The differences between editor, copyeditor, and proofreader?

[Editusrex]

To start, how long have you been in the business?

Do you find that you're expected to edit more fully even though someone has told you it will be a "quick" proofread (or copyedit)?

How do you see the differences between the editorial levels?

[Editusrex]

As a freelancer, it happened to me more often than not. I would be asked to copyedit a book, be it a statistical manual, a historical dictionary, a writing textbook, and yet what the publisher really wanted was a substantive edit or even developmental editing. It happened on proofreading jobs as well. I would get to proofreading and discover errors -- or at least consistency issues -- that seemed as if they should have been fixed by the copyeditor or at least queried.

Queries are my friend!

It happens to me less in my full-time manuscript editor position, as far as expectations of being asked for one level when what was meant was much "heavier." That's because I have a defined position.

A minimalist short-version answer, for me, when I hear the words:

editing: more extensive revision (often rewriting), suggestions for adding more text/explanations or removing text, line by line text restructuring and moving of information around if needed (if needed), clarifying anything confusing.

copyediting: grammar, word misuse, typos, structure (formatting: headings, table/figure placement, and the like), syntax, style guide consistency, author- or editor-querying at any point if there are problems -- you go in with an eye toward these.

proofreading (a very important, shouldn't-be-forgotten stage): ensuring no new errors were introduced after the copyediting/typesetting stages; checking for missed spelling issues, spacing, use of correct font.

The editing category, of course, can even be broken into acquisitions, developmental, substantive, technical . . . there are more breakdowns.

Thoughts?

[Flying Colors]

How funny! This is an issue that often comes up with what clients want at our company. They think they know, but really, they don't know the nuanced differences. We actually wrote a blog post that we refer clients to whenever they're thinking about contracting one or more of those services.
http://www.flyingcolorssuccess.com/bl...