Stages of Editing – more than 4!

Do you know the 4 main stages of editing? … and that there are many more types of editing!

Here’s the 4 that most authors refer to:

Substantive/Structural Editing: Clarifying or organizing manuscript for content structure. Sorting material, cutting, adding, looking at plot, characters, theme and other aspects – setting the base.

Stylistic Editing: Clarifying meaning, eliminating jargon, polishing language, and other non-mechanical aspects.

Copy Editing: Editing for grammar, usage, spelling, punctuation, and other mechanics of style, consistency, heading levels, lists, approximate placement of such as charts, tables, artwork.

Proofreading: Checking proofs of formatted, edited material for minor, mechanical errors in copy.

Would it surprise you that there could be many more aspects to editing? Editors Canada describes other types of editing in their definitions of editorial skills.

In any case, editing is critical to ensure a professional book publication, as discussed in our earlier articles:

• Why is professional editing extremely important?
• Editing basics

 What has been your biggest ‘aha moment’ when getting feedback from your editor?