Hi fam. There seems to be some confusion about editors & different levels of editing available. Let's discuss the top 3 kinds of edits, starting with the most important, highlighting ways you can self-edit (from my experience as a writer/editor) before pro editing #writingtips (1
The King of All Editing is the Developmental/Content edit. When considering hiring a vetted freelance editor, this should be your first step. Not copy/line editing, not proofing. Development. A dev editor looks at the plot, arcs, sub-plots, and checks for strength/pacing (2.
After a dev edit, you will be rewriting/revising to strengthen your mss to ensure a compelling read for agents and/or readers. Sometimes we know we want x, y, and z to happen, but when filling in the how, the story doesn't make sense/falls flat. That's why dev is KING (3
The self-edit method to try to strengthen your mss (and this should also be done BEFORE hiring a dev editor...so they can really dig in to issues and not just scratch the surface) is to run your mss through Critique Partners. NOT betas, CPs are writers with knowledge of (4
Fiction writing craft. Their role is to point out plot issues, holes, bunnies, and character issues...where a Beta's role is to ingorm whether they enjoyed the mss and recommend it to a friend. Once you have run your mss past more than one CP, and done your revisions, your (5
Betas step in. After this process (which can take 3 + rounds of self-editing to nail in my experience) you should do one more round to check for grammar/spelling/homonyms before either querying, hiring a developmental editor, or having the mss proofread for self-publishing (6
The second type of editing that's kind of important is Copy/Line editing. Some editors offer these separately, some call both copy editing but do both in one package. This kind of editing looks at readability, style, syntax structure, grammar etc. All the technical parts (7
A good Copy/Line editor should have a background in your particular age market and genre so they don't compromise the voice of your characters, by turning historical vibes into contemporary, or by stiffening modern day dialogue with their 100% pure academic writing background (8
For self-editing, I recommend the ProWritingAid software. It works better/catches more and is more in depth than Grammarly. When, after this, do you know if you need a pro? If betas/CPs are having issues with readability, it's time to think about an editor (9
And now, to finish, the third heavy hitter is proofreading. If you need a mss proofread (which I only recommend for those of you who self-publish), you need fresh eyes on that mss, preferably a pro who will look at each line with a magnifying glass. CPs and betas will miss (10
A lot of what needs to be fixed, because they can be miniscule issues that go undetected as our brains tend to correct sentences as we read. They should still catch glaring things...but by now you should be on your billionth draft, and all those eyes missed it (11
A mss doesn't need to be proofread to send to agents or publishing houses. No one will throw ur mss across the room over a typo. A mss never has to be professionally edited on any level to send to agents or pub houses. But if you do hire an editor, it's good to know (12
What to expect from the service you choose. Eg. Don't expect a developmental editor to fix your typos, or a proofreader to point out a character issue. It doesn't work like that. Also, if you decide to hire for multiple levels of editing, ensure you follow this order: (13
1. Developmental edit
2. Copy/Line edit
3. Proofreading.
It's a waste of money to have a copy edit before a developmental edit...because half your mss could change, and you've wasted all that money on corrections that no longer matter...and you might need to get another copy (14
2. Copy/Line edit
3. Proofreading.
It's a waste of money to have a copy edit before a developmental edit...because half your mss could change, and you've wasted all that money on corrections that no longer matter...and you might need to get another copy (14
Edit. Just a reminder, the self-editing suggestions made in this thread are based on my own experiences, and not everyone will have the same take. But remember, whether you hire a pro or not, nothing in publishing is guaranteed, and no one should ever promise you success. (15
I'll be around for a while if anyone wants to pick my brain for an #askeditor session. #writingtips #WritingCommunity
Thanks for reading.
Thanks for reading.
