The Four Levels of Book Editing

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

What actually happens after you write your manuscript? Understanding the process that your book goes through is part of the journey of becoming a well-rounded author. Even if you don’t handle every part yourself, knowing the stages that your book goes through gives you an entirely new appreciation for sharing your stories, visions and expertise with the world. Here’s what you need to know about the various types of book editing:

Line editing: improving language and style

Developmental editing looks at the big picture (we’ll get to that a bit later in this article). If developmental editing looks at the big picture, line editing gets into the nitty-gritty of your book. By this, we mean the little nuances in terms of flow, tone, and clarity of your writing style. Any awkward phrasing, repetitive language, and inconsistencies in tone are addressed at this level.

When it comes to which type of editing an independent author may need, line editing is the most-popular editing service that we offer at BookBaby. Think of it as an intensive structural edit — one that greatly improves the overall composition.

Line editors aim to improve the readability of your manuscript while still keeping your authentic voice. It’s still your work, but a higher-quality version. Line editing is about more than just fixing grammar mistakes — it’s about tightening up the creative elements of your story so that the final manuscript reflects professional standards in every way.

Line editing goes line by line to clear up any confusing details or awkward phrasing, but what about grammar or syntax? That’s where copy editing comes in.

Copy editing: handling the technical details

Copy editing is the part of book editing that makes sure every i is dotted and every t is crossed. This type of editing will cover things like grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Copy editing makes sure that your writing lines up with standard language conventions and is consistently styled and formatted the same way throughout the manuscript.

At BookBaby, our copy editing services involve a thorough, word-by-word review to check for any technical issues. Our editors especially focus on continuity problems to make sure that your manuscript is free from errors that could blemish your credibility or professionalism as an author.

Proofreading: one final polish

The last step in the book editing process is proofreading. Think of this as one last quality check before your book heads on to be published. Professional proofreaders check your manuscript one final time for any typographical, grammatical, or formatting issues that may have been overlooked in previous edits.

Our proofreading services check for errors thoroughly while making sure that everything is fully and correctly formatted so that the end result is as polished and as ready for readers as it can be. Proofreading is the last step to make sure your book is error-free and ready to be enjoyed by your target audience.

Developmental editing: laying the foundation for a polished book

Developmental editing is the “big picture” editing process of your manuscript. This is where an editing team will take a detailed look at the structure of your book, its content, and the overall story to make sure it flows well, makes sense and fits the theme.

A developmental editor looks at things like plot development, character arcs, pacing, and overall consistency and cohesiveness to themes. At this stage, the editor may give you feedback where you’ll need to make considerable revisions. This isn’t being picky — it’s about helping you strengthen the foundation of your story.

Getting started with book editing

Although each editing stage builds on the last one step by step, the process isn’t always a straight path. Sometimes, after getting development edits, you might find yourself having to redo significant parts of the manuscript. This can include adding or removing chapters, editing scenes, or rewriting sections for better flow. These changes could affect the continuity of the manuscript, which might need additional rounds of line or copy editing.

By better understanding and taking advantage of each of these four stages (developmental editing, line editing, copy editing and proofreading), you’ll be taking important milestone steps toward publishing a book of impeccable quality. As you’ve seen, each step in the process serves a purpose, from helping to shape the structure and flow of the book, to tidying up the final details.

Not surprisingly, many authors go through several rounds with each type of edit before their book is fully complete. It’s not about getting it perfect on the first try, it’s about getting the strategic feedback your book needs to feel like a fully completed piece.

Working with professional editors, like the vetted, experienced team at BookBaby, is a learning experience, particularly for many first-time authors. They feel that by working with BookBaby and our diligent team, not only do they get a much more polished manuscript, but the process makes them better writers overall. After each round of feedback, you’ll start to see the whole process come into far greater focus than what you could’ve done on your own.

Many authors tell us that the book editing process greatly deepened their understanding of how to write and format a great story, and understanding the process helps them take their skills to the next level. The bottom line is that whether you’re self-publishing your book or you’re preparing to publish it via traditional routes, investing in each stage of editing is one of the best choices you can make for your book and for your flourishing career as an author.

To learn more about BookBaby’s professional editing services for each stage of the book editing process, we’d love for you to reach out to our team. Our hands-on support and experienced Publishing Specialists can work alongside you to create an error-free, compelling manuscript that improves the readability of your content while adding layers of professionalism and authority to your work, helping it appeal to even more readers and publishers.

Looking for some expert tips on book editing for independent authors? In our free You’re Not an Editor guide, you can learn more about the art of book editing, why every book needs it, and what the next steps should be.