More than red pens and punctuation
You’ve probably seen that meme that went around over a decade ago where people posted some variation of the theme “What People Think I Do / What I Really Do”:
What my friends think I do
What my parents think I do
What society thinks I do
What I think I do
What I really do
Each preconception was accompanied by a picture illustrating the assumption. (They explain the whole phenomenon on Know Your Meme, if you’re interested in reading more about it.)
Well, that meme is the first thing I think of whenever anyone asks me what I do for a living. I’m an editor. My work life is digital red ink, tracked changes, comment bubbles, and dictionary searches. But no one ever asks what kind of editor I am, unlike if someone says, “I’m a doctor.” If it’s asked of a medical doctor, the next question would probably be, “What kind of medicine do you practice?” I think I don’t get asked anything like that because to the average person, an editor just fixes grammar and punctuation. They’re the English teacher you had in fifth grade who always pulled out the red pen when grading essays, made corrections, and deducted two points off each paragraph because you put a comma in the wrong place.
That’s not the only thing an editor does, though (well maybe there’s a little bit of the red pen thing, but we’re certainly not grading your ability to use quotation marks). There are actually so many different types of editors in the book world. But unless you are in that world in some way, those types aren’t very well known, if they’re known at all. If you’re an author planning to self-publish and looking for an editor, do you know what kind of editing you need? If you’re working with a traditional publisher and they’re talking to you about the editorial process, do you know anything about the different levels of editing you’ll be seeing? Each type of editing has its own specific focus, and it’s good to know the difference.
So let’s look at the four basic types of editing so you can feel a bit more informed and can set your expectations when you decide on what kind of editing you need or you need to understand the levels of editing you discuss with your publisher.
The Basic Types of Editing
Developmental Editing (Also Sometimes Called Structural Editing, Substantive Editing, or Content Editing)
What It Is
This is usually the first edit your book will go through. Think of it as the edit from 30,000 feet. The developmental editor will look at all the big picture stuff: structure, organization, and flow. They read to ensure your ideas are clear and well explained, your arguments connect, and you have accomplished the goals you hopefully laid out in your book’s introduction. They don’t rewrite your text—they’re not book doctors or ghostwriters—but they do make suggestions for things like adding transitions, rearranging chapters, and adding or removing material.
Developmental editors are essentially your readers’ advocates. Everything that they comment on, everything they ask, is meant to help you provide clarity to your readers and help you become a better writer in the process.
They’re also your cheerleaders: They collaborate, encourage, and work with you to help make you more successful at communicating your message.
Why You Might Need It
If you’ve got a complete manuscript but you’re unsure of how well you’ve structured it or how well this book is suited to your audience, then this level of editing is the place to start. It’s generally a good idea for any manuscript to go through this phase, and if you’re working with a traditional publisher, this level of editing is already built into the publishing process. But if you’re a seasoned writer who is self-publishing and confident that your manuscript is in good shape, then you could consider skipping this phase. If your budget allows, though, you really, really should do it. Every writer can benefit.
Line Editing
What It Is
Sometimes your words might need a little refining. This is where line editing comes in. The line editor looks at your manuscript at the sentence level and evaluates word choice, syntax, tone, and pacing. You might have fully explained your idea, but clunky sentences, rambling exposition, and five-dollar words are hiding your intentions. The editor will go through your text line by line, considering how each word interacts with the next, how well those words connect as sentences, and how concisely those sentences convey your message. Their job is to make your sentences more powerful.
Why You Might Need It
You might be unsure of style choices you’ve made in your manuscript or maybe you don’t feel like your words are impactful enough. A line editor can help give you some peace of mind.
Copyediting
What It Is
Can’t remember if you should use who or whom? Don’t know if there should be a comma between a dependent and independent clause? Don’t remember what a dependent clause even is? Don’t worry; a copyeditor knows. Copyeditors get into the weeds, combing through your text to look for spelling, grammar, and punctuation mistakes. They’ll catch that instance of pier when you meant peer. They’ll check for consistency: They’ll notice you used anti-hero in chapter 4 and antihero in chapter 12 and fix it (it’s antihero, by the way—the preference is for closed compounds to reduce punctuation clutter).
Why You Might Need It
If it’s got words, it needs a copyeditor. This is the one form of editing that is incredibly useful and worth the investment. You may feel like you have read through your manuscript several times and caught every mistake, but there will always be something.
One important thing to note here: There may be the temptation to run your manuscript through a grammar checker or writing assistant and think that’s enough. Many times it’s not. The one thing that those programs do not have a handle on is the human voice and expression. There may be a reason why you made the word choices you did; a software tool is not going to get that and may make changes or suggestions that don’t fit your voice or personal style. That’s not to say a human copyeditor couldn’t do the same, but you can at least have a one-on-one with the copyeditor so that you’re both on the same page.
Note: Line editing is more substantive than a copyedit, but sometimes these two types can be combined. A line editor might fix grammatical and punctuation errors along the way, and a copyeditor might do a bit of line editing to help with clarity. Generally these types of edits tend to be done separately, so if you want a line editor to perform the duties of a copyeditor or vice versa, make sure to clarify that upfront. If you’re working with a traditional publisher, that decision has sometimes been made for you.
Proofreading
What It Is
You’ve hopefully gone through a developmental edit and a line edit and/or copyedit before reaching this point. Your book is now designed and formatted and ready to get published. A proofreader steps in as the safety net before you go to print. A proofreader will look at the near-final form of your book and give it a thorough read to check for any last-minute issues. They’ll catch anything the copyeditor missed, like typos and misplaced punctuation, but they’ll also check for formatting issues, like inconsistent running verso and recto headers, oddly spaced margins, missing page numbers, bad word breaks at the end of a line (e.g., inte/rval instead of inter/val), and typeface issues (the whole book is in Garamond but one word for some reason is in Roboto). They don’t fix your content because all of that presumably has been taken care of before it even gets to that stage.
Why You Might Need It
Proofreading is worth investing in as much as copyediting. It gives your manuscript a fresh set of eyes to look over your text and is the final quality check before you publish. Again, if you’re working with a traditional publisher, you’ll already have a proofreader built into the process.
Note: Sometimes the terms proofreading and copyediting are used interchangeably, but they really are vastly different levels of editing.
Most importantly, be aware that these types of edits occur in the specific order I’ve presented them. The developmental edit always comes before the line edit, which always comes before the copyedit, which always comes before the proofread. If these edits occur out of order, well, you’re looking at a lot of reediting and spending a lot of money unnecessarily. Imagine having a copyeditor review all of your text for typographical errors and then you decide to get a developmental edit, which means a lot of rewrites to the text. Those rewrites then have to be copyedited all over again because the text has changed a lot and very little of the original text is left. You’ve now paid for copyediting twice. Not great for the bank account—yours or the publisher’s.
About Adaobi Obi Tulton
Adaobi Obi Tulton is a freelance editor and the owner of Serendipity23 Editorial Services, bringing with her many years of experience in nonfiction editing. She began her career as a manuscript coordinator for the Journal of Cell Biology at Rockefeller University before becoming a project editor for Wiley, where she worked on computer technology titles. She then transitioned into full time freelancing, doing developmental editing, copyediting, and proofreading for publishers such as The Pragmatic Programmers, Hachette Book Group, and Hay House.
Across her career, Adaobi has helped authors bring clarity to complex ideas, refine their structure, and express their expertise with confidence. She approaches nonfiction editing with steadiness and care, offering the kind of calm, steady guidance that helps authors feel both supported and understood. She brings a quiet editorial discernment that helps them evolve ideas into their clearest form.
Outside of editing, Adaobi indulges in slow, restorative hobbies that match her approach to editing: deliberate, attentive, and grounded. Knitting remains at the top of her “someday soon” list.
