A successful author–editor relationship relies on both parties understanding which service is appropriate for the book and budget.
1) Copyediting—A nuts-and-bolts exercise that polishes the manuscript for submission to an editor or agent, or prepares it for self-publishing. Copyediting focuses on clarity, consistency, and correctness regarding spelling, grammar, syntax, punctuation, and factual accuracy, involving minimal touching of text by the editor. It’s generally done in one round and the author accept or rejects changes and moves on.
2) Substantive (line) editing—Enhanced copyediting, more of a decision-making, quality-imposing process where text is analyzed and revised at the sentence (line) level. The editor often inserts queries pertaining to logistics and scene choreography, appropriateness to genre, story arc and character development, genre conventions, voice, etc. It’s generally done in one round, though it may go back and forth between parties two or more times. No editorial rewriting is done beyond small cutting or consolidating, transition smoothing, or minor paragraph resequencing for clarity.
3) Developmental editing—A roll-up-your-sleeves-and-dig-in process that embraces a book’s overall concept, flow, and structure as well as phrasing and all other detail. It’s the most hands-on by the editor, and most interactive between editor and author; it takes the most time, costs the most, and has the most profound impact on an author’s work. It usually requires at least two rounds of backing and forthing. Best done when the author is still struggling with the first draft and harnessing ideas, but it’s also appropriate when a book is stuck.
Note: EDITING IS NOT PROOFREADING! That occurs when a book is ready to go out into the world, and is done only to ensure that no lingering bloopers remain after editing and revision. Proofreading is a separate service at a separate price, best done by a separate person.
See related blog post, The Author/Editor Dyad, at http://editing-writing.com/authoreditor-dyad/
