Different Levels of Editing ?

[juniper]

I'm hopeful that some professional editors here will define their specific job duties. I'm thinking of editing done at a trade publisher, Big 6 or not. Print or electronic.

The three levels of editing I've sussed out are (in chronological order):

1. Substantive, also called developmental or story editing. (Deals with the structure of the story, maybe suggestions on tightening, moving parts around, beefing up characters or reducing/adding subplots?)

2. Line editing. (Making the sentences sparkle and have good rhythm to fit the story's needs?)

3. Copy editing. (Correcting grammar and punctuation, making it fit house style?)

And then there's proofreading. (Doesn't change the text, just makes sure the galleys were printed properly?)

Does this sound right? Anything I'm missing? Some people use the terms interchangeably, which is a bit confusing.

(I'm guessing that a ms which needs a lot of the first would likely be passed over, no?)

( other AW related threads: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/...d.php?t=199209 and http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14282 )

[Pauline Nolet]

I think line editing is the one that tends to cause the most confusion. I've seen it used to describe substantive editing, line editing and copy editing. It's best to get a description of the type of editing from the editor you will be working with, or describe exactly what you want if you are hiring one.

I use the definitions at http://www.editors.ca/hire/definitions.html as a guideline. The entire list applies to all types of editing work. The ones I use that generally apply to novels and relate to your list are:
1. Substantive editing (may be called developmental, structural, or line editing)
2. Stylistic (may be called substantive or line editing)
3. Copy-editing (may be called line editing)
4. Proofreading (for ebooks this is a final check for typos, missing words, etc. since no galley proofs are involved)

HTH,
Pauline

[Namatu]

Line editing could happen during substantive/development editing or at copy editing, or during both. A copy editor may be asked to do only the basics - grammar, spelling, style - or to also do more substantive editing. The level of copy editing will depend on the publisher's practices.

[Old Hack]

In my experience the editor works with the author to tighten up the narrative arc, deal with characterisation, plot, dialogue, structure, and all that stuff, and this is almost always referred to as just "editing".

The editor doesn't change anything. The editor spots the problems and tells the author about them, and suggests possible resolutions; the author then resolves those problems. If the author doesn't agree with the editor he or she is not obliged to make the suggested changes: but it's a good idea for the author to say why he doesn't agree with those changes, and to suggest other solutions for them wherever possible.

This process can take more than one pass.

Once the manuscript is as tight as the editor and author can get it, it goes on to the copy editor who is looking for inconsistencies (for example, the spellings of names, places, etc; the characters' eye colours, descriptions, jobs, etc), grammar issues, and punctuation problems. The copy editor also checks that facts and references are correct, and that all sources are cited properly. The copy editor works on a much smaller level than the editor.

At the copy editing level the author isn't expected to make substantial changes to the text, although it can be done if a large error is noticed. Those bigger changes should have been made at the editing stage, and should have already been dealt with.

Once the copy editor has done her job, the text of the book is typeset and once the typesetting is done, proofs are made and the proofreader steps in. At this level, there are relatively few errors--we hope--and the author can't really make substantial changes to the text without incurring expense for the publisher causing a lot of inconvenience along the way.

At least, that's how it's always been done at the houses I've worked at.

[Namatu]

Originally Posted by Old Hack

At least, that's how it's always been done at the houses I've worked at.

Mine too.