SLB

Editing Options At a Glance

How do you determine what editing service is right for you? Get a sense for what I have to offer with the overview below. Plus, I can help you decide what option works best for your needs.

Types of Editing

Developmental editing, also known as structural or substantive editing, addresses the big picture of your project. It considers a document’s concept and intended use as well as its content and organization.

In the developmental edit, I read with a critical eye on the “higher order concerns” (HOC) for the given genre. For works of fiction, this means I look at narrative structure, plot development and pacing, clarity of action, character development, and perspective. For academic projects, a full developmental edit will address the structure and development of your manuscript for your intended audience, including possible theoretical frameworks to emphasize in revision, and arguments that need to be fleshed out or eliminated.

Full developmental edits are completed using the Comments feature of Microsoft Word or Google Docs and also include an editorial memo addressing the manuscript’s overarching strengths and areas for improvement.

Please be aware: a developmental edit does not include line editing or citation checks, nor will it address matters of grammar, style, or general writing mechanics.

Developmental Critique

In a developmental critique, I focus on the big picture of your manuscript and offer the same kind of thorough analysis as in a full developmental edit. You’ll still receive an editorial memo with feedback, but without the extended commentary in the document of your manuscript. This is a less expensive option with quicker turnaround time, and it can be highly useful to seasoned authors.

In a line edit, I look at the document at a micro level. Line editing addresses the document’s creative or critical content, writing style, and language use at the level of paragraphs and sentences. This kind of editing focuses on the way you use language to communicate your message to your audience. Is your language clear and effective? Do the words you’ve chosen convey a precise meaning, or are you using broad generalizations and clichés? Does your manuscript have that ineffable sense of flow?

Line edits are completed using the Comments feature of Microsoft Word or Google Docs, and address such matters as:

• Extraneous words or sentences
• Run-on sentences
• Redundancies and repetitive information
• Dialogue or paragraphs that can be tightened
• Missing or underdeveloped transitions
• Tonal shifts and unnatural phrasing
• Bland language use
• Confusing or unecessary narrative digressions
• Changes that can be made to improve the pacing of a passage
• Words or phrases that may clarify or enhance your meaning

A copy edit examines your document on a technical level to make sure the writing that appears on the page is in accordance with the standards of your field.

In a copy edit, I comb through your prose and fix any problems with spelling, grammar, punctuation, and syntax. I will also ensure consistency in spelling, hyphenation, numerals, fonts, and capitalization. This type of edit is where I’ll check for continuity errors and inconsistencies, flag ambiguous or factually incorrect statements, and (for non-fiction) check citations and formatting according to you requirements.

Copy edits are completed using Track Changes and Comments in Microsoft Word or Google Docs. All page-by-page, sentence-by-sentence content of your manuscript should be completely finalized before being fine-tuned on the level of a copy edit.

Proofreading is the last step in the editing process; think of it as a quality assurance. This is where your document gets one last polish to eliminate any grammar and punctuation mistakes, misspellings, or typos.

Proofreading is completed using Track Changes and Comments in Microsoft Word or Google Docs.