what kind of editing do you need?
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By Dale Van Ollefen | November 21, 2023
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You (yes, you) are a writer. Many of us are, whether we realize it or not. We live in a content-driven world where we communicate through text more often than speech—so whether you’re drafting a novel, a poem, a tweet (an X?), an annual report, a blog post, or an email, you’re a writer.
And every writer, no matter how talented, could use an editor. But the trick is figuring out which kind of editing is right for you.
You might be thinking, “Isn’t editing just editing? Find the typos for me, please.” But if it were that simple, you could run a spell check and be on your way.
The truth is, your reader is going to interact with so much more than just spelling and grammar. The order of sections and paragraphs might influence how they interpret an argument; an overly lengthy sentence might make them so dizzy they have to stop reading; an inconsistent detail might make them distrust your authority. And you've probably looked at your content so many times that these small but important things are hard to see.
This is where an editor can be invaluable, and not just as a human spell-checker but as someone who will help bridge the gap between what you're trying to accomplish and how readers will experience your work.
There are many types of editing, and each editor can offer their own spin to add value, but here are some of the main ones:
Developmental editing: fix the message
Line editing: fix the flow
Copy editing: fix the writing
Proofreading: fix the mistakes
developmental editing
Is the message clear? Is the structure logical?
Let’s say you’ve already gone through the arduous process of getting the words out and now you find yourself with some fresh, raw content. You know it isn’t perfect (because nothing ever is), but what you don’t know is how to make it better. You may be in need of developmental or structural editing. At this stage, an editor will look at the big picture and tell you what’s working, what you should add or cut, and where you should move things so that your content accomplishes what you want it to.
During this stage, the editor looks for:
Inconsistent plot points, characters, or settings
Illogical pacing and flow
Unnecessary or misplaced content
Flaws in the overall structure or message
line editing
Do the sentences flow? Is the writing beautiful?
Line editing is all about the quality of the language. There are many ways to say the same thing, and, as we know, beauty is subjective—but we all lose if the reader can’t understand what you’re trying to say or if they’re bored by the way you say it. This type of editing is more common in creative projects like novels or memoirs. If you’re writing a report or white paper, you can often skip ahead to copy editing.
During this stage, the editor looks for:
Awkward phrasing
Disorganized sentences or paragraphs
Poor readability
Straying from or contradicting the message
copy editing
Is the writing consistent, clear, and error-free?
Copy editing is what we’re asked to do most often. The content has been written, the structure is cemented in place, and any major changes would cause a logistical nightmare for the writers—but the text itself still needs to be improved.
If developmental editing is about the big picture and line editing is about flow, copy editing is about the details. It’s about finding typos, sure, but it’s also about consistency and clarity, including making sure a word is spelled correctly (and it’s spelled that way every time), removing double spaces after periods, or pointing out broken hyperlinks.
This is often where a style guide or sheet comes into play, providing a single source of truth for the many decisions a copy editor needs to make. (Should numbers be written out? Do we use a person’s first name or last name on second reference? Are we using a serial comma?)
During this stage, the editor looks for:
Issues with grammar, spelling, and punctuation
Inconsistent style or tone
Factual errors
Misused or misspelled key terms from the style guide
proofreading
Are there typos or formatting issues?
This one’s easy to remember: you can’t proofread something that isn’t a “proof” (i.e., a final, designed version of something). This should be the last stage of the editing process. The piece has gone through several rounds of review, stakeholders have signed off on it, a designer has done their job, and now it’s time to make sure there are no lingering errors.
During this stage, the editor looks for:
Glaring typos
Text that is obscured or cut off
Image or text placeholders
Mislabeled charts
Font, color, or formatting inconsistencies
This might be a lot to take in, but the good news is that we can do all of the above. Send us a note today and let us help you polish your work from start to finish.
