What is Copy Editing and Does Your Book Need It?

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes

Copy editing is one of the most critical steps you need to take to ensure your book is ready to publish. The copy-editing process will take some time and investment, but it will ultimately give your book the professional finish it needs before you start book printing and publishing.

Defining copy editing

Have you ever seen a spelling error while reading a novel? You’re totally engrossed in the story, maybe it even has you on the edge of your seat when — BAM! — you’re hit with a glaring misspelled word. Not only does it take you out of the story for a moment, but it makes you think, how did the author not catch that?

While there are many different types of editing, copy editing looks at the details of your manuscript. A seasoned copy editor will review every word and check for capitalization, punctuation, and spelling errors. They’ll also dig through to ensure the right verb tenses are being used and that you’re using proper sentence structure — such as noun-pronoun agreements. They’ll also edit for consistency in style and do some fact-checking, as necessary.

How long does copy editing take?

How long the copy editing process will take depends on the state of the manuscript and the experience of the copy editor. If the manuscript is a mess of grammatical errors, it could take the copy editor an hour to edit one chapter. A seasoned copy editor can typically edit ~1500 words in an hour if the manuscript is clean.

Speaking of “seasoned,” experienced copy editors will likely edit much faster than novices, as they’ll know where typical mistakes lie within the manuscript. They’ll better understand what to look for while maintaining a keen eye for detail.

How are copy editors different from other editors, and what does an editor do? Let’s explore each type of content editing service.

What is copy editing vs. proofreading?

While copy editing and proofreading are similar in many ways — they’re both crucial parts of the editing process — they are not the same. I’ve mentioned that copy editing involves correcting grammar errors and sentence structure. But copy editing will also correct:

• Tone
• Syntax errors
• The flow of the story
• Improper use of words

Proofreading, typically, is the very last, necessary step to take before you publish your manuscript. Proofreading takes one more look at your work, but on more of a surface level. A proofreader will review your content to ensure there are no misspellings or punctuation issues. A proofreader will look for:

• Misspelled words
• Grammatical errors
• Punctuation errors
• Capitalization errors

A proofreader is not going to look for issues such as word choice, wordiness, or sentence structure, as a copy editor would.

Examples of copy editing vs. proofreading

Here is an example of copy editing and proofreading adjustments using the same paragraph. Edits are shown in red.

No edit

We used to be great friends, but then she moved away. She moved to Santa Fe and started a business, but I’m not really sure how it’s going? It’s pretty stragne to think we grew up in the same town but now we live so far apart. I hopped on my bike and drove into downtown for a coffee.

Proofread version:

We used to be great friends, but then she moved away. She moved to Santa Fe and started a business, but I’m not really sure how it’s going. It’s pretty strange to think we grew up in the same town but now we live so far apart. I hopped on my bike and drove downtown for a coffee.

Copy edited version:

We used to be great friends, but then she moved to Santa Fe and started a business, though I’m not really sure how it’s going. It’s pretty strange to think we grew up in the same town but now we live so far apart.

I hopped on my bike and rode downtown for a coffee.

What is the difference between editing and copy editing?

As you can see in the examples above, copy editing and proofreading seem pretty similar at first glance; however, these different types of editing provide important but different services.

Another way to look at copy editing vs. proofreading is that a copy editor will catch and correct errors made by the author. In contrast, a proofreader will detect and correct errors missed by the copy editor. You’ll always get reassurance from both forms of editing before you move to the book printing phase of publishing your book.

What are the Five Cs of copy editing?

If you’re ever in doubt about what copy editing can do for your writing, remember the Five Cs:

• Conciseness. Repetition can sometimes be useful, but it can come across as redundant. Additionally, long, drawn-out sentences can lose the reader’s attention. An editor can check to see if there are parts of your work that could be more concise to get the point across more directly.
• Craft. The language of the work is critical to the story itself. A copy editor will adjust certain words that may sound better with the flow of the sentences and elevate the story overall.
• Consistency. From verb tense to point-of-view and all the sentences in your text, your copy editor will ensure the consistency of your writing.
• Correctness. Of course, this is what editors do — they correct errors in your writing. This is what we might think of right away when we think of copy editing. Correcting misspelled words, punctuation, and sentence structure will ensure your written material reads smoothly.
• Clarity. An editor will help make sure that your writing (and meaning) is clear to the reader. This can include correcting syntax errors or rearranging sentences as needed.

Let BookBaby help with your copy editing needs

If you’re unsure where to start searching for the right copy editor for your book, we can help! BookBaby offers professional copy editing services, as well as line editing and proofreading. Get started with your book editing process today!

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