Levels of Editing

I offer two broad categories, or levels, of editing: substantive editing and copyediting.

Substantive editing entails a high-level look at the draft manuscript, while copyediting gets into the mechanics of good writing.

The most successful outcomes start with determining the right level of editing for a manuscript before I start to work on it.

Substantive Editing

This level comprises activities also known as developmental editing, content editing, and structural editing. I take a broad look at the manuscript as a whole to answer these questions:

  • Are any of the topics listed in the introduction missing in the body of the text?

  • How well is the subject matter organized?

  • Does the writing flow cleanly and logically?

  • Are the ideas clearly developed and articulated?

At this level, my job is to raise such issues and suggest ways to resolve them.

Copyediting

The copyediting level may entail either a sentence-by-sentence review (also known as line editing) or a word-by-word review. Both look for these types of issues:

  • Inconsistent tone and style

  • Inappropriate language for the target audience

  • Cliches and overly technical language

  • Incorrect spelling and punctuation

  • Improper grammar and word choice

  • Passive rather than active voice

  • Overly long or awkward phrasing

When I copyedit academic work, such as an article for a professional journal, a paper to be presented at a conference, or a scholarly book for publication, I also ensure that references are complete and the approved citation style is followed.

Please note that the community of editors has not settled on standard definitions for the types of editing that are part of the publishing process.

The descriptions on this page can be thought of as starting points in discussing what the finished product should look like.