What Kind of Edit Do I Need?

Hiring an editor is an investment, so the first question you need to ask yourself is what kind of edit you need. In the traditional publishing world, there are numerous stages a manuscript would go through, starting with a developmental or structural edit (or perhaps more than one), then a line edit, then copyediting, then finally proofreading. All of these editing rounds have different aims, so if you are looking to hire an editor yourself, whether you are aiming to submit to agents or publishers, or to self-publish, you’ll want to think about your end goals in order to decide which level of editing you need. And you can always get in touch if you want to talk through what might work best for you in more detail!

I’m assuming here that you have a complete manuscript already – if not, you might want to consider book coaching.

What is a developmental edit?

A developmental edit is the first stage, dealing with big-picture elements like plot, pacing, characterisation and structure. This comes in the form of an editorial letter or memo, detailing the editor’s suggestions for improvements, as well as mark-up on the manuscript, pointing out where changes and how changes could be made. I include light line-editing in my developmental edits too 

What is an editorial assessment?

A smaller version of a developmental edit without mark-up on the manuscript is often called an editorial or manuscript assessment, or a critique. This can be a useful way of getting an overarching view of what is and isn’t working with your manuscript, without needing to invest in a full developmental edit.

Both developmental edits and manuscript assessments are types of structural editing, where we look at big-picture elements.

What is line-editing?

Line-editing is, as the name suggests, editing line by line. Sometimes this is confused with – or deliberately combined with – copyediting, but to my mind the two have different goals and so are best separated out. Line-editing is about style, flow and clarity. It’s making suggestions for edits not to correct errors, but to make the writing read better. I include light line-editing in my developmental edits, to ensure that not only is the manuscript working on a macro level, but that the line-by-line writing is as strong as possible too. 

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All of the above is the kind of editing that an in-house editor at a publisher would do for their authors. This is the part of the process where you can really shape a book, hone its themes, and make sure it lives up to its promise. The next stage is desk-editing, and this is where the manuscript goes to a different editor for each part of the process. We need fresh eyes to catch errors!

What is copyediting?

After the developmental edit and line edit are complete, the manuscript goes to a copyeditor. Copyediting is, like line-editing, done line by line. But copyediting is there to correct errors, ensure consistency, and apply house and author style (i.e. the publisher’s and author’s preferences). This is where spelling, grammar and punctuation are corrected, timelines and facts are verified, and style choices are checked, both against a publisher’s house style but also against an author’s previous books, particularly within a series. Copyediting shouldn’t be about fixing plot holes (though in practice the copyeditor will always flag anything they spot that has been missed in previous edits).

What is proofreading?

Proofreading is the very last stage in the process before a book is published, and it is a final check that no typos, formatting errors or other issues have been missed or accidentally introduced during previous rounds of edits. Proofreading is not about making substantive changes to the text – traditionally it happens on the typeset page proofs (the print-ready files), so any major changes cost money as the text would need resetting. It’s a final polish to get the manuscript as clean as possible. 

After that, the book is ready to publish!

This is a comprehensive run-down of the editorial process; it’s very unlikely that an author would need to do this many rounds of edits themselves, particularly if you are aiming to find a publisher for your work. The type of edit you need depends on your goals.

If you have a complete manuscript and want to get it into the best possible shape both in terms of overarching plot and line-by-line writing, then you’ll want a comprehensive developmental edit. If you have a complete manuscript but just want to see where you could improve the book and where things are working well already, a manuscript assessment might work best for you.

If you are planning to self-publish, I offer bespoke support covering editorial, strategy and packaging advice.

Every book is different, and every author needs different levels of support. That’s why all my quotes are bespoke, tailored to the type and level of editing you need. From broad strokes to detailed amends, editing can come in many guises, but the end goal is always to make your book the very best it can be.

You can find a list of the services I offer here, or if you want to enquire about a booking or have questions, you can contact me here. I’m always happy to chat and help you work out what support you need with your work.