Developmental, line, copy or proofread: which edit does your book need?
Editing happens in layers. Doing them in the right order saves time, money and frustration.
Many authors ask for "an edit" without knowing there are several kinds. Each one looks at the book at a different distance, from the shape of the whole story down to a single comma.
Developmental editing
This is the big-picture edit. Your editor reads the whole manuscript and looks at structure, plot, pacing, character, argument and audience. You receive an editorial letter and margin notes. Expect to rewrite parts of the book afterwards.
Choose it when: you have a complete draft and are not sure whether it works, or readers have told you something is not landing.
Line editing
A line edit works on the writing itself: sentence rhythm, clarity, repetition, word choice and voice. The aim is to make you sound more like yourself, only sharper.
Choose it when: the structure is right, but the prose needs polish.
Copy editing
A copy edit corrects grammar, spelling and punctuation, and checks consistency: names, dates, capitalisation and hyphenation. Your editor creates a style sheet of decisions.
Choose it when: the book reads well and needs to be technically correct.
Proofreading
Proofreading is the final check, ideally on the formatted book, for remaining typos and layout problems such as bad page breaks.
Choose it when: the book has been edited and formatted and is nearly ready to publish.
Still unsure?
Start with a manuscript assessment. It tells you which level of edit your book needs now, so you can spend your budget where it makes the most difference.