What Type of Book Edit Do You Need?
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In this age of instant publishing, you need to deliver a high quality product to make your book stand out in an ever-crowded marketplace. Only, great books require more than just a skilled writer; they require the deft hand of a skilled editor, too.
The many benefits of professional editing are very well documented: these behind-the-scenes gurus pinpoint the strengths of a manuscript, peel away the messy stuff that distracts your readers, and provide guidance for how you can deliver your message best. “Book editing” is an umbrella term under which all that excellent help falls.
But what type of book edit do you need? Well, just as no two books are exactly alike, no two manuscripts’ editing needs are exactly alike. One might have beautifully polished prose at the sentence level but need serious help with its plot structure. Another might have brilliant concepts, but such clunky syntax that readers stop listening to your worthy message. So, different “tiers” of editing developed to address different kinds of needs. Often, multiple rounds of editing will be performed to deal with a manuscript’s different needs in a logical progression.
Let’s simplify things. By breaking down the different types of editing services (developmental, content, copy, proofreading), we can unravel what exactly an editor is doing during that editing round. We’ll highlight the writing foibles that might require each tier so you can see if any of these scenarios sound familiar.
Consulting the experts
Before we dive in, a word of caution. While it’s tempting to hop on Google MD to solve your latest ailment, it’s always best to consult a licensed physician before taking action. The same goes for the health of your book. If you think, “I know I’m hot stuff! All I need is a proofread!” you will probably be disappointed. Even editors who write get other editors to work on their books. The reason is simple: you are too close to your own work to see it objectively. If you knew what was wrong, wouldn’t you have already fixed it?
Professional editing reduces distractions that diminish your book's readability, such as convoluted content structure, incorrect grammar, and persistent typos. From developmental editing to proofreading, our vetted editing team will match you with the editorial services you need to create the best book possible.
The good news is, you can consult an expert. We believe a thorough assessment is your first step to improving your book. That’s why every FriesenPress Publishing Path starts with an Editor’s Manuscript Evaluation, in which one of our vetted professional editors reads your entire text, makes notes on issues they encountered, and provides you with a written report outlining their recommendations. They will typically focus on the content of the book (its organization, structure, flow of ideas, clarity of expression, and consistency of facts) and its copy (its prose, grammar, cleanliness, formatting, and consistency of styling). These aspects are best handled in separate rounds, which we’ll discuss more below.
The editor will typically include a sample or excerpts from your book demonstrating the kinds of issues they found. This is not an exhaustive list, but it should highlight the most pervasive types of problems for you. The editor will also demonstrate how they would address these issues, showing you exactly what the original text was, how it has been changed, and what the end result would look like. Remember, the editor is giving you educated recommendations, but that doesn’t mean you have to accept them entirely as is. If you disagree with a suggested revision, you should review the underlying problem to find an alternate solution.
When you need a developmental edit
Developmental editing is best when you need help further developing your book’s argument, themes, characters, or story arc. At this stage, it is a waste of everyone’s time to try to fix typos and sentence structure because passages may need to be rewritten, expanded, moved around, or cut completely. Your editor will provide guidance throughout the text (usually through a comments tool or letter) with their recommendations and suggestions for your next steps.
At this stage, the editor is focussed almost exclusively on your book’s structure. Not just what you’ve got on the page, but what you might be missing. For example, would your chapters work better in a different order? Do some concepts or names need to be better defined for reader comprehension? Is information missing, such as a scene you thought you finished but didn’t, or citations for material you’ve quoted? These kinds of changes will almost always require you, the author, to do some fresh writing. Until everything the manuscript should contain (and nothing it shouldn’t contain) is on the page, your editor can’t begin to edit that content or copy.
You might need developmental editing if you:
are struggling to fill in the blanks
know you have plot holes
have far too many characters or points of view (POV)
have inconsistent chapter lengths
have a word count well outside the accepted norms of your genre
haven’t finished your full manuscript (some sections are “sketched in”)
Developmental editing is a great next step to “sound out” your manuscript. Does your book work? If you haven’t received reviews from a critique group or beta readers, consider a developmental edit as your first stop. It’s an intensive review of your book that aims to tighten, flesh out, and improve your book’s impact on your intended audience. Once you get your editor’s feedback, it’s up to you to revise your manuscript accordingly.
When you need a content edit
Content editing (sometimes called structural editing; often overlapping with copy editing) can provide some developmental advice, but usually in ways that won’t completely rework the manuscript. These content suggestions further hone what’s already there.
At this stage, the editor can now begin to work directly on your book’s content. They may still flag areas that could use fleshing out, moving around, or cutting to address verbosity or repetition. These notes will still be left in margin comments for you to implement as you see fit. They will also look for ways to improve the presentation of your content. Things that aren’t wrong, per se, but aren’t as effective as they could be. For example, was your phrasing unclear? Have you already used that word in the previous sentence? Is there a stylistic reason it must be spelled that way, such as due to dialect?
You might need content editing if you:
have never written a book before
have a meandering writing style, taking ten words when two would do
write more complex narratives, such as multiple plot lines, multiple POVs, or different time or culture settings that may be unfamiliar to your audience
write more academic texts, such as those which include many quotes, graphics, statistics, citations, or a bibliography
are an expert in your field writing for a younger or less-informed audience
speak English as a second language and need more support with syntax or grammar
Content editing is a great next step to further hone your book. Your editor will also conduct a line edit in tandem, going through the full text to correct errors in syntax, grammar, spelling, punctuation, repetition, consistency, and clarity. However, it’s still expected that your book needs further attention from you. Once you receive their mark-ups, you’ll need to go through their notes thoroughly, ensuring that you address all outstanding questions and implementing all changes as you see fit. Depending on how many revisions you make, your text will likely require another editing round to minimize the risk of additional uncaught errors slipping through.
When you need a copy edit
Copy editing (sometimes called stylistic or line editing) is only appropriate when the development of the content is solid. Now your text needs a line-by-line review. This includes a meticulous effort to improve clarity (like ensuring those modifiers don’t dangle), completeness (have you missed a citation?), consistency (did you spell it both John and Jon?), and correctness (was this term used in 1870?).
At this stage, the editor can now begin to work directly on your book’s copy. All the ideas are in the right places, the paragraph flow works, and the text makes sense. It’s time to make your book shine. While there are plenty of digital tools out there to spell or grammar check your work, they can’t catch everything. Homonyms, inaccuracies, context, and elements of style are all things only a human editor can address.
You might need copy editing if you:
need help with proper grammar, syntax, or spelling
have a solid or straightforward structure but now need to know if it comes across the way you intended
include facts that may need checking for correct citation, accuracy, relevance
have difficulty catching repetition, redundancy, jargon, or clichés
need fresh eyes to ensure your language is clear and correct
have worked with beta readers or critique partners and now need a professional sweep
Copy editing is a great next step to polish the mechanical elements of your prose. At a sentence-by-sentence level, your copy editor will identify the stylistic choices you have made, such as specific spellings, capitalization styles, formatting choices, etc., and ensure they’ve been consistently employed throughout the text. They’ll also comb through for grammatical and syntactic errors, misused words, typos, punctuation issues, and any inconsistencies. This requires a delicate balance between accepted book conventions and retaining the author’s unique voice.
When you need a proofread
Proofreading is only appropriate when the text has been significantly polished during previous editing rounds. The proofreader looks for inconsistencies in previously decided style choices, typo and punctuation errors that have slipped through, or (sometimes) errors in the final design. Proofreading is best done by a new pair of eyes to catch things that might have slipped through previous revisions.
At this stage, the text has already been edited. A proofread is intended to ensure those editing choices have been consistently applied throughout, and to correct any lingering errors. Just as you get too familiar with your text and stop recognizing that you typed “two or them” instead of “two of them,” so too can an editor get too familiar with a text from all that deep-level fiddling. Your proofreader is new to your text and comes in fresh and ready for the final polish.
You might need proofreading if you:
have already had previous rounds of editing
have made a few minor changes since a previous edit
have typeset your edited manuscript
are switching formats (i.e., from print to eBook, or from web to print)
can provide a style sheet to your editor
have already run the text through speech-to-text, print review, and grammar apps
Proofreading is the last step to achieve a pristine manuscript. At this stage, there should be no more stylistic choices or content changes to make. Your text is appropriate for your audience, clearly articulates what you want to say, and is technically clean. This final sweep remedies the lingering errors that can undermine your professionalism and expertise. It’s a persistent fact that when text is full of errors, readers lose confidence and trust in its message.
We should note that even with multiple rounds of editing, it’s exceedingly difficult to catch 100 percent of errors. They happen even in traditionally published books, which typically go through 4 to 6 rounds of editing before print! The more editing rounds you do, the better your chances of catching as many as humanly possible.
Get ready for editing
Once you know where your book stands, you can roll up your sleeves to do the next review. If you’ve workshopped your content, implemented feedback, and self-edited, you might be ready to proceed directly with a Copy Edit. Remember, though, you are too close to your work to see it objectively. It’s always in your book’s best interest to get a professional assessment so that you can address any remaining issues.
By working your way through multiple rounds of editing, you’ll have chipped away the clunky parts, reshaped the good bits, refined their form, and finally polished your manuscript to shining. Depending on your experience and linguistic skill, you may be able to do some of these steps on your own.
Writers perform best when they can break up the monumental task of revision into separate, targeted rounds. Work from the big stuff down to the little stuff. Keep checking in with readers to make sure your text is landing. And give yourself time between rounds for the words to settle, your attention to refocus, and your emotions to subside. You’ll make better, more objective decisions with a fresh perspective.
After all, writing your manuscript creates a first draft. Editing your manuscript creates a great book.
