The Seven Stages of Editing: A Comprehensive Guide for Writers
They say writing is in editing. Contrarian as I am, I’d say writing is in the writing whatever you’re doing, but that point aside…
Let’s talk about editing.
Editing, like writing, has various stages. I will look at all of them here, from the widest angle to the smallest. Depending on the type of editing, one only gives a general opinion, and then the editing food chain moves down to precise instructions. I’m sure you can break this down into several variants, but I will settle for seven, so we’re not here all day.
Beta reading. This I call the reader’s edit. Most of the time, you’ll have a friend read it or someone in your reading group for a beta reading. Beta reading is a great way to get a reaction from a reader, though don’t expect massive, helpful, constructive criticisms. From a reader’s perspective, you’ll find what works (maybe) and what doesn’t work (maybe), but at the end of it all, it is opinion. I find beta reading dangerous and unhelpful (even hurtful) because the person doing it is usually a friend or someone from your reading group. Typically, it’s not a “real” editor’s opinion, but sometimes this is all we have. It can be dangerous when your friend does not like what you write but tells you she does anyway so she doesn’t hurt your feelings. Or if your friend truly loves your work but is not qualified to make such a statement. Friends, loved ones, and writers’ groups are incredibly wonderful for encouraging and supporting you in your path. Still, industry experts will all agree that if you want an in-depth and qualified evaluation of your work, you need to contract with an industry professional, such as a professional independent editor (if your agent or editor does not offer that free extra because they love you, as most of them do not anymore).
Developmental editing. You’ll hear this by various names: substantive editing, developmental editing, and structural editing. This is a bird’ s-eye view of the manuscript. It will be wide-viewed and, to some degree, filled with generalizations. In a developmental edit, the editor will look overall at the manuscript’s story, continuity, craft mistakes, characterization, structure, and even grammar ticks. This is a wonderful type of evaluation after you’ve finished that first or second draft.
Manuscript evaluation. You’ll also hear this referred to as read and respond. This type of editing results from a fast read and is similar to developmental editing but much less in-depth. This is great for a first draft where you’re simply trying to get feedback on your initial effort. You might do a manuscript evaluation on your first draft (it’s less expensive because of the lesser time investment of the editor) and the developmental editing on your second draft.
Line editing. This is a tedious editing stage. The editor looks at the manuscript sentence by sentence, searching for extra words, missing words, overused words, too many adverbs, cliches, odd phrasing, sentence constructions, passive sentences versus active sentences. A decent editor will not change your voice; you should not allow it. The goal is for the sentences to make sense to the reader. How they are framed, though, depends upon your consistent voice. That is the key. A good editor here will look for consistency in the voice over traditional grammar accuracy. Imagine the line editor who edited Faulkner.
Copyediting. This is a near-final pass that looks to ensure that words like color or colour are one or the other and consistently so. Or one-hundred is either one-hundred or 100 consistently throughout. It also ensures that Sally always has blue eyes (because writers are known for sometimes giving her green eyes in only one scene, and she is blue otherwise). You get the idea.
Proofreading. Proofreading comes at the end. You’ll often get this in the form of an ARC or galley or as an electronic document (but I caution you: You see more errors in a print version than in an online version, so always try to get an actual physical copy for this stage). In this stage, you’re looking for anything somebody might have missed in all the other edits.
Hopefully, this has given some insight into the various stages of editing. A great editor is well worth their cost. I encourage all writers to review all the editing steps listed above and listen to the editor’s advice. Editing is what they do, to make you and your work look the best they can be.
By the way, I said seven types of editing (on purpose) in the body of this essay and the title, but I listed only six. If you have your editing hat on, you already caught it. This is an example of how an editor can make you seem less than careless.
Love your editors.
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