Different Types of Editing: A Guide for Budding Authors
(11-minute read)
Soy una…?
Structural editor. Copyeditor. Proofreader. I’ve been learning Spanish for years now, but realised recently that I didn’t know the words for my own job titles! A dig on Google doesn’t clear things up much. Word Reference offers ‘correctora’ in exchange for ‘copyeditor’, but then Google Translate spits out ‘spell checker’ in exchange for ‘correctora’. Seemingly, you could think you’re employing a copyeditor when really you’re getting a proofreader. That’s like asking for a decorator and getting a cleaner – both valuable jobs, but I wouldn’t advise getting a cleaner in before the decorating has started.
So, how do structural editors, copyeditors and proofreaders help you to write your book? How do they differ? Which will you need when?
These questions come up frequently in meetings with first-time authors.
In response, I ask them to imagine their book as a house.
Your structural editor is your architect
You are writing designing your first book house. You’ve spent a long time designing it, but it just doesn’t look quite right for some reason, and you’re not sure it’s fit for purpose. It’s time to consult a structural editor an architect. An architect will look at the big parts of your house and how they all relate to one another. They’ll check out your designs before you begin building, and work to problem solve any planning issues (“It’s unusual to find yourself in the bathroom when you open the front door…”). They’ll work with a structural engineer to ensure the floor is stable and the beams adequately support the roof. They should also inform you that there’s currently no power designed into the downstairs bedroom. Don’t worry, they’ll provide you with suggestions and support to amend such mishaps. Architects don’t get bogged down in picture frames, carpets, or tableware; they ensure sunlight will fall through the windows at the right times of the day, the rooms are all well ventilated, the materials complement each other, the acoustics fit the feel, and the furniture will work within the space.
Structural editors do the same with books. They don’t get bogged down in grammar, punctuation, and spelling; they establish underexplained concepts, ensure the overall message holds up, and check that ideas flow smoothly from chapter to chapter. A structural editor will identify potential flaws in a piece with regards to the bigger picture, and suggest ways to fix them by moving, adding, or removing material.
Your copyeditor is your painter/decorator
Once your structural editor architect has signed off and the book house is built (you’ll have done most of the actual building yourself, under their watchful eye), it’s time to bring in the copyeditor painters and decorators. They stick to your design choices, selecting suitable products in the agreed colours. They professionally level any cracks and holes before painting, and ensure the hues are consistent throughout. At this stage, you’ve also got handypeople in to fix the leaky tap, sand the deck, repair the broken skirting board, and clear out all the bits and bobs you’d left lying around in the building process. Between them, they work with you to whittle down your swatches, review curtain patterns, and oil your beautiful farmhouse table. It’s a busy house, and lots of clutter gets thrown out during this stage, but don’t worry, it’ll all be kept in storage for you to sign off on before it’s gone for good.
A copyeditor is that team. Your copyeditor will ensure your sentences flow nicely; they’ll examine your document critically and thoroughly, working with a style guide to edit for clarity, consistency, spelling, and grammar at the sentence level. Punctuation, word usage, verb/noun agreement, syntax, Anglicisation — all the mechanics of writing are covered here. The goal is to clean up any inaccuracy in your work and leave no room for ambiguity. Your copyeditor will ensure the ‘feel’ is exactly what you’re going for, and that it’s consistent throughout. Any changes they make to your writing will be tracked, so you’ll be able to see exactly what they’ve altered and have the ultimate power of veto.
Your proofreader is your cleaner
You’re admiring your book house and thinking how far it’s come. It’s been passed through so many professionals, it’s starting to look, dare we say it… finished? You’ve walked through the rooms more times than you can count and can’t see what else could possibly be improved! Having looked at it for so long, you no longer notice the dust that has collected, nor the little pile of screws that were left behind at some stage on the kitchen shelf.
Luckily, you decide to hire a cleaner. They address all the areas you hadn’t thought about (under the sofa, behind the toilet, on top of the fridge…), they wipe smudges off windows and doors, straighten picture frames, bleach the bath, and check the soap dispensers are full. They’ll also likely notice if the decorators have missed anything major, and flag it for you. They leave with three binbags full of dirty rags, dust, and mindless clutter, and you sigh with relief that you didn’t skip that step.
Proofreaders will tidy up your manuscript; they’re the cleaners of the editing world. They love catching typos, double words, missed words, misspellings, and inconsistencies in style elements. They will not be looking to rephrase sentences, replace words, or reorganise the material. However, they will catch any grossly incorrect grammatical issues and ensure previous edits have been made accurately. After a proofread, your document will be in squeaky-clean condition.
Congratulations! Perhaps now is the time to show your friends, move in, or hire a marketing team to begin the next stage…
Please note!
- Editing can be further divided up. The pedants amongst you will tell me how a developmental editor comes before a structural editor, and line editing follows copyediting. This post is intended to support first-time authors navigating the editing world, most of whom will find no value in pedantry at this stage.
- You’ll likely need other professionals to help you through the book writing and publishing process (typesetters, cover designers, translators, marketing teams, publishers, etc.). This is a post about the three stages I get asked to explain most often as an editor for first-time authors.
- You’ll likely need other professionals to help you though the house building process (excavators, electricians, plumbers, gasfitters, carpenters, bricklayers, plasterers, etc.). I’ve never built a house, so this analogy is undoubtedly flawed. Books are not houses. Analogies can only take us so far, and I’m sure this one falls apart at some stage. I hope it helps, all the same.
- With more words, of course Spanish can describe these separate job titles – corrector de estilo (style editor), corrector de pruebas (proofreader), etc. – I might have been equivocating slightly on the Spanish front.