A map for your editing journey

You’ve finished writing your novel and want to get it professionally edited. But where do you start? Copyedit? Developmental? What are all these different types of edits? Let’s explore each step in order. Then we’ll discuss the differences in self-publishing and traditional publishing.

First step: Developmental

A developmental editor looks at the big picture elements in your book: structure, character development, plot, setting, etc.

Why is this the first step? Because there’s no point perfecting the sentences or punctuation professionally, only to rewrite chunks of the story to fix plot holes, develop characters, restructure the book, etc. You’d have to get the grammar, the sentence flow, and all those small picture items checked again. Getting the overall story polished first is the most efficient way to level up your story without having to go back and forth between different types of editing.

Some editors also provide developmental evaluations, which is a less expensive but less extensive version of a full developmental edit. This is ideal as a step zero, especially if you’re a beginner writer. Oftentimes, manuscripts need a few rounds of developmental editing before the story truly shines. An evaluation can help you get rid of the biggest issues at a discount, guide you in your revisions, and get the manuscript ready for a more extensive developmental edit.

Second step: Line

You’ve cleaned up the big picture issues and have a strong narrative and beautiful character arcs. Now, the devil’s in the details.

Line edits aim to improve your narrative voice while remaining true to your style and vision. The editor will look at paragraph and sentence level issues to improve flow, language efficiency, pacing, etc.

The editor will empower your writing and give it a professional shine, so it sings more harmoniously. You might still need to do some rewrites at this stage, but on a much smaller level (usually around a sentence or two to improve the internal flow of a scene or paragraph, whereas developmental might require the rewrite of the entire scene).

Third step: Copy

After the story and line-level artistry are taken care of, it’s time to get technical. The copy editor makes sure your manuscript is consistent and grammatically correct. They look at spelling, sentence construction, punctuation, continuity, etc. While you may have gotten rid of a lot of errors by rereading yourself or using a spellchecker, the copy editor goes much more in depth to ensure the manuscript looks professional and meets editorial standards.

Fourth step: Proofread

The copyeditor did the groundwork; the proofreader’s job is to catch any remaining grammatical, punctuation, or typo issues to ensure your manuscript looks as professional as possible.

How does this apply, depending on your publishing path?

If you’re self-publishing, nobody is going to impose that you go through all these steps. However, skipping this process or parts of it might have a big impact on the professional quality of the book, even if you’re a good writer with a good story. These steps are meant to give your novel its best shot. If readers pay for a novel, they expect professionalism in the work and might be dissatisfied if they find the book has plot holes or lots of typos, for example. This will likely reflect in their reviews, in your reputation as a writer, and in your future sales.

If you’re planning to query agents to get a contract at a publishing house, you might still want to hire a freelancer to do a developmental and line edit before reaching out. It will make your manuscript more advanced and attractive in this competitive market, especially if you’re a debut author. If you’ve already queried and agents aren’t biting, this can also be a good option to improve the manuscript and its appeal. However, don’t bother with the copyedit and proofread, since the publishing house will provide it. Your word processor’s spellchecker should be enough to ensure the manuscript is readable for querying.