Types of Editing

It can sometimes be difficult to determine what kind of editorial assistance your project needs, partly because terms like “copy editing” are often used very broadly outside the editing profession. Within that profession, however, editing work is divided into different types or levels, each of which has a precise definition.

I offer three different types of editorial assistance:

Structural or developmental editing focuses on the structure, logic, and overall flow of a piece. It’s done before stylistic/line editing and copy editing, and is not intended to address stylistic or grammatical issues. Importantly, developmental editing is not wholesale rewriting, co-writing, or ghostwriting. A developmental editor makes suggestions about high-level changes to a manuscript’s content and organization, but it’s the author’s job to decide whether and how to integrate those.

Stylistic or line editing is done to clarify meaning, ensure stylistic coherence, improve paragraph- and sentence-level flow, and refine word choice. It’s typically performed after structural/developmental editing and before, or in combination with, copy editing.

Copy editing is done to ensure the technical correctness, factual accuracy, and consistency of written material. It’s distinct from proofreading, which is the examination of material after it’s been edited and formatted to correct typos or other minor errors in the text.

I typically don’t proofread texts for individual clients, though I will do so for presses. For quality assurance reasons, it’s often best for proofreading to be done by someone who is not the author or editor, and who can look at a text with fresh eyes. If you are a scholar who needs proofreading services in addition to editing ones, I’ll be happy to refer you to colleagues who do that work.