What is the difference between levels of editing?
Various aspects can blend together and terminology varies across the industry. The definitions listed below are the general guidelines I use. If you have any questions please, do not hesitate to contact me.
Editorial consulting: The beginning stages of putting a book idea together. Deciding if your ideas are solid, substantial enough for a entire book or would they be better in a different format. Helping you ensure that your work is different from what's already on the market or known to be in the works.
Proofreading: Often confused with copyediting, proofreading provides a final check of the electronic file for minor mistakes in spelling, punctuation, spacing, and so on, before the manuscript, article, ad copy, or web content is published. If you are an experienced writer, you may need nothing more than a careful, professional eye to catch the inevitable text glitches and typos that will be invisible to your own eye. Proofreading is also a necessary final step after the book has been set in type and before it goes to press. It ensures that the published version precisely matches the final edited draft.
Copyediting: Correcting grammar, syntax, punctuation, and spelling; making your text conform either to a style sheet you provide or one that is created for you. Also, checks cross-references and other mechanics of style, internal consistency of facts and presentation. Copyediting is concerned with sentence level changes and can range from a light to a heavy copyedit. The light and medium edit focus mostly on mechanical issues.
A heavy copyedit can sometime be called a line edit. This is a contentious and often confusing part of editing terminology. A heavy edit or line edit is going through a manuscript line by line and includes more intervention at the sentence and paragraph level, such as cutting wordiness and repetition, moving material from text to notes, and generally polishing and clarifying each sentence.
Developmental Editing (can also be called substantive or content editing): Sometimes referred to as content (usually for non-fiction) or substantive editing(fiction), this type of editing for fiction involves broad changes such as overall plot, world building, character descriptions and personalities, pacing, voice, story structure, and dialogue. Developmental editing can tell you which chapters to cut, which paragraphs need to be moved, and what scenes need to be expanded.
If you’re concerned about the big picture, a developmental edit will help you restructure and reorganize, trimming down the areas that distract from the manuscript’s major themes and plot-lines while tightening up your pace and making your dialogue feel more natural.
Regularly Scheduled Works: Newsletters, blogs, articles, and a host of other writing both traditional and digital falls under regularly scheduled works. This category can include any or all of the different types of editing listed above as well as some additional services. In addition to editing these works often also need formatting and distribution. Often for works of this nature a retainer fee is negotiated to ensure a consistency with voice and distribution times.
Children's Books: There is a wide range of books written for children, everything from board books, picture books, to young adult novels. I can edit any of the above but I always like to clarify exactly what type of children's book an author is writing. Board books, picture books, and early readers all involve critiquing the illustrations and layout as well as the written words. Generally a flat rate is charged for this type of book due to the non-standard word count and illustrations. Once the books are text such as chapter books and young adult novels they fall under the standard proofreading/copyediting/developmental editing guidelines.
Various aspects can blend together and terminology varies across the industry. The definitions listed below are the general guidelines I use. If you have any questions please, do not hesitate to contact me.
Editorial consulting: The beginning stages of putting a book idea together. Deciding if your ideas are solid, substantial enough for a entire book or would they be better in a different format. Helping you ensure that your work is different from what's already on the market or known to be in the works.
Proofreading: Often confused with copyediting, proofreading provides a final check of the electronic file for minor mistakes in spelling, punctuation, spacing, and so on, before the manuscript, article, ad copy, or web content is published. If you are an experienced writer, you may need nothing more than a careful, professional eye to catch the inevitable text glitches and typos that will be invisible to your own eye. Proofreading is also a necessary final step after the book has been set in type and before it goes to press. It ensures that the published version precisely matches the final edited draft.
Copyediting: Correcting grammar, syntax, punctuation, and spelling; making your text conform either to a style sheet you provide or one that is created for you. Also, checks cross-references and other mechanics of style, internal consistency of facts and presentation. Copyediting is concerned with sentence level changes and can range from a light to a heavy copyedit. The light and medium edit focus mostly on mechanical issues.
A heavy copyedit can sometime be called a line edit. This is a contentious and often confusing part of editing terminology. A heavy edit or line edit is going through a manuscript line by line and includes more intervention at the sentence and paragraph level, such as cutting wordiness and repetition, moving material from text to notes, and generally polishing and clarifying each sentence.
Developmental Editing (can also be called substantive or content editing): Sometimes referred to as content (usually for non-fiction) or substantive editing(fiction), this type of editing for fiction involves broad changes such as overall plot, world building, character descriptions and personalities, pacing, voice, story structure, and dialogue. Developmental editing can tell you which chapters to cut, which paragraphs need to be moved, and what scenes need to be expanded.
If you’re concerned about the big picture, a developmental edit will help you restructure and reorganize, trimming down the areas that distract from the manuscript’s major themes and plot-lines while tightening up your pace and making your dialogue feel more natural.
Regularly Scheduled Works: Newsletters, blogs, articles, and a host of other writing both traditional and digital falls under regularly scheduled works. This category can include any or all of the different types of editing listed above as well as some additional services. In addition to editing these works often also need formatting and distribution. Often for works of this nature a retainer fee is negotiated to ensure a consistency with voice and distribution times.
Children's Books: There is a wide range of books written for children, everything from board books, picture books, to young adult novels. I can edit any of the above but I always like to clarify exactly what type of children's book an author is writing. Board books, picture books, and early readers all involve critiquing the illustrations and layout as well as the written words. Generally a flat rate is charged for this type of book due to the non-standard word count and illustrations. Once the books are text such as chapter books and young adult novels they fall under the standard proofreading/copyediting/developmental editing guidelines.