I specialize in the first two kinds of editing listed below, but this page gives you an overview of all the stages of editing that take a piece of writing from manuscript to published book. Sometimes writers ask for "proofreading" or "editing" as a generic term, when what they actually need is something very specific, depending on how far along they are in the writing process. Once you're past the developmental editing stage, I can advise you on next steps.
1. Manuscript Assessment is an optional first step in the publishing process. The assessment gives the author professional, “high-level suggestions or opinions about the manuscript’s possibilities” (EFA Hiring an Editor: A Guide for New Authors, page 2).
2. Developmental editing can follow a manuscript assessment, or be a writer's first step in the editing process. Developmental editing focuses on big-picture issues, such as plot/structure, character motivation and development, dialogue, setting, and pacing: is everything working together to draw readers in and keep them engaged? Developmental editing doesn't ignore writing on the sentence level, but focuses on how smaller issues indicate or influence broader ones. More detailed than a manuscript assessment, developmental editing helps a writer feel confident that the revised manuscript will be ready to seen by a publisher or agent.
3. Line editing focuses on rewriting or rearranging sentences to make them more effective. (Many advanced writers of literary fiction prefer to do this kind of recasting of the text on their own.)
4. Copyediting is the next step, focusing on grammar, syntax, diction, spelling, and consistent publishing conventions. Often copyediting is done by the staff of a publishing house once a manuscript has been accepted for publication.
5. Proofreading takes place once the text is laid out in book form, making sure the pages about to be published are formatted correctly, and weeding out any remaining errors. Often proofreading is done by the staff of a publishing house once a manuscript has been accepted for publication.
Basically, you want to focus on large issues first — so that you don't end up paying for the copyediting of a passage that you ultimately delete from the manuscript in revision. So issues concerning plot, structure, pacing, and character development need to be addressed before problems with spelling or commas or the design of the book.
Contact me to discuss your editing needs.
1. Manuscript Assessment is an optional first step in the publishing process. The assessment gives the author professional, “high-level suggestions or opinions about the manuscript’s possibilities” (EFA Hiring an Editor: A Guide for New Authors, page 2).
2. Developmental editing can follow a manuscript assessment, or be a writer's first step in the editing process. Developmental editing focuses on big-picture issues, such as plot/structure, character motivation and development, dialogue, setting, and pacing: is everything working together to draw readers in and keep them engaged? Developmental editing doesn't ignore writing on the sentence level, but focuses on how smaller issues indicate or influence broader ones. More detailed than a manuscript assessment, developmental editing helps a writer feel confident that the revised manuscript will be ready to seen by a publisher or agent.
3. Line editing focuses on rewriting or rearranging sentences to make them more effective. (Many advanced writers of literary fiction prefer to do this kind of recasting of the text on their own.)
4. Copyediting is the next step, focusing on grammar, syntax, diction, spelling, and consistent publishing conventions. Often copyediting is done by the staff of a publishing house once a manuscript has been accepted for publication.
5. Proofreading takes place once the text is laid out in book form, making sure the pages about to be published are formatted correctly, and weeding out any remaining errors. Often proofreading is done by the staff of a publishing house once a manuscript has been accepted for publication.
Basically, you want to focus on large issues first — so that you don't end up paying for the copyediting of a passage that you ultimately delete from the manuscript in revision. So issues concerning plot, structure, pacing, and character development need to be addressed before problems with spelling or commas or the design of the book.
Contact me to discuss your editing needs.