This spring, I traveled to Italy, where I ate a lot of pizza, pasta, and gelato. Before the trip, I duly prepared myself for carb heaven by watching Stanley Tucci’s Searching for Italy—which is all about Italian cuisine! Did you know you can’t get the best pizza just anywhere in Italy? Each of its twenty regions has a unique cuisine steeped in tradition. If you want to get authentic pizza, you go to Campania, and if you want authentic cacio e pepe, you visit Lazio. If you want fettuccine alfredo…well, you go to Olive Garden, because it’s not real Italian food.
Dear Stanley Tucci saved me, one episode at a time, from being laughed out of every restaurant from Venice to Sorrento.
Just as there are different types of pasta found throughout every region of Italy, there are different types of editing, each specifically tailored to meet your needs at every stage of writing. Consider me your personal Stanley Tucci as I guide you through each level of editing so you can have productive, satisfying editing experiences.
The Developmental Edit
The developmental edit is typically the first type of edit an author should seek. Once the author has done everything they can to tighten plot holes, strengthen characters, or heighten their climax, a developmental editor will comb through the manuscript for any remaining big-picture issues. They dissect plot structure, setting, character arcs, and genre fit. They diagnose why certain elements aren’t working and offer in-depth, specific solutions for the author to apply directly to their next draft.
Sometimes, developmental editors will continue working with their client after the first developmental edit is completed, acting as a sounding board as the author works through multiple drafts until they feel the content of their manuscript is solid.
The Manuscript Review
Also known as “editorial assessment” or “manuscript evaluation,” this level of editing is like a developmental edit, but with a much lighter touch. While a developmental editor dives deep into every issue in a manuscript and helps authors find their way through tricky problems, a manuscript review provides the author with an expert opinion of what’s working and what isn’t in their current draft.
Like a developmental editor, they look at plot, character, setting, theme, pacing, and other “big-picture” elements. But rather than picking apart the finer points of what’s going on in each of those categories, an editor performing a manuscript review will provide targeted feedback about the manuscript’s most concerning issues and give more generalized feedback.
This level of editing is especially useful for authors who have a tight budget, who have already had multiple rounds of effective beta reading and self-editing, who are trying to clear up glaring issues on a rougher draft before a developmental edit, or who want to know if the changes they’ve made based on a developmental edit have been effective.
The Line Edit
Also known as the substantive edit, this editing level steps away from big-picture storytelling issues to examine the prose itself. Once an author has resolved all plot, character, setting, and theme-related issues, a line editor will fine-tune sentence structure, word choice, paragraph organization, and voice consistency. They’ll also investigate the mechanical flow between description and action, interiority and dialogue, main storyline and flashbacks, and different points of view.
As the boundaries between line editing and copy editing can quickly become blurry, it’s helpful to note what line editing is not. Line editing doesn’t typically focus on grammar mistakes, typos, punctuation, or formatting. While an editor may point out or fix a few such mistakes during a line edit, they’re concerned with elevating your writing to be strong, focused, consistent, and stylistically effective for your genre and audience.
The Copy Edit
This level of editing is all about cleaning up. Copy editors root out misspelled words, misplaced commas, misquoted information, and dangling modifiers. If the manuscript is being formatted for publication at this stage, a copy editor will also ensure the manuscript adheres to the chosen style guide (such as The Chicago Manual of Style).
Many people assign copy editors titles like “grammar snob,” believing they take self-righteous pleasure in finding mistakes. However, I (along with many other editors) see this stage more holistically, a process of enhancement rather than sanitization and standardization.
Like line editors, copy editors will edit the text directly, but often with comments explaining their choices or asking the author if their changes preserve the author’s original intent. They may also edit lightly for flow and consistency. Many editors, myself included, see copy editing as an opportunity to ensure the final text reflects the author’s voice and communicates their message clearly.
The Proofread
On the surface, proofreading appears suspiciously similar to copy editing. Like copy editing, proofreading combs manuscripts for typos. However, the difference is the stage at which proofreading occurs. Since even the best copy editors are only human, the proofreading process is intended to catch any tiny errors that the copy editor may have missed. Proofreaders are the final set of eyes on the manuscript before it goes to print.
Can edits be combined or completed out of order?
With the exception of manuscript review, editors typically do not advise skipping or changing the order of edits laid out above. Even if an author feels they’ve got a pretty strong manuscript already, they are often surprised by the number of fundamental issues a developmental editor or manuscript reviewer notices.
Further, developmental edits often lead the author to revise extensively, including adding, deleting, or overhauling scenes, characters, or plot points. For this reasons, it’s usually not in the author’s best interest to seek language-focused editing before completing developmental editing or to attempt both types of editing at the same time.
That said, I feel the case is a bit different for line editing and copy editing. Some editors may disagree, but when an author is well-experienced in their genre, is a confident writer, and has already taken their manuscript through several drafts with a focus on fine-tuning their language, I feel that a line edit could potentially be combined with a copy edit.
The author should include the editor in the decision-making process, however, as an editor may see more opportunities for prose improvement in a writing sample than the author does. And the author should know that the risk of combining line and copy editing means that more errors might slip through, simply because there will be one less pass through their manuscript.
Do all stages of editing need to be completed before submitting to an agent or publishing house?
Let’s face it: editing is expensive! Unless an author is planning to self-publish, they do not need to pay for round after round of editing. Publishing houses pay editors to work with the manuscripts they acquire, so the most an author seeking the traditional publishing route should pay for is a developmental edit or manuscript review and, depending on their writing abilities, a basic line edit. If their manuscript is acquired and slated for publication, their publisher will take care of the rest.
However, the case is different for authors going the self-publishing route. The more resources a self-publishing author can put toward editing their manuscript at every stage, the better. In a world where anyone can throw any text up on Kindle Direct Publishing, well-edited self-published books have much better chances of standing out and selling well.
What if an editor recommends a different editorial level than what I think I need?
Based on the author’s goals and writing sample, it’s not uncommon for an editor to have a different opinion than the author about what kind of editing is needed. These opinions are typically based on their expertise and experience, and I feel they are worth listening to.
Remember, an editor’s main objective is to help authors reach their writing goals, and they will make recommendations based on what will be most likely to help them succeed. While the final decision about what a manuscript needs is the author’s to make, it’s a good idea to take editorial perspective and advice into account.
Wrapping Up
And there you have it: a tour of all the levels of editing an author needs to know about. While I’m sure this article wasn’t nearly as entertaining as watching Stanley Tucci eat gnocchi, I hope it has given you a better idea of what type of edit will be best for your manuscript, no matter what stage it’s in.
Ready to talk about what level of editing your project needs? Contact me for a free consultation!
Felice modifica!