Developmental and substantive editing take the broadest possible view of a proposal or manuscript, assessing its quality of thought and evaluating how well the author has achieved his or her aims. For fiction this means examining whole narratives and individual scenes in terms of plot, theme, structure, pacing, character, voice, point of view, and more. In nonfiction it includes determining how well the material is organized, whether the book’s argument is clear and convincing, and whether the presentation appeals to its target audience.
Line editing is the word-by-word and sentence-by-sentence revision of a manuscript. The line editor queries the author on issues of clarity, points of fact, and inconsistencies; insures that all sentences are smooth and clear; and makes changes wherever necessary. This kind of editing can range from making an occasional change to making substantial revisions to reworking the entire manuscript.
Copy editing is the final stage of editorial work before hard copy and/or electronic files are put into production. This includes making sure sentences and paragraphs conform to accepted rules of grammar, style, diction, usage, spelling, and punctuation, and marking the manuscript pages so the format intended by the author and publisher is accurately presented in the finished book.
Once one of WiP’s editors has reviewed your work, he or she will be able to tell you which type(s) of editing would be most appropriate.
What are the different types of editing?