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Types of Edits
May. 25th, 2012 09:01 pmThis is the fourth installment of my series about hiring a freelance editor. You can see an index here and zero in on the topic that most interests you, or find all of the topics under the 'editing' tag.
Before I set out to do my research, I thought that there were basically two, maybe three kinds of edits. I thought there was a substantive edit, where the editor would go in depth about structure, style, characters, plot, and everything else. I knew this was a major undertaking (though I didn't quite understand HOW major, or how expensive), a copy edit, which I really didn't know what that was, and a proofread, which is basically just checking for typos, and which I wasn't sure was actually separate from copy editing.
Boy, was I wrong.
Manuscript Consultation
As an unpublished novelist, the first thing that most of the editors that I contacted suggested I obtain is a manuscript consultation. This isn't really an edit, but more of a general overview, giving me feedback about all kinds of things, from style to pacing. My impression is that an editor will give detailed notes on my manuscript, but won't actually go line by line and suggest fixes.
The idea is that for a first time novelist, you may not want to embark on a thorough substantive edit if your book simply isn't anywhere near publishable quality. As editors charge by the hour, if your writing needs major, major work, a full, line by line edit may be hugely expensive, because there will be so much that needs fixing.
A manuscript consultation allows you to get feedback from a neutral third party, which you can then take and try to either improve on that manuscript by applying the feedback, or chuck it out and start fresh if it's completely broken and not worth saving. Many people have never had anyone other than themselves or maybe a loving spouse or parent look at their work, so a consultation can be the first time they've ever gotten real feedback on things that they can try to improve.
Substantive Edit
This is basically what I expected it was, going over the book and doing a major review of macro-level issues, such as plot, structure, pacing, etc. Some editors will call this a structural edit, or simply a manuscript edit.
Stylistic Edit
Some editors offer this type of edit as a separate item from their substantive edit. Instead of looking at logical, structural items, the editor will help you to polish your own, unique voice and make it consistent throughout the manuscript. The editor also helps to smooth out the language by clarifying meaning and eliminating jargon that may make your manuscript difficult to understand. I have a feeling that editors who don't offer this service do this as part of the substantive edit.
Copy Edit
This is apparently the most comment type of edit that freelancers do, though it wasn't what I was looking for. The editor will go through line by line and correct grammar and sentence structure, clean up consistency problems, and fix punctuation.
Proofreading
Proofreading is the last thing that is done before the book is sent out to be printed. It's merely a process by which the editor ensures that no mistakes have been made, such as typos, in the final proofs. (A proof is basically a document that gives the printer everything they need to create a finished, printed book). They will check things like headers, page numbers and layout to ensure it all looks perfect, not just look at the words in the manuscript.
Other Stuff
Many editors also offer other services, such as project management (helping you to turn an idea for a book into a finished project), fact checking, and indexing.
Next time will be the last post in the series, in which I talk about pricing in more detail, as well as describe some of the legal issues that you should be aware of when hiring an editor.
Before I set out to do my research, I thought that there were basically two, maybe three kinds of edits. I thought there was a substantive edit, where the editor would go in depth about structure, style, characters, plot, and everything else. I knew this was a major undertaking (though I didn't quite understand HOW major, or how expensive), a copy edit, which I really didn't know what that was, and a proofread, which is basically just checking for typos, and which I wasn't sure was actually separate from copy editing.
Boy, was I wrong.
Manuscript Consultation
As an unpublished novelist, the first thing that most of the editors that I contacted suggested I obtain is a manuscript consultation. This isn't really an edit, but more of a general overview, giving me feedback about all kinds of things, from style to pacing. My impression is that an editor will give detailed notes on my manuscript, but won't actually go line by line and suggest fixes.
The idea is that for a first time novelist, you may not want to embark on a thorough substantive edit if your book simply isn't anywhere near publishable quality. As editors charge by the hour, if your writing needs major, major work, a full, line by line edit may be hugely expensive, because there will be so much that needs fixing.
A manuscript consultation allows you to get feedback from a neutral third party, which you can then take and try to either improve on that manuscript by applying the feedback, or chuck it out and start fresh if it's completely broken and not worth saving. Many people have never had anyone other than themselves or maybe a loving spouse or parent look at their work, so a consultation can be the first time they've ever gotten real feedback on things that they can try to improve.
Substantive Edit
This is basically what I expected it was, going over the book and doing a major review of macro-level issues, such as plot, structure, pacing, etc. Some editors will call this a structural edit, or simply a manuscript edit.
Stylistic Edit
Some editors offer this type of edit as a separate item from their substantive edit. Instead of looking at logical, structural items, the editor will help you to polish your own, unique voice and make it consistent throughout the manuscript. The editor also helps to smooth out the language by clarifying meaning and eliminating jargon that may make your manuscript difficult to understand. I have a feeling that editors who don't offer this service do this as part of the substantive edit.
Copy Edit
This is apparently the most comment type of edit that freelancers do, though it wasn't what I was looking for. The editor will go through line by line and correct grammar and sentence structure, clean up consistency problems, and fix punctuation.
Proofreading
Proofreading is the last thing that is done before the book is sent out to be printed. It's merely a process by which the editor ensures that no mistakes have been made, such as typos, in the final proofs. (A proof is basically a document that gives the printer everything they need to create a finished, printed book). They will check things like headers, page numbers and layout to ensure it all looks perfect, not just look at the words in the manuscript.
Other Stuff
Many editors also offer other services, such as project management (helping you to turn an idea for a book into a finished project), fact checking, and indexing.
Next time will be the last post in the series, in which I talk about pricing in more detail, as well as describe some of the legal issues that you should be aware of when hiring an editor.
