Different Types of Editing for Manuscripts

On the road to publication, your manuscript will undergo multiple layers of editing. Some writers are able to handle all these different types of edits on their own, while others may need help from a second pair of eyes more than once on their way to a polished piece.

Regardless of whether you plan to complete editing yourself or hire it out, it is important to understand the different types of editing manuscripts typically undergo.

Not only will this information help you navigate the many layers of revision required before a piece can be considered finished, but it can also help you find the right type of editor for the type of editing your project needs at any given time.

The Four Main Types of Manuscript Edits

1. Developmental Editing

Developmental editing concerns the skeleton of your story. Specifically, this type of edit looks at big-picture elements such as plot, character development, goals, conflict, and world-building.

Because big-picture edits like these can cause major rewrites, this edit is best completed during the early drafting stages.

2. Line Editing

This type of edit concerns line-level prose. Specifically, line editing enhances your writing by dissecting each sentence to ensure the syntax, word choice, and tone do everything possible to enhance your intent and elevate your voice, all in a way that is concise and engaging.

In addition to word-level editing, this service also looks at sentence structure to ensure the story flows paragraph-to-paragraph and page-to-page.

You can think of line editing as putting beautiful skin on top of the skeleton you created during developmental editing. Of course, you don’t want to put that skin on until the structure of the skeleton (i.e. story) is perfect. That’s why line editing should only be done after the big-picture elements of the story are perfected.

3. Copy Editing

Copy editing is a technical edit focused on creating clarity, concision, and purpose within your prose. Line edits create beautiful, engaging writing, while copy edits look to refine those lines to make the intent as clear as possible. Copy editing also deals with technical mistakes, such as grammatical, spelling, and punctuation issues.

This phase of editing can be thought of as makeup applied to the skin of your project. It enhances the beauty of the writing by removing blemishes (i.e. technical mistakes, overcomplicated sentences, and unnecessary words). Of course, you don’t want to apply makeup until you’re finished with the skin. That’s why this edit shouldn’t be done until you are satisfied with the flow of your scenes down to the sentence level.

4. Proofreading

Proofreading is the final edit your manuscript will undergo before publishing. This edit is entirely concerned with identifying and erasing typographical and mechanical errors. Many of these same errors are fixed during copy editing, but because the content is also frequently revised at that stage, new errors can be introduced. Proofreading catches these errors as well as more minor issues a copy edit is likely to miss.

As you can imagine, this final edit should not be completed until you are finished tweaking the content and prose of your story. Once you have your manuscript proofread, it’s best not to mess with it again.

Comparing Different Types of Edits