Which Type of Editing is Good for My Book?
Written your book, done and dusted. The excitement writ across your face.
You know your work is not complete yet.
The manuscript needs lots more editing and professional editing before it can be sent to a publisher.
You are proud you know the importance of professional editing for your manuscript.
You pick up the phone and start talking to editors.
What you hear confuses you. You thought you knew the manuscript had to be professionally edited.
Editing is editing one straight job, correct? The grammar and spelling, and we are ready to go.
Or are we?
Wait, then you are hearing a lot of gobbledygook - copyediting, substantial editing, developmental editing...
Now, ready to tear your hair out?
Wait, let us understand some terms:
Copy Editing: Copy editing deals with the mechanical part of the text. Copy Editors meticulously check grammar, punctuation, capitalisation, italicisation, style, and jargon.
Content and Development / Substantive edit: This is the most intensive form of editing your book. The text is evaluated as a whole, and coherence and logical consistency are checked.
Fact-Checking: If the book is non-fiction or even fiction with a lot of real-world information, it becomes necessary to check the facts stated in the manuscript before giving it to printing. It is vital to maintain the credibility of the author.
Proofreading: It is the final stage in a book editing process. A proofreader is the last editor who reviews the book after it is formatted and designed. They look for spelling errors, correct usage of punctuations and missing words or phrases.