What Does an Editor Do, Anyway?

Most people hear “editor” and imagine one of two things:
either a person who manages a magazine, literary journal, or publishing house
or a person who checks a writer’s work for grammar issues. While both pictures
are accurate, they represent only a narrow slice of a true editor’s work. In
fact, there are many different kinds of editing, including developmental
editing, content editing, line editing, and proofreading. Some editors focus
exclusively on one form of editing, while others are skilled in all arenas and
provide whatever editing services their clients or authors need.

 

If you are an author
interested in publication, make sure you understand the different types of
editing and how each can affect your manuscript. This knowledge enables you
to compare editors and publishing houses accurately, which often leads to a
better manuscript and more sales.

 

Here’s our editing cheat sheet, prepared just for you:

 

Proofreading. Proofreading
is the simplest (and generally cheapest) type of editing you can get. A
proofreader goes through your manuscript word by word, commenting on and/or
revising basic grammar and spelling errors. Proofreaders do not comment on any
other errors, which is why writers typically hire a proofreader only after a
separate editor already has reviewed and revised their work (if proofreading
was not included in their editing contracts). Proofreading generally runs less
than $0.05/word (up to $2,250 for a standard 50K-word book).

 

Line Editing. Line
editing is the second simplest type of editing, and generally carries a heftier
price tag than proofreading (about $0.05 - $0.25/word, or $2,500 - $12,500 for
a standard 50K-word book). However, this is an essential investment for an
author who is serious about getting published, because agents and publishers
generally won’t accept a book with structural issues. A line editor goes
through your manuscript line by line, commenting on and/or revising sentence
structure, syntactical problems, POV issues, factual errors, and plot holes. The
line editor also spends a significant amount of time ensuring your dialogue
sounds natural.

 

Substantive Editing. Substantive
editing is in-depth editing that often involves the editor revising, adding,
deleting, and rearranging entire pages and chapters. (Think of substantive
editing as a kind of editing/ghostwriting hybrid.) While it is more expensive
than line editing (often ranging between $0.30 and $0.75/word), it results in a
substantially better manuscript. If you’re planning to successfully self-publish,
substantive editing is probably the way to go. (Most publishing houses will
have an in-house editor apply this level of care to your manuscript, though
they generally won’t accept your manuscript for publication unless it already
has been professionally edited to a high standard.)

 

Developmental
Editing. If a substantive editor is a blend between an editor and a
ghostwriter, a developmental editor is a blend between an editor and a writing
coach. A developmental editor typically advises an author on early-draft
issues, such as the creation of an outline or plot line and the conception of
the idea itself. Issues brought to the author’s attention generally include
believability of the premise, core intention and goals of the book, likeability
of the characters, pacing, and writing style. (Pricing for developmental
editing varies widely, but typically ranges between line editing and
substantive editing.)

 

If you’d like to learn more about how editing works or you
have a completed manuscript you’re ready to publish, contact our editor by
emailing editor at absolutelovepublishing.com.

 

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