THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF EDITING
If you're anything like me, you might think that authors just find "an editor" to send their manuscript away to only to get it back a month later ready for publication. Surprise! There are actually different types of editors. Lets talk about the difference between them and which ones you need to look into.
Finding an editor can be an overwhelming thing for new authors, and honestly, it is a really important step of the process. Finding someone who enjoys your genre and respects your style is crucial. You should get along with your editor and have good communication all around for your book to meet its full potential. If you are spending money on an editor, you want someone professional and easy to understand. Finding someone you like is honestly a lot of trial and error with different people, but let me help you narrow it down by finding you the right type of editor.
COPY EDITOR
A copy editor is what most people think of when they hear the word editor. They fix things like grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization, word choice, tenses, etc. This type of editor is very detail-oriented. Maybe your dialogue tags are off, maybe you tell a little too much about how one character is thinking or feeling when you are writing in first person, or maybe your character descriptions change half way through your book. These are the kinds of things a copy editor will catch. It is essentially the "spellcheck" of editing.
SUBSTANTIVE EDITING
A substantive editor is the opposite of a copy editor. They are not concerned with the minor grammatical errors. This type of editor looks at the big picture rather than the details. They are going to look at your plot as a whole, how it flows, your themes and ideas, characters, etc. They are going to make sure your story is told well. They can help you really narrow down your overall message, clarify and cut out fluff that doesn't help move your plot forward, and turn a great idea into a bestselling novel.
STRUCTURAL EDITING
Structural editing centers around well, the structure of your story. These editors are going to tell you how to organize your book to be most aesthetically pleasing for your readers. They may give you advice like, add a flashback here or move this scene there. They will also tell you if one chapter needs split into two or to flush out a different one. Whether your story should have two different acts, a split POV, a prologue and epilogue, etc.
FACT CHECKING
This type of editing is especially important if you are writing a period piece. Fact checking editors are going to make sure there aren't any inconsistencies between what you are writing and what really would have been culturally appropriate, or even available to your characters in the time period or setting you are writing about. They can also be helpful if you are writing combat scenes, a science fiction work, something medical, or really just anything outside of your comfort zone. As an author, you should be doing research on what you are writing about, but having an editor to double-check factual errors you may have missed can be really reassuring.
As you can see, there are a lot of different types of editors available to writers. Really honing in on what your manuscript needs and seeking out editors that specialize in that service will really improve your manuscript and take your final product up a notch into a more professional level. And yeah, there is going to be a lot of work to do after you get your manuscript back. Editors don't fix everything. They just point things out and give you their best suggestions, but at the end of the day, this is all you. So figure out what you need, invest in that help, and get to work!
