Think about your favorite author. They’re probably a master wordsmith with airtight plots and insightful character development. However, genius though the author may be, there’s an editor who helps them polish their work and prepare it for publication. Sometimes there’s a whole team of editors. If you’re an author who works with a publishing house, you have their team at your disposal. If you publish independently, you’ll need to find your own editor. That’s where I come in.
Types of Editing
Content Editing
Think big picture. Content editing, also called development editing, looks at the work on the macro level. In a novel, that might include the following questions: How’s the pacing? Does the plot make sense? Are there any plot holes? Are the characters fully developed? Does the dialogue flow? Basically, does this piece of writing work as a whole?
There’s usually at least a partial rewrite after content editing, so if you’re looking for this type of editing, be sure to take that into account when you consider your timeline for publishing.
As a content editor, I’ll first ask you if you have any specific concerns about your novel. Is there anything you want me to pay particular attention to? In addition to general content editing, I want to be sure that you get the type of feedback that’s most useful to you. This novel is your baby, and it’s important to me that your concerns are addressed.
Copy Editing
When the average person thinks of an “editor,” they probably imagine someone correcting grammar and punctuation with a big red pen. That’s what I’ll do as your copy editor. I’ll go through the entire work to check for spelling, grammar, punctuation, continuity, style, etc.
As a copy editor, I generally use the Chicago Manual of Style (CMOS). However, you’re the boss! There might be times that you choose to flout the rules (you rebel, you) for the sake of style or creativity. When that’s the case, I’ll follow your lead.
Proofreading
This is the final step before publication. Proofreading is looking at the work on the most micro level possible. As your proofreader, I’ll dot the i’s, cross the t’s, and check for all of those pesky extra spaces, typos, and missing page numbers.