Even the most seasoned writers can be confused about the different types of editing. Even editors sometimes disagree on exactly what is involved with each type as the definition can often blur between jobs. The following is a brief overall of the standard types of editing ranked in order of highest (time and expense) to lowest:

 

* DEVELOPMENTAL EDITING - typically happens early in the publication process, while the author is still in

   a drafting stage and looks at the "big picture" to focus on organization and structure rather than

   punctuation, grammar, or word choice. This type of editing centers on helping an author become a

   better writer by organizing ideas, building a strong "skeleton" of content, and smooth transition between

   ideas. What's needed from the writer? An initial idea or rough outline.

 

* STRUCTURAL EDITING (or MANUSCRIPT CRITIQUE) - this type of editing focuses on assessing the

   structure, pacing, presentation, and overall quality of a manuscript. Expect high levels of suggestions,

   notes, questions, and markups. Most editors will include a summarization of their key areas of concern

   and suggestions. Required from the writer is a completed manuscript.

 

* CONTENT EDITING (or SUBSTANTIVE EDITING/FULL EDITING) -  at this level, an editor begins to look into

   the words on the page in addition to the structure, pacing, and completeness. Working paragraph by 

   paragraph, the editor provides markups offering corrections, pacing advice, tone and voice, incomplete  

   areas, chapter and section construction. While an editor won't rearrange chapters, they may move 

   paragraphs or sections within a chapter, or delete certain content altogether. A completed manuscript

   is needed. 

​

* LINE EDITING - the most detailed line-by-line review of a completed manuscript. Before this can happen, 

   content must already be structured correctly and the major areas of the big picture should already be 

   sorted out. Word choice and impact of sentences are the focus here as well as wordiness, cliches, run-on

   sentences, sentence fragments, unnecessary jargon, and clarity of meaning to a reader.  A finished 

   manuscript is a given.

​

* COPYEDITING - this stage of editing comes in like a fine-tooth comb after all other editing stages are 

   complete. The editor is looking for errors in spelling, punctuation, grammar, and grammar rules.

   Copyeditors also check for genre-appropriate style guides.

​

* PROOFREADING - the final stage, this type of editing takes a printed "proof" version after design and

   formatting is complete to give a final inspection before the book goes into print. Proofreaders check for 

   typos, misplaced punctuation , layout issues (numbering of pages, heading consistency, table placement 

   of figures within text, incorrect line and page breaks) and other inconsistencies. 

​

An analogy (and I apologize for not remembering who came up with this idea): the DEVELOPMENTAL  and STRUCTURAL editors are the architects building  the foundation and framework (book body)  then room placement (chapters) inside the house. The CONTENT editor comes in next to place the furniture (sections and paragraphs) but don't concern themselves with the decor (sentences). That is the job of the interior designer (COPYEDITORS and PROOFREADERS). 

​

​

​

​