book and lasts almost up until you’re ready to hit “publish.” It’s a long road, but I’m here to help you learn the difference between the 5 editing types, why they’re important, and when they’re appropriate for your book!
Manuscript Evaluations
Manuscript Evaluations provide a professional bird’s-eye view of your entire book. You’ll receive an editorial letter—a multi-page assessment—to reference as you revise. An editorial letter (edit letter) overviews strengths and weaknesses in your book and highlights ways to improve it overall. This letter includes notes and suggestions for structural improvement, character arcs, plot, and worldbuilding. Most importantly, an edit letter will provide you with actionable next steps for revision. No edit letter should leave you feeling confused about where to start or go next.
A Manuscript Evaluation is useful for writers who need a revision guide or find themselves stuck on story construction and development. This means a Manuscript Evaluation can be done for incomplete and complete works equally! If you’ve only written a few chapters and need advice or confirmation they’re working well, think about something like The 5-Chapter Review, which is essentially a mini Manuscript Evaluation.
Remember, Manuscript Evaluations are not as involved—you don’t have annotations (in-line comments/suggestions/questions) in the book to reference and connect—as Developmental Editing, but they offer a great alternative if you a) aren’t ready for the commitment and deep work Developmental Editing requires or b) only need a Manuscript Evaluation to finish your Developmental Edits alone, which is common for experienced authors with a strong vision.
Developmental Editing
Developmental Editing (aka Content Editing or Substantive Editing) takes a close look at your entire manuscript and asks questions about characters, plot, and overall connection throughout the story. These are called “big picture” edits. This type of editing is the first step a completed, self-edited manuscript goes through, as the process often sees your work undergo major change via rewrites, chapter moving, cuts, additions, etc.
A Developmental Edit looks solely at your story: what’s working, what isn’t, and how it might be improved. This is for the overall arc of the story, character arcs, side plots, etc. Any big, meaty party of the story that makes your book what it is: its heart.
Proper Developmental Editing will provide you with the knowledge to make the most of your story! Just like in a Manuscript Evaluation, you’ll receive a multi-page edit letter with notes and suggestions for structural improvement, character arcs, plot, and worldbuilding.
But the real highlight of a Developmental Edit are the annotations! Annotations provide you with through lines on the page to follow as you revise. There will be questions in the manuscript to help you think deeply about your work, characters, themes, and plot; suggestions and/or recommendations for change or revision at the scene level; recommendations for story structure; and story-wide comments about how a reader might react to help you gauge if your story is saying what you meant to say.
A good developmental editor works closely with you and provides personal, direct, and highly detailed feedback on your book to help your creative vision grow and flourish.
Line Editing
Next up is Line Editing! Many people use Copy Editing and Line Editing interchangeably, but the truth is, Line Editing focuses specifically on the content and flow of your work. Line Editing sounds exactly like the title: a line editor is going to take your work on a line-by-line basis and help you strengthen your work. This type of editing has a greater focus on making sure your manuscript sounds just like you!
Copy Editing
Copy Editing–or copyediting, both spellings are acceptable. Just be consistent!–is the type of editing most people naturally think of when someone says, “Hey, will you edit this for me?” Copy Editing is the process of going through your work for grammar, spelling, capitalization, repetition, incorrect dialogue tags, inconsistencies, etc. All these things fall under the purview of copy editing and are an integral part of the editing process.
Proofreading
Proofreading is the last thing done to your manuscript before publication. Major errors should have been fixed during copy and line editing, allowing a smooth read of your book for your proofreader. Proofreading acts as the “final glance” before your manuscript is shipped out for printing! This type of editing requires a sharp eye to catch small errors missed during the other editing stages.
Feel more confident about which type of editing is which? Please don’t hesitate to ask any questions through my contact page! I’m more than happy to assist you on your journey.