If you want to publish a book, you will need an editor. You are competing with a competitive market of professionally edited books. These books are clean and crisp and flow like the wind. If your writing isn’t up to par with these books, it’s either going to be turned down by agents or showered with bad reviews.

But what exactly does an editor do?

There are, in fact, a few types of editing services: developmental, content, line by line, and proofreading. And many beginner writers don’t know what type of editing their book needs. Each one serves a different purpose, depending on what stage of writing you are in. So when it’s time to look for an editor, it’s your job to know which service would be beneficial to your situation.

Let’s dive into each editing service in detail so you can learn what each editing service entails.

This editing looks at the first stages of the writing process, usually with a story idea, an outline, or a first draft. Developing a story from scratch is one of the hardest parts of the writing process. It’s good to go into your drafts knowing exactly what you’re going to write without plot holes and story issues standing in your way. This is where a developmental editor would be helpful.

A developmental editor will work through your plot holes, establish character motives, help you world build and narrow down your setting, and align everything to the theme. This editing will prepare you for your later drafts so that you can write with confidence, knowing your story is fleshed out.

I personally didn’t know the difference between content and developmental editing for years. They both deal with content, so what’s the difference?

Content editing takes place in the later stages of your writing. So instead of the editor focusing on your outline or first draft, this type of editing will look more into your later drafts, working to clean up any final gaps and awkwardness in the story itself. A content edit could be shifting around chapters, adding chapters, or full on deleting chapters. Or maybe the content editor found an inconsistency in the story that needs to be fixed. This is the last stage of editing before preparing your final drafts.

I like to think a content editor works on making your story flow seamlessly from chapter to chapter and scene to scene.

This is my favorite type of editing, and the service I use the most. Line by line editing looks at the flow of each word, sentence, and paragraph, smoothing out your writing. A line by line editor could delete some sentences, reword some awkward sections, and maybe even move around some paragraphs or add a line in here or there.

This type of editing should be done with your final draft. The story should be completed, with no more changes to the content.

Overall, this line by line editing is supposed to amplify your writing while maintaining and harnessing your writing voice. You should get a feeling of YES! after reading through these edits and seeing how much it improves the flow of your story, while keeping it your own.

The final type of editing is proofreading. This is the editing you do at the very end, right before publishing. A proofreader will read through the book and point out any last minute spelling errors, missing punctuation marks, small formatting errors, repetitive words, etc. This is the final glance over before your book is read by the world!

Now that you’re aware of the different types of editing services out there, you can determine which one is right for your own book. Although a book must be edited before publishing, I don’t believe every editing service is necessary for every book.

Feel what’s right for the current project you’re working on. Determine your budget. And find an editor that you feel excited to work with and aligns with your goals. And one rule of thumb: Communicating with your editor is key!

Have you been thinking about writing a book (or song) and don’t know where to start? Or maybe you’re an experienced writer who has felt stuck and overwhelmed with a writing project? I’d be happy to talk it out with you over a FREE Discovery Call.